SUZUKA Games’ Sense – A Cyberpunk Ghost Story was a popular game. Debuting on PC in 2020, ports to console formats were well received. So much so, that physical editions of the game were produced for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and even PlayStation Vita. Spurred on by that success, the developed teamed-up with eastasiasoft for a succession of sequels. This first of which we’ll talk about here, in this SENSEs: Midnight review.
Sense – A Cyberpunk Ghost Story was a 2.5D exploration game. SENSEs: Midnight however, goes fully 3D. It’s still a game that’s all about exploration, with a little puzzle solving to boot. You may have the impression that’s essentially a low budget Resident Evil game. And while there are definitely aspects of the series from which SENSEs: Midnight has taken inspiration, there is no combat in the game whatsoever. Calling it ‘Resident Evil lite’ wouldn’t be too offensive. And yet it also wouldn’t do the game justice.
SENSEs: Midnight is set in in future. Uesugi Kaho, the player character, is a US college student and member of her school’s occult research club. When returning to Japan for a family visit, the other club members dare Kaho to investigate an infamous urban legend, The Midnight Door of Ikebukuro Walking Park. Kaho agrees, and the game begins as she enters the park. In constant communication with her peers via text messages, Kaho soon finds the door and attempts to open it. The legend is proven to be true, and now Kaho must escape the park to survive.
The game applies the tension of survival pressure not through items or stat bars. As said above, there is no combat in the game. Instead, there are a few spirits wandering around which you must avoid, and occasionally a superior ghost will arise and chase you. This ghost can be avoided by moving in a carefully orchestrated zig-zag pattern. However, the game’s two control options – tank and modern – are both intentionally awkward. Dodging the oncoming lunges is not always as easy as it sounds.
The game also features a hiding mechanic. Certain areas – highlighted by glowing butterflies – can be ducked into, prompting a mini-game. A meter will move erratically left-and-right, and the player must follow it with an arrow above. As the arrow is directly above the meter it will fill, but when it’s not the meter will slowly empty. As can be expected, filling the meter will result in a successful escape, but let it drain and you’ll have lost this encounter.
And you won’t want to lose too many encounters, as the game can be quite unforgiving. During the course of this SENSEs: Midnight review, we found ourselves having to replay significant lengths of the game. Thankfully, the encounters are less frequent than the cerebral challenges. Puzzle solving using items from your limited inventory takes precedent. They can be as simple as using a spanner to adjust some pipes, to requiring multiple items to be collecting from across the map and used in combination with others across several different stages.
The game’s map isn’t particularly huge. Often, you can find shortcuts that alleviate the pain of backtracking somewhat, but at the cost of more enemy encounters. The most annoying aspect of the map however – and the design of the game as a whole – is that some of the preset camera angles can become quite confusing. Stepping out from one screen and into another can entirely shift the perspective, meaning that your inputs will also shift dramatically. Not great when trying to outrun a ghoul, nor when trying to scan the area for a hidden item.
SENSEs: Midnight is an enjoyable, if somewhat brief adventure. Once you know what you’re doing, it can surely be whizzed through in a couple of hours. But to do so is to miss the point. It’s a game about enjoying the journey; immersing yourself in the futuristic world and the pseudo-horror storyline. That’s exactly what Chit Hot did for this SENSEs: Midnight review. And if the plan remains to make more of it’s ilk, we look forward to what SUZUKA Game brings us next.
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