Yomawari: Night Alone

About Yomawari: Night Alone

Yomawari: Night Alone was made by Nippon Ichi Software and first released in Japan on PlayStation Vita in 2015, then in the West on Vita and PC in October 2016. On Switch it is sold in The Long Night Collection together with its sequel, Midnight Shadows.

The story begins with a quiet walk at dusk that ends in an accident, leaving a girl with nothing but her dog Poro's leash. Her older sister goes out to look for the dog and does not return, so the girl takes a flashlight and goes out after her. Outside, her town has changed: the streets, the shrines, the fields and the cemetery belong to the spirits now.

You explore an open town seen from above, and you cannot fight. When a spirit comes, the girl's heartbeat quickens and you must hide in a bush or behind a sign, run, or throw a stone to draw it away. The ghosts follow their own rules, and learning them is how you survive. The art is cute and the girl is tiny, which makes the dark streets and their sudden, often bloody deaths hit harder.

It suits players who like Japanese folklore horror and a sad, quiet story more than combat. Its rating notes dark themes, blood and the deaths of children and a dog.

How to play Yomawari: Night Alone

1. Buy Yomawari on Steam, or on Switch in The Long Night Collection.
2. Walk the town at night with your flashlight, searching for clues to your sister and dog.
3. When the heartbeat speeds up, a spirit is near: hide in bushes or behind signs, or run.
4. Throw stones to distract spirits, and pick up items such as stones, coins and a shovel as you go.
5. Learn how each kind of spirit behaves.

Tips

• Watch the heartbeat sound; it warns you before you see the ghost.
• Read the girl's diary to catch up on what happened on earlier nights.
• Explore every corner of the map; collectibles fill in the town's story.

Questions