Shinonome

Release Date: November 11, 2022 Early Access

Action, roguelike, puzzle elements, 2D, top-down, indie games, Japan, singleplayer

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An action game in which we find ourselves in Edo period Japan and, as a heroine named Yono, try to escape from a haunted house. In Shinonome, we don't fight enemies, but outsmart them in various ways - setting snares for them or pitting them against each other.

Plot
Game mechanics
Game modes
Technical aspects

Shinonome is an action game, with roguelike elements. It was developed by indie studio Wodan, headed by Kenichi Iwao and Tatsuya Yoshikawa - industry veterans who previously worked at Capcom, Square Enix and Nintendo, among others.

Plot

Shinonome takes us on a journey to Japan from the Edo period. The game's main character is Yono - a young student who finds herself in a haunted house. The protagonist must do everything to survive, outsmart the monsters and phantoms roaming the rooms and corridors, and find an escape route.

Game mechanics

In Shinonome, the action is observed from a top-down view. We traverse a haunted house, looking for a way to leave it in one piece. Since Yono can't fight, in order to cope with the mummies lurking around her, the girl has to show cunning and guile above all. By observing the behavior of her enemies and carefully studying clues such as the tracks they leave or the sounds they make, Yono learns their weaknesses. He then uses the latter to set traps for them, lure them to certain places or pitting one monster against another.

Game modes

Shinonome offers three variants of gameplay. While in Harae you find yourself in a hand-designed house, in Misogi you try to escape from a procedurally generated building, acquiring resources and equipment along the way, while in Gyou you traverse an endless maze of dungeons.