Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story

Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One
Genre: Action/Adventure
Publisher: Top Hat Studios
Developer: Suzaku
Release Date: 2020

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'Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story' Launches Kickstarter Campaign - Screens & Trailer

by Rainier on May 15, 2018 @ 1:10 p.m. PDT

Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story is a 2.5D cyberpunk horror game with a chilling supernatural story happening in the distant future (2083) of Neo Hong Kong.

Inspired in design by Clock Tower and Fatal Frame, story-wise by sci-fi classics like Bladerunner as well as heavily from Traditional Asian Folklore, Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story is presented in gorgeous hand-drawn 2.5D graphics

Set in the year 2083 in Neo Hong-Kong, the story follows Mei-Lin Mak, a young woman with cybernetic eyes pulled into the maelstrom of an unsolved supernatural mystery from centuries past. As she peers deeper into the mystery, her perception of reality slowly crumbles around her, leaving her to question every intricacy of her surroundings.

Under the neon lights of a cyberpunk dystopia lays the ruins of the Chung Sing Building; an obscured reminder of a bloody mystery illuminated by both the innovations of the future and the traditions of the past. Caught in the midst of a conspiracy from years past, our protagonist Mei-Lin Mak finds herself stuck in these crumbling ruins, trying to decode a mystery whose answer may reach past what even the technology of the future could produce.

In an industrial world stricken with fierce division between government and individual, rebellion and order, and human and machine, Mei finds that there may be a greater division undiscovered; the division between normal and supernatural. If there is any hope of escaping this nightmare, Mei-Lin must explore this complex, piecing together the stories of 14 lost souls, and discover the truth of her own family curse. With careful attention to pacing, atmosphere and storytelling, Sense hopes to return the horror genre to its roots; celebrating the slow, fearful creep of dread instead of turning to action and jump scares. Mei is not a trained agent; she is a programmer and not a soldier; the ghosts - the glitches of reality - are spirits and not spectral zombies; and the scares are from within, not from the horrors around.

Indie developer Suzaku has launched a kickstarter campaign, looking for $10,000, to finish up development on Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story

Key Features

  • Interaction: The player will need to search and examine every nook and cranny of the world around them in order to progress. Some items may not be visible until specific chains are completed, and some items may be hidden from Mei's cybernetic eyes at all times, as if spirited away by the ghosts stalking her. Some may require quick wit - and have urgent consequences.
  • Dialogue: NPCs will be heavily populating a few areas of the full game, but there may be some wandering the halls with you. Talking to them can reveal information about the world, the mystery at hand, and even some unexpected secrets.
  • Zooms: Some interactions require a closer look, zooms allow for a different view of items, areas, and puzzles. Make sure to search every inch.
  • Lore: The world of Sense is huge and complex, each location will reveal details about Neo-Hong Kong and the surrounding world. From Geo-Politics to inter-character relationships, don't be afraid to click on anything that looks interesting.
  • Ghosts: The ghosts of the Chung Sing building can hurt you, but can you hurt them? Short answer is no, but you can help them pass on. Shrines, offerings, and solving mysteries will be your only weapons.
  • Shinrei Spots: The 14 lost souls of the Chung Sing building are not the only spirits lurking the halls. Dozens of hidden ghost photos fill the locations of Sense. Finding them all may reveal a secret!
  • Death and failure: Like all the best games, failure and mistakes should be punished, but in a heavily narrative game how do you do that? How do you promote stakes and risk? The answer is simple, fill the world with dangerous events and deadly spirits. Just make sure to record your progress at the occasional TV, there are NO checkpoints or autosaves in the Chung Sing building.
  • Replayability: Sense will be filled with secrets, only some of them will be revealed in a single play through. Some secrets wont be able to escape the spirit realm until the "Plus" appears.


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