Summary
Maybe it’s the color palette, maybe it’s the sheer amount of interesting legends and ghost stories to draw from, or maybe there’s something else entirely that draws us to Japanese horror, but regardless of the reason, we always seem to crave just one more Japanese ghost story to send our heart rates through the roof.
The Nintendo Switch is no stranger to these types of games, thankfully, but without a horror game section on the eShop, the great majority of prospective players are left scrambling in the dark without so much as a flashlight to point them in the right direction. That’s where we come in. If you’re looking to be scared (particularly in Japan), here are your best options on Switch.
We’re focusing on esthetics and inspiration more than anything, so while not all of these games were developed by Japanese teams, all of them feature heavily Japanese visual styles and themes.
6Little Nightmares
A Twisted Take On The Themes Of Spirited Away
“Japan” might not be the first thing to come to mind when you picture Bandai Namco’s horror platformer series,Little Nightmares, especially if you’re more familiar with the series' recent offerings than the comparatively humble original. That said, the first game to introduce us to the iconic yellow raincoat and its owner, Six, also hada very subtle but nonetheless very clear Japanese touchthat we find adds a lot to the experience.
Without spoiling anything for those who haven’t yet braved the maw for themselves,the latter half of the game is filled with Japanese imagery, themes, and a very clear Japanese Western Eclectic architectural style that make it clear the game took more than a little inspiration from Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar award winner Spirited Away.
5Fatal Frame: Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse
Say Cheese And Hopefully Don’t Die
Realistically, you could get your Japanese thrills from any of theFatal Framegames, even the oddly titled Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir on the Nintendo 3DS, assuming you still have access to one and don’t mind playing one of the more mediocre entries in the series. But for our money, and probably yours too, the best way to experience Fatal Frame on a Nintendo console these days is to check out Mask of the Lunar Eclipse.
Until recently, Mask of the Lunar Eclipse never saw a Western release despite initially launching in 2008 for the Nintendo Wii in Japan and being part of a decently successful franchise. That alone makes it an exciting release, but on top of that, the game holds up to modern standards and deliversarguably the best Fatal Frame so far, so if you’re looking for good, big budget J-horror on Switch, this is your game.
4Yomawari: The Long Night Collection
Cute… Until It’s Terrifying
IfYomawaritaught us nothing else, it’s tonever judge a game based on its looks.Sure, this game might look adorable on the surface, but trust us, there are some truly nasty things lying in wait for those brave or foolish enough to jump in. While there are multiple Yomawari games, the best place to start is with Yomawari: The Long Night Collection, which includes the series' first two entries.
While the series' keeps its staples over the course of all three entries to the point of the gameplay eventually starting to feel a little stale,the core idea of running through a dark Japanese town, running and hiding froma myriad of wildly disturbing monstershas managed to carry the series thus far. It’s more modern setting contrasts with the typical abandoned shrines the genre often sees us explore without straying from the Japanese esthetics we know and love.
It should go without saying when it comes to horror, but especially in Yomawari’s case, we’d like to reiterate that the series frequently includes potentially triggering topics, such as self harm, animal harm, and other highly disturbing things of that nature, so if that isn’t something you’re comfortable with, we recommend passing on this series.
3Ikai
Unique Horror Gameplay Seething With Traditional Japanese Terrors
Take it from us, if you’re interested in Japanese horror at all, or even just Japanese culture, do not sleep onIkai, whatever you do. The game isn’t perfect, nor is it high-budget, but the low asking price and thematic gameplay experience more than make up for its minor shortcomings and make for an experience we think is truly special.
We could gush all day about the many amazing cultural references Ikai presents, but what really makes this game stand out from other Japanese horror games on the Nintendo Switch (or any other platform for that matter) is the gameplay, whichforces you to learn to write Japanese kanji, stroke by stroke, as your only means of defense. It’s immersive, tense, dark, and Japanese with a capital J, capturing the essence of its setting and themes, and bringing them to life in a terrifying new way.
2Corpse Party
The Classic RPG Maker Horror Game Made Portable
If you’re a Japanese horror game fan already, chances are you’ve heard of Corpse Party before. The game made its rounds on YouTube with celebrities like Markiplier and PewDiePie playing and reacting to the game, and in many ways, Corpse Party is a big part of why the RPG Maker horror scene is as big as it is today. What you might not know is that the game is currently available to purchase on the Switch, so if you haven’t yet given this Japanese horror classic a try, now is a pretty convenient time to give it a go.
While yes,Corpse Party does tend to lean into the gratuitous violence side of thingsmore than we think is necessary, it’s also true that the gore has always been part of the appeal, like a chibi, pixelated Mortal Kombat set in an old dilapidated high school in Japan. Ergo, if you lean more toward slasher films to begin with, you’ll probably have a good time with Corpse Party.
1World Of Horror
Junji Ito Inspired, 1-Bit Roguelike Nightmare
World of Horrormade waves in the horror community for doing something we all thought could never be done:it brought Junji Ito’s art to life, and managed to keep it scary. Granted,none of it is really Junji Ito’s art, but given the clear inspiration and well executed art direction in the final product, it may as well be.
World of Horror is a lot to get used to, given its gameplay style, and a lot of it can feel more like you’re playing a tabletop RPG than a video game, but once you get used to the UI and learn to play effectively, you can end up experiencing some truly frightening and wonderfully cosmic monstrosities in World of Horror, and that makes the learning curve feel worth it, somewhat. When it comes to Japanese horror games on Switch, this might be the least approachable, but in our opinion, it’s also one of the best.
