Stealth horror Survival horror Haunted house

White Day: A Labyrinth Named School

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Locked in your school at midnight, with a janitor who wants you dead.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (81% of 4,574 reviews)
Players: 1
Made by: Sonnori
Released: 2017

Get it on Steam PlayStation Store Xbox Nintendo Switch

What frightens You sneak into your high school at night to leave a gift for a girl and the shutters slam shut behind you. Janitors armed with batons and flashlights patrol the dark corridors, the jingle of keys and footsteps telling you to hide, and ghosts burst out of lockers and crawl along the floor while you look for a way out.
Content: jumpscares, violence.

White Day is a Korean first-person survival horror game, a remake of the 2001 cult classic. Student Hee-Min Lee is trapped overnight in his high school, where he must hide from a murderous janitor, avoid vengeful ghosts and solve puzzles to escape, with nine possible endings.

About White Day: A Labyrinth Named School

The original White Day came out in Korea in 2001 and gained a reputation among horror fans as one of the most frightening games of its time. Sonnori rebuilt it for modern machines, and PQube brought it to the West in 2017 on PC and PlayStation 4, with Xbox, Switch and PlayStation 5 versions following in 2022.

On the eve of White Day, a gift-giving holiday, new student Hee-Min Lee slips into Yeondu High School at night to hide a box of candies for the girl he likes. The building locks behind him. Other students are trapped too, and as you explore you learn the dark history of the school through ghost stories, notes and the spirits themselves.

You have no weapons. The janitors walk the halls with flashlights, and when one sees you he chases you down; you break line of sight, hide and wait for his footsteps to fade. Meanwhile the school's ghosts appear in lockers and corridors, some as sudden scares and some as real threats. Puzzle solutions change every time, so guides will not save you, and your choices with the other students lead to one of nine endings.

It suits players who like Outlast or Alien: Isolation style hiding from a hunter, and anyone curious about Korean school ghost stories. Play it with headphones and the lights off, as the store advises.

How to play White Day: A Labyrinth Named School

Buy White Day on Steam, PlayStation, Xbox or Switch.
Explore the school in first person by torchlight, collecting items and clues.
Listen for the janitor's footsteps and keys, and hide or break line of sight when he spots you.
Solve the puzzles that open new parts of the school; their answers change every playthrough.
Talk to the other trapped students; your choices decide which of the nine endings you reach.

Screenshots

White Day screenshot: a screaming ghost woman with clawed hands bursts out of a school locker

White Day screenshot: the grinning janitor shines his flashlight straight at you in a school hallway

White Day screenshot: a pale ghost's face with bloody eyes lying on the floor of a dark corridor

White Day screenshot: a schoolgirl in a dark classroom says the school has so many hidden secrets

White Day key art: a frightened schoolgirl on a cracked wooden floor

Tips

Learn the school's layout early so you know where to run and hide.
Read every ghost story and note you find, they explain the scares and the puzzles.
Save whenever you can; mistakes are punished hard.