Urban Myth Dissolution Center

About Urban Myth Dissolution Center

Urban Myth Dissolution Center is a mystery adventure in pixel art by the Japanese team Hakababunko, published by Shueisha Games in February 2025. The centre of the title is a small private agency that handles what the police cannot: cursed objects, apartments with a shady past, dimensional anomalies and the creatures behind rumours that spread online.

You play Azami Fukurai, a new part-timer who can see people's residual thoughts through her glasses. Her boss, Ayumu Meguriya, is a psychic who works from his wheelchair at the office, and the field investigator Jasmine handles the driving and the rough work. The game is told as a series of cases, each built around one urban myth.

A case plays in two halves. First you investigate: you talk to the client, visit the scene and search an in-game social network with keywords to find posts, photos and rumours about the myth. Then you put the clues together and name what is really happening, and the case moves on only once you get it right.

The horror comes from the myths themselves and the way they reach ordinary people: a figure in a red hoodie that shows up in someone's photos, a room left covered in blood, clients with something to hide. The pixel art leans on a few strong colours, so the red of blood and the red hood stand out sharply against the cold blue scenes. It is more unsettling than shocking, with no chases or monsters to run from.

It suits players who like Japanese horror mysteries and detective work in the style of Spirit Hunter or Paranormasight, with the twist that your main tool is a search bar. Players who want to hide from a monster or fight one should look elsewhere.

How to play Urban Myth Dissolution Center

1. Pick up a new case at the centre and listen to the client's story.
2. Visit the places involved and examine people and objects to collect clues.
3. Search the in-game social network with keywords you have found to turn up posts and photos about the myth.
4. When you have the clues, answer the deduction questions to identify what is behind the myth.
5. Carry what you learned into the next case as the larger story builds.

Tips

• Write down unusual words and names from posts; they are often the next search term.
• If you are stuck, go back over the clue list and look for one you have not searched yet.
• Read the posts closely, including dates and photos, since small details decide the deductions.

Questions