
Gregory Horror Show is a 2003 Japanese mystery survival horror, developed by Capcom and released on PS2 in Japan and in Europe a few months later. The game is based on the dark CG anime of the same name, created by Naomi Iwata
Gregory Horror Show puts players into a role as themselves, as they have lost their way and wander into a hotel called Gregory House, but soon find that leaving is not quite as simple as entering. Gregory House is no ordinary hotel, but a weird alternate, fourth dimension, reminiscent of a dreamlike state. While searching for an exit, players encounter Death who promises to return the player to their own dimension if they collect all the wandering souls locked in the hotel.
Being a 3rd person survival horror made by Capcom, Gregory Horror Show shares a slight resemblance in gameplay to their Resident Evil series. The protagonist wanders through the abnormal layout of a huge building, solving item-based puzzles to progress further towards their overall goal. Only, instead of managing a standard health bar, the game instead focuses on the protagonist’s mental state. Witness too much trauma and your character is likely to go insane, but fear not, as you can recover your mental vigour through reading the many books scattered around the hotel, sleeping in your room, and… you guessed it, by collecting herbs.
What makes Gregory Horror Show’s gameplay so unique for the era is its reliance on NPC scripting. Each character featured in the hotel has their own set schedule throughout the day, often seen roaming the halls on their way to their next task. As you progress further in your quest to collect souls for death, the more soulless NPCs you will encounter and, therefore the tougher it will be to traverse the corridors of the hotel in search of fresh souls. If these newly formed enemies will lower your mental state low enough, the player will enter a “horror show”. A full-motion animated video of mild horror, varying depending on the NPC that caught you.
Additionally, the numerous status effects that can affect the player deliver a constant need to maintain a balance in gameplay. Forgoing sleep for too long, the character becomes tired which does not show its negative effects right away. However, ignore this warning and the status will to negative buffs such as a headache (slowly depletes mental gauge), nervousness (healing items are half as effective), and confusion (difficulty controlling the player), among other debilitating statuses.
Similar to its CG anime counterpart, Gregory Horror Show features a very stylised visual design. Although the hotel itself resembles a regular hotel, not so different from what most would expect from a PS2 game from the era. The character designs are incredibly unique in their depiction, with the original anime CG medium making it effortless to transfer into a videogame. These characters range from intentionally goofy-looking to disarmingly disturbing in appearance, retaining their blocky, rudimentary bodies rather than having more human features.
An incredibly idiosyncratic experience, Gregory Horror Show is unlike anything released at the time. The implementation of NPC scripting creates a sense of life throughout the hotel rarely seen in games of this era or even on the console. Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly difficult to play the game, with the only way being an original PS2 copy. These copies can go for a ridiculously large amount of around $600 online, hampering most people’s ability to experience this distinctive survival horror experience. However, the game is still available to play through emulation, which is certainly the preferable way for most people to play.
More Game Reviews
Kuon, developed by FromSoftware, is an atmospheric survival horror game released for the PlayStation 2 in 2004. Set in the Heian period of Japan, the game presents a gripping, eerie… Today I’d like to talk to you about the visual novel series, Spirit Hunter, known in Japan as Shinrei Horror (心霊ホラー), a series that seems to have passed many by,… Christmas Massacre is a 2021 seasonal-themed stealth slasher, developed and published by Puppet Combo and Vague Scenario LLC. The game takes inspiration from the gore-drenched horror films of the 70s… The following article contains spoilers for the One Night At Flumpty’s games. If you want to experience the surprises first hand ‘One Night At Flumpty’s: The Egg Collection’ is on… Mothmen 1966 is a 2022 interactive adventure/visual novel developed by LCB Game Studio and published by Chorus Worldwide. LCB Game Studio is a small Argentinian indie developer consisting of… Hello, fellow weirdos! Today, we are delving into the Kowai Shashin, a purportedly cursed Japanese video game with a fascinating marketing strategy that incorporates urban legends and exploits the naivety…Kuon (2004) Video Game Review – A Forgotten Survival Horror Classic
Spirit Hunter (2019) Game Review – A J-Horror Visual Novel Series
Christmas Massacre (2021) Game Review – Someone’s Halls Are About To Get Decked
Examining One Night at Flumpty’s – A Chaos God of Death (who’s an egg)
Mothmen 1966 (2022) Game Review – Pulp Fiction
Japan Deep Dive: The Curse of Kowai Shashin (2002)

Hey there, I’m Jim and I’m located in London, UK. I am a Writer and Managing Director here at Grimoire of Horror. A lifelong love of horror and writing has led me down this rabbit hole, allowing me to meet many amazing people and experience some truly original artwork. I specialise in world cinema, manga/graphic novels, and video games but will sometime traverse into the unknown in search of adventure.