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Aooni

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A blue demon lives in the mansion on the edge of town.

Platforms: PC, Switch, PlayStation, iPhone, Android
Stores: Steam
Price: Paid
Rated: Mostly Positive on Steam (77% of 1,031 reviews); 4.38 of 5 on the PlayStation Store (84 ratings)
Length: about 2 hours
Players: 1
Controls: Full controller support on PC.
Made by: Game Studio Inc.
Released: 2024

Get it on Steam Nintendo eShop PlayStation Store (PS5, PS4)App Store (Crunchyroll Game Vault, membership required)Google Play (Crunchyroll Game Vault, membership required)Official site (Japanese)

What frightens Four teenagers go into a mansion said to hold a monster and are hunted through its rooms by the Ao Oni, a huge, grinning blue demon that appears at scripted moments and at random and runs you down while you hunt for items and solve puzzles to escape.
Content: chase sequences, blood, violence.

Aooni is the official 2024 remake of Ao Oni, the Japanese RPG Maker horror game first released by noprops in 2004. Hiroshi and three classmates enter a mansion rumoured to house a monster and find it is true; you explore, collect items and solve puzzles to escape while the blue demon chases you through the halls.

About Aooni

Ao Oni, 'blue demon', was first made by the Japanese developer noprops in RPG Maker XP and released as freeware in 2004, with several versions up to 2011. It built a large following in Japan through video sites and later abroad through playthroughs, and it is often named as the RPG Maker horror game that made the form popular. This remake by Game Studio Inc., published by LiTMUS, came to Steam and Nintendo Switch in July 2024 and to PlayStation in July 2026, where the store lists PS5 and PS4 versions.

The story is the original's. Hiroshi and his classmates Takuro, Takeshi and Mika visit a mansion on the outskirts of town, where rumours say blue monsters appear. Once inside, they are trapped. You walk Hiroshi through the house from above, picking up items, reading clues and solving puzzles to open new rooms and find a way out.

The fear is the chase. The Ao Oni, a tall, naked, grinning blue giant, comes after you at certain story moments and at random, and when it does you can only run. Its odd face and the score make the quiet rooms tense, because you never know which door it will come through next.

This version adds two modes to the original story. High Speed Mode replays it at any speed from 2x to 15x, with the demon just as fast. Ao Oni -Ai's Story- is a new mode about a girl named Ai who wakes in a mansion whose rooms change every time you play, where you search for items and try to escape toward more than one ending. Steam reviews are Mostly Positive, and HowLongToBeat puts the main story at about two hours. It suits players who know the original from videos and want to play it properly, and anyone who likes Japanese pixel horror built on puzzles and chases.

How to play Aooni

Start the main story and lead Hiroshi and his friends into the mansion.
Explore room by room, checking furniture and objects for items and clues.
Use the items you find and solve the puzzles that unlock new parts of the house.
When the blue demon appears, run and get away before it catches you.
After the story, try High Speed Mode at 2x to 15x, or Ai's Story, where the mansion's rooms change each run.

Screenshots

Aooni screenshot: four pixel-art teenagers on a dirt path before the door of a large white mansion with a red roof, among bare trees

Aooni screenshot: the four friends in a wooden mansion hallway while Hiroshi, shown in a portrait, says ghosts do not exist

Aooni screenshot: Hiroshi in his black school uniform a few steps from the purple Ao Oni in the mansion's library

Aooni screenshot: the High Speed Mode menu with its speed slider, from 2x to 15x, set to 15x

Aooni screenshot: the Ai's Story title menu, a bloodied schoolgirl in a sailor uniform kneeling before a giant looming face

Aooni screenshot: Ai stands by a long table in a brick-floored kitchen and asks where she is

Tips

Remember the layout of each floor as you go, so you know where to run when the demon appears.
Read every note and check every object; the puzzles' answers are in the house.
The demon can turn up at random as well as at set moments, so do not linger in dead ends.
Try High Speed Mode only after you know the story well; at high speeds the chases are much harder.

Questions

Is Aooni the same game as the free Ao Oni?

It is the official remake of the 2004 freeware game, with the same story and redrawn art, plus High Speed Mode and a new Ai's Story mode.

How long is Aooni?

HowLongToBeat puts the main story at about two hours, and finishing everything at about four. High Speed Mode and Ai's Story, with its changing rooms and several endings, add replays on top.

What can you play Aooni on?

PC on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation (the store lists PS5 and PS4 versions), and iPhone and Android through Crunchyroll's Game Vault, which needs a paid Crunchyroll membership.

Can you fight the Ao Oni?

No. When the blue demon chases you, you run and evade it while you keep looking for a way out.

What is Ai's Story?

A new mode in this remake: a girl named Ai wakes in a mansion whose rooms change every time you play, and you search for items to escape. It has several endings to find.

Is Aooni suitable for younger players?

The PlayStation Store lists it as ESRB Teen for blood and violence, and Google Play's Crunchyroll version is PEGI 16. Expect sudden chases by the monster and some bloody scenes rather than graphic gore.