The school... Here we are...

        When you talk about the best and scariest horror games ever made, what comes to mind? Silent Hill, Fatal Frame, Deadspace, Siren maybe? Well, what if I told you that some people spoke of a game that was more horrific than those? They even considered it so scary that people emailed the development team to make changes on account of the game being too frightening to complete. They released a patch and made adjustments, the scare level being adjusted according to difficulty as well as number of items available. So, what game am I talking about? Well, that's what I'll cover in this room of the...

             So, what game is it I'm talking about? (Stop with the suspense, Cloudyman! You're killing me!) Well, it's a game from Korea, called...

          ...Or by it's full name: White Day: A Labyrinth Named School. Have you ever heard of it? It was sometimes mentioned on the internet as the scariest game ever made. As I mentioned before, it had to be changed due to players being too afraid to finish it. So what is this game about? Does it really match the small hooplahs it gets? Well, get your candy boxes and let's go into the school... ; )

         So why White Day? Well, White day is a 'special' day I guess you can say, practiced in some Asian countries, like Japan, Korea and Taiwan. It's on March 14th, and is like Valentine's Day, but the reciever gives double the amount he got from the giver, and that is what our protagonist is doing here.

        Our lead character, Hui-min, goes to his school in the dead of night, preparing to give sweets to the girl he likes, So-yeong. (and so fiine, am I right? : D ... Sorry, bad joke...) However, when he enters the school, he finds he can no longer leave it. So now he must try to leave the school, and something about it is not right... (What is with horror games and escaping from the castle? Also, that does sound like the proper way to do White Day... : / )

Hey, is that supposed to happen...? (Could you let me down please? : / )

         So, what is it about this game that gave it the reputation of most horrifying? Well, honestly, I'm not so sure. Upon first look, it looks no better than a higher quality Playstation 1 game, and it doesn't deal with creepy settings, such as old run down mansion or hospital. Well, perhaps what makes it creepy is the unknown. Reading from the story, it doesn't give much of a hint of what sort of oppositions you will be facing. Nothing like ghosts or monsters. So when you enter this space, you really have little to no clue what you will be dealing with, and that helps sets the tense mood.

Let's going walking, you and mee... Ready, set, come on, let's goo...

        Granted I only played a little bit of this game a year ago, but one aspect that really stuck out to me was lighting. In most horror games, you are given a light source, such as a flashlight, but in White Day, you start off with NOTHING. There will be moments where a room is dark, which will make it hard to explore them, because you can't see anything and because it's DARK. That's scary! Who wants to go into a pitch black room?! Well, the game does give you a light source: a box of matches. At this point, it feels as if the game is laughing at you, giving you such a puny light source. This only heightens the fear when you are forced to enter dark rooms, and your only source is a small match which barely allows you see anything outside of this puny flame, as if something is there, waiting for you to approach it... You'll be given better tools later on, but the matches really starts off the mood for the game.

       Another great thing that really drives home the fear in this game, are the enemies. In many horror games, when you are faced with a threat, it is usually visible to you, but in White Day you are hardly ever given a warning of inevitible threats. They will often come in the most subtle ways, such as a scratching sound, as if nails are railing against a wall. You cannot see them until they have already gotten to up you. Sounds will become the most horrifying things that can happen to you when you play. Sometimes an enemy will abruptly show up without warning. Those are always fun too, right? : )

Hey, I'm cold, and lonely. So very lonely... Won't you join me...? : D

           Surely this is one of the most horrifying games ever made? Well, it certainly is, but it doesn't come without flaws. The biggest one being a particular enemy: the janitor, Dal-su, or Johnny Wong...? I'm not sure... Anyways, this enemy is the biggest flaw of the game, and the reason why my friends and I quit the game so soon. This enemy type is not uncommon, appearing in games such as Resident Evil and Fatal Frame. They are the kind you cannot defeat and much run away from. Once the janitor appears on screen, if he sees you, he will sound his whistle and chase after you. You must escape from him and hide until he walks away. The issue is, this enemy appears too often. He is difficult to shake off as well. He came so often, progresssion in the game is rapidly slowed down to the point we could barely do anything and become bothersome. After awhile, out patience ran out and ultimately quit. There were other issues, such as being unsure what to do or how to solve an issue. At times, puzzles or events were too ambiguous to solve, which added to the frustration.

Way to go janitor. You ruined what could have been the BEST SCARY GAME EVER. You SUCK! >: (

         So there you have it, White Day: A Labyrinth Named School. Is it the scariest game ever made? Well, maybe it could have been, if it wasn't for one major flaw. But was is scary? Definitely! It is definitely something interesting that came from Korea of all places. I had no idea they had it in them : ) Way to go Korea, you too can do the spookies! I hope more creepy goodness comes from other parts of the world and see what sort of cultural creepiness they can bring in. : ) I hope you enjoyed learning about another obscure horror game. If you're interested in trying it yourself, well, there is an English version available, but getting it to work properly is another challenge. Unfortunately, I didn't set it up myself, so I don't know how to do so. If anyone manages to get it running, be sure to message me ; ) Well, that wraps this up. See you next time, and as always...

THANKS FOR READING : D

If you are interested in watching some gameplay, here is a video on the beginning : )

Great review, like always! (I feel I said this before... :/ )

If you are in a school can't you just turn on the lights? Plot convenience :p

I remember they work in some of them, but not all...? o: I dunno. Maybe some of the lights don't work...?

Must be a really bad school if the lights don't work.. :p

Premise sounds interesting though, and that Janitor looks pretty funny in that picture

Huh. Never heard of this before but you've definitely piqued my interest. A box of matches is s pretty great idea, can see why that might have caused a few freakouts.

No new drawings this time?

Yeah, it was really tense when we had to go into bathrooms with nothing but a match. I really expected something to  come out and attack me, haha. It was scary x )

Sorry, no drawing... I didn't have time, and I wasn't sure what to draw for it either...

Lol, it is silly when you mention that. I guess it would be less scary if all the lights worked.

The janitor would be the least scary, as he is more of an annoyance than a terror haha. I didn't show any of the real creepy enemies.... x )