Madness Inflicts Japanese Town as WORLD OF HORROR Descends Onto Steam Early Access
Eyewitnesses Report Lovecraftian Nightmares, Random Encounters
Shiokawa, Japan — 21 Feb. 198X — WORLD OF HORROR, the unsettling cosmic horror retro RPG from developer panstasz and publisher Ysbryd Games, sends a quiet, seaside Japanese town spiraling into madness today on Steam Early Access and Xbox Game Pass for PC (beta). Its true terrors will unfurl with a full release on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox Game Pass, and Steam for PC and Mac OS X in late 2020.
From another dimension, the Old Gods have come. In hospitals, abandoned classrooms, quiet apartments, and dark forests, strange appearances and unexplainable phenomena test the sanity of the town’s residents. Is it retribution, pure chaos, or the unknowable machinations of beings beyond our comprehension?
Choose from five characters and solve over 10 mysteries in Early Access. Each perplexing case unravels into a series of random encounters with nightmarish figures inspired by the works of horror legends Junji Ito and H.P. Lovecraft. Invoke dark rituals, cast life-prolonging spells, and scavenge for makeshift weapons and other items crucial to survival.
Find creative ways to restore and maintain strength, sanity, and other stats. Each grotesque foe comes with physical dangers, psychological torment, and a chance of debilitating effects or outright death. Horrors are plentiful as they are unpredictable, with each playthrough unlocking new possible events and encounters for the next attempt. Every mystery harbors multiple endings—for those that can survive that long.
The writing talents of critically acclaimed horror novelist Cassandra Khaw compliment the haunting vision of developer panstasz as they bring disturbing sights to literary life. Fuzzy, lo-fi chiptunes and a chilling 1-bit art style drawn entirely in Microsoft Paint evoke the hazy, unsettling nostalgia of late ‘80s computing where imagination, the most terrifying force of all, fills in the gaps.
“WORLD OF HORROR is as much a battle with the self as with ancient evil and eldritch frights,” said Pawel Kozminski, founder of panstasz. “Every player brave enough to face these distressing cases will unknowingly lean on their own fears—perhaps even subconscious or long-buried—to make sense of baffling, mind-bending terrors.”
WORLD OF HORROR is now available in early access on Steam and the Xbox Game Preview program for Windows 10 for $14.99, as well as with Xbox Game Pass for PC (beta). Several new mysteries, more new characters, non-English languages, and dozens of new events await in the full release, coming late 2020 on Steam for PC and Mac OS X, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox Game Pass for PC (beta).
For updates on the advent of the Old Gods, follow @YsbrydGames and @panstasz on Twitter and visit the official WORLD OF HORROR Discord and website.
About Ysbryd Games
Publisher Ysbryd Games delivers games with stories that have the heart and soul to stay with players for a lifetime, underlined by captivating gameplay and striking aesthetics.
About Panstasz
Panstasz is a one-man studio based in Poland. Founder Pawel Kozminski is always creating, whether it be music, art or video games. WORLD OF HORROR is his first game and has been a passion project two years in the making.
