Stealth horror Survival horror Haunted house Horror Horror puzzle Horror escape

White Day: A Labyrinth Named School

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Locked in your school on the eve of White Day, with a janitor who wants you dead.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
Stores: Steam
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (81% of 4,583 reviews); Metacritic 67 (PS4, 32 critics); PlayStation Store 4.2 of 5 from 1.7K ratings
Length: About 8.5 hours (main story)
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. A janitor with a flashlight and a bat walks the dark corridors, his footsteps telling you to hide, and ghosts burst out of lockers and other corners while you look for a way out.
Content: jumpscares, violence, blood, cutscenes of a student beaten to death and another stabbed (.

White Day is a Korean first-person survival horror game, a remake of the 2001 original. Student Hee-Min Lee sneaks into his high school at night and is locked in, with no weapons, a janitor with a bat on patrol and ghosts in the halls. You hide, solve puzzles whose answers change each time, save with scarce felt-tip pens and steer the story toward one of several endings.

About White Day: A Labyrinth Named School

White Day first came out in Korea in 2001. Its maker Sonnori rebuilt it, with director Lee Won-Sool returning, adding new visuals and sound, a new character, a new scenario and reimagined ghosts. The remake reached phones in Korea in 2015, then PC and PlayStation 4 in August 2017 through PQube, with PlayStation 5, Xbox and Switch versions in September 2022.

On the eve of White Day in 2001, new student Hee-Min Lee slips into Yeondu High School to leave a box of candies for So-young and return the diary she dropped. The building locks behind him. Other students are trapped too, and through notes, collectable ghost stories and the spirits themselves you learn what has happened at the school since 1998.

You have no weapons. The janitor walks the halls with a flashlight and a bat, and when he sees you he gives chase; you break line of sight, hide and wait for his steps to fade. Ghosts appear in lockers and corridors, some as sudden scares and some as real threats. You carry a few items at a time, heal with limited supplies and save only at bulletin boards, using felt-tip pens you find. Puzzle answers, such as safe codes, change every playthrough, and how you treat the other students decides which ending you reach.

A Very Easy mode lets you follow the story with fewer scares, while higher difficulties add ghost activity and take away hints. It suits players who like hiding from a hunter in Outlast or Alien: Isolation, and anyone curious about Korean school ghost stories.

How to play White Day: A Labyrinth Named School

Buy White Day on Steam, PlayStation, Xbox or Switch; it is single-player only.
Pick a difficulty: Very Easy for the story, higher ones for more ghosts, fewer items and fewer hints.
Explore the school in first person by torchlight, collecting items, notes and ghost stories.
Listen for the janitor's footsteps, 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 ending you reach.

Screenshots

White Day screenshot: Hee-Min runs down a dark school corridor while the janitor follows with a flashlight and a bat

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, holding a bat

White Day screenshot: a ghost woman's upside-down face with bloodshot eyes and a wide grin in a tiled room

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

White Day screenshot: by day outside the brick school, a schoolgirl reads a note in front of Hee-Min

White Day screenshot: a green night-vision camera view of Hee-Min walking past the school gate at night

Tips

Learn the school's layout early so you know where to run and hide.
Saving uses up a felt-tip pen at a bulletin board, so save before risky rooms rather than after every step.
Item slots are few, and some objects are needed hours after you find them; think before you drop one.
Read the text messages on your phone; they give clues, though on Hard and above there is no signal.
Read every note and ghost story you find, they hint at puzzles and the school's past.