Order Up!: Tokyo Dark -Remembrance- is out on PS4
By Rae
In my very first Order Up, we talked a bit about horror games that are a good fit for people who can’t quite handle survival horror. One of those games – honestly one of my favourite games, as well – is Tokyo Dark – a moody adventure game and visual novel mashup that follows Detective Ayame Ito as she struggles to deal with the aftermath of a hostage situation gone terribly wrong. This incredible game from Cherrymochi was originally on PC and has since branched out to Nintendo Switch. As of last week, it's also now out on PS4, with some shiny new features.
So what's Tokyo Dark all about?
Somewhere, deep beneath Tokyo, a door is rumoured to exist. There’sno returning from this door. No one comes back. Is it real? That’s a mystery,but one thing is for sure – something is beneath the streets of Tokyo and it’scalling to Detective Ito.
Tokyo Dark drops us right in the thick of things – Ito’spartner (both personally and professionally) has gone missing. She’s absolutelysure it connects back to a hostage case that came to a horrifying conclusionand which has haunted her since, but she has no clue how to connect the dots.Unfortunately, desperate to find him and solve the case for herself, Ito pullsthe trigger too early and finds herself left with nothing but a shadow of thehappy life she once lived. Sure that there must be clues somewhere that canhelp her make sense of everything that’s happened, she decides to continuetrying to solve her partner’s case, quickly leading her to secrets that werenever meant to be uncovered again.
From Shinjuku to Aokigahara, Ito’s journey will have theplayer sifting through both history and modern rumours to figure out if thedarkness following her is real or only in her head.
The game does a good job of mixing adventure with visualnovel – you’ll have puzzles and investigations to solve, and choices to make. You’llalso have SPIN – a set of statistics to watch that can vastly change yourstory. SPIN affects not only how Ito sees the world, but also how the worldsees her. Can you remain sane despite hallucinations? Can you balance yourmedication? How will your coworkers perceive your off-duty work? Occasionallyit can be a little stressful, knowing that you have to be careful about youractions. It can also be fascinating to see what affects your numbers. Taking apill might increase your sanity, but also bring down your investigative prowess.Lying might take away from your professionalism sometimes, but help you others.Already checked that dumpster? Checking it again might add to your “neurotic”stat. I loved truly feeling like what I did was going to have an effect on mystory. Your choices may force your hand in the investigation, and plenty of badendings await.
As far as horror, Tokyo Dark definitely gave me the creepsand sometimes spooked me out of my skin. Sometimes it was just uncomfortable,like the feeling that behind any door real dangerous could be lurking. There area few jumpscares, but much of the game is meant to be atmospheric and tensemore than anything. Even after chasing down every ending, certain things stillcaught me off-guard. It also features stunningly beautiful art and sound designto round out your experience.
The original title on PC boasts 11 total endings, with 10findable on the first playthrough and a true ending unlockable in New Game+. Iwas impressed with so many of the endings – a lot of them packed a heavy punchof feelings – and getting each new one didn’t feel like too much of a choreonce I was able to move around a bit in New Game+.
More than just a re-release for a new system, Tokyo Dark -Remembrance-promises both new animated sequences and additional endings. I haven’t playedthese for myself yet, but I fell in love with the game and was desperate formore, so it’s pretty welcome news!
If you’re looking for something spooky and beautiful to play, Tokyo Dark -Remembrance- will definitely be worth your time. Grab it on Playstation 4 for $19.99!
Order Up! is a weekly column featuring indie-focused reviews, news, or interviews! We like old games just as much as new ones and are always looking for something to check out. Have a game recommendation, a project, or a company you want to talk about? Email me at rae@thegeeklygrind.com or find me on Twitter @ArcanaChance