To be honest, I’ve been pondering how to start this test for a few days now. Well, sometimes I had to take my time anyway because I was away on business. Partly that’s because I found Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo a bit pissed off. And that’s not because it’s a bad game!
Rather, it has to do with the fact that it’s not quite what it claims to be. Or what would you expect if the description said “conducting investigations”? Later, “Experience Strategic Gameplay” is mentioned. In a game that is sorted by the publisher into the adventure, role-playing and simulation genres.
Call me crazy, but from that description I was expecting something reminiscent of Return of the Obra Dinn or Ace Attorney – but not a visual novel with almost nothing to do except read. The term “visual novel” also appears in the description, but there are certainly some that require a playful, weighty intervention in addition to reading. But Paranormasight is not one of them.
There are very rarely moments where you have two choices, one of which results in the death of the current character. If that happens, however, you are immediately reset to the previous situation in order to continue the story from there in the only intended form. These interactive interruptions are nothing more than a short breath from continuous reading.
The entrance gives a completely different impression. Because before the main menu, the narrator of this story takes over and points out the menu options and the fact that you should save occasionally. It also asks you to enter a desired name – and then asks if you want to be addressed with the name of the Steam or console profile. Then you have the choice to activate either this or the previously entered one. What a clever way to create a connection between the game and the player!
After all, one should be more here than the invisible reading monocle, which advances the dialogues as if by magic. The narrator points out several times that although the protagonists are actually the actors, one carefully directs these actions with the knowledge that one has about everything that is happening.
This is crucial at the latest when the story is not only told from the point of view of several characters, but also when you return to chapters that have already been completed in order to activate an alternative story line by making a different decision. Just don’t get this wrong: these branches are not alternate endings. Rather, they are all part of the same linear plot that revolves around, among other things, how one would correct previously made decisions. Together with the narrator you are virtually outside of the story.
The one available for Steam and Nintendo Switch Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo are available digitally directly from the respective platform providers:
Sounds interesting? It is. Unfortunately, it led to the disappointing conclusion that I had absolutely no way of influencing the course. Or how would you react if, right in the prologue, you had three choices to kill another person and decided against it – the character in question, but did it anyway every time. I won’t dwell on it any further from here on out. But had I not received a key but bought Paranormasight regularly I would have returned it at this point very frustrated!
So be it. At the latest then, of course, it was clear to me that I was only employed here as a dialogue shifter – who at least followed a very interesting and well-written story. The only catch: You have to understand English or Japanese, because the text-heavy game is currently not allowed to be translated further.
Well-written, it revolves around a series of Japanese legends that revolve around sinister and even deadly occurrences in a district of Tokyo: Sumida, called Honjo during the Edo period. Starting on a balmy night, several protagonists become involved in a series of events related to these legends and a ritual to bring the dead back to life. After all, Harue has her son, Yakko has her girlfriend, and police officers Jun and Tetsuo have lost a colleague.
Now the thing about resuscitation comes at a high price, because in order to perform the ritual, you have to kill other people first. More specifically, you have to curse them using one of the sculpts that grant this ability. “How far would you go to raise someone from the dead?” is therefore the premise or the question that some of the characters have to answer for themselves.
And it is quite exciting to follow them on their way to their answers. Because even if you never have to make this decision yourself, you get to know the ensemble as believable characters with interesting stories. Of course, one always gets deeper insights into what is hidden behind the sometimes misleading facades. At the same time you learn a lot about the eponymous myths, i.e. the seven wonders; why their number is actually nine and some more.
This fascinated me, among other things, because all the information is recorded in a very clear notebook. Paranormasight manages this aspect very well anyway: you can call up the menu at any time to look something up, to save or to repeat an earlier chapter. When you play with a gamepad, the mouse pointer isn’t always in the picture, controlling it with the controller is extremely convenient anyway… Things like that are important to me, which is why I want to emphasize it quite consciously.
So bottom line, I actually enjoyed reading this visual novel. It occasionally overstretches logic – for a private investigator to have a problem with killing, for example, but to be completely chilled to the knowledge that his client will likely use her curse, is a very unfortunate attempt to keep the story going. At the same time, however, it brings together the present and the past in an extremely atmospheric way in a chilling crime thriller in which anyone could become a perpetrator. Or maybe it has been for a long time.
Every now and then the game even caught me off guard and gave me a real fright. Don’t worry: Paranormasight has nothing to do with real horror. But it helps if you can grin at yourself after a surprised “Oops!”
Occasionally you even enjoy a bit of freedom, since you not only choose the order in which you click dialogue options, but also occasionally have the choice of which location you visit next. This doesn’t change the core of the story, but it does make following it feel a little more open.
And then there are very rarely even damn clever puzzles where you actually have to use your gray matter. I don’t want to give anything away due to the rarity of such moments, but for all the nitpicking about the measly interaction, these puzzles are among the best that has called itself adventure in years.
Review of Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo – Conclusion
Again, forget about adventure, role-playing, and simulation! In essence, Paranormasight is a strictly linear visual novel that doesn’t leave you the slightest leeway, although the big decision about life and death is not only a central theme, but also is strongly suggested that it can be influenced. So you have to accept this limitation – and if you do, you lose yourself in a pleasantly complex, consistently interesting story from the perspective of several protagonists. I like the careful processing of the legend of the seven wonders and the related insights into Japanese history, as well as the elegant user guidance and some clever or even spooky moments. So if that’s what you’re looking for, then Paranormasight might be right up your alley.
Review of Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo – Score: 7/10
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Exciting story with interesting, complex characters
- Excellent handling, menus and user guidance
- Detailed information on all characters, locations, events and backgrounds
- Consistently atmospheric soundtrack
Cons:
- Practically no meaningful playful intervention, although the same is suggested
- Small logical errors in crucial places
- English and Japanese texts only
Developer: Square Enix – Publishers: Square Enix – Platforms: PC/Nintendo Switch – release: 08/09 03. 2023 – Genre: visual novel Price (RRP): 19.99 euros
