Yuoni touches on the horror and cruelty of kids

Children’s games—and the incessant laughter of kids that usually follow—feel like a potent mix when you’re forced to experience them in a macabre, twisted environment. It’s why childhood jingles and nursery rhymes take on a new shade of dread and terror when heard in the winding, abandoned corridors of haunted buildings. It’s almost as if their innocence has been tainted, somehow, by the miasma of corruptive influence of whatever evils linger in the place.

Thus you should probably be prepared to hear a creepy song or two, sang by ghost children, in this upcoming Japanese horror game Yuoni. As seen from the trailers’ spooky footage, you’ll play as a young schoolgirl named Ai, who’s somehow trapped across several locations—a school building, a traditional Japanese house, and a hospital—and forced to play children’s games in a world that’s always drenched in the redness of dusk. Otherworldly entities flicker in and out of sight, with Ai having to outsmart these spirits in a twisted game of tag.

And of course, as a young and very human child, Ai is incapable of retaliating or taking the offensive; instead, she’ll have to depend on her wits, and sneak past her foes, some of whom have weaknesses she can exploit. Yuoni also hints at a greater enemy—Ai’s very own classmates—who is said to “harbour dark thoughts and harrowing secrets”. A horror game about the cruelty of kids does threaten to touch on some contentious topics, but I’m happy to learn more when the game is released.

Which, apparently, isn’t that far off. Yuoni will be released on 19 August this week.