Junji Ito has become one of the most popular and influential creators within the modern horror landscape, with his style permeating across continental borders to make him a household name among the fandom. Unsurprisingly, many creators have become inspired by the twisted visions of Ito and his work has become influential across various mediums.
Enter NextDoor, a 2D pixel art visual novel developed by Sijbren Schenkels, Yun Ying Hu, Bjorn Dingeldein and Clément Panchout. The title gets its namesake from Ito’s The Woman Next Door, which inspired the project.
The game has excellent use of sound, with a beautiful midi soundtrack that also embraces terrifying ambient sounds to heighten the tense story. Visually, the use of 2D pixelated graphics benefits the extremely creepy tone allowing the player’s imagination to fill in the graphical gaps.
With a run time that matches the short story, (taking around 10 minutes to complete) NextDoor is a ideal spooky little gem.
Experience the game yourself for free at NextDoor’s ich.io page, or check out our full game playthrough here:
More Video Game Reviews
After Spending 20+ hours with Alien Isolation, I can say that it’s one of the best modern horror games in a long while, from its Gameplay to its sound design:… 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… You may already be aware of the hit mobile game Fate/Grand Order, which has a really fun mix of anime, historical figures, folklore, waifus and even some sci-fi elements! Right… 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… From the minds behind the subscription service Hunt a Killer, Death at the Dive Bar is a single-play investigative murder/mystery game. A quick synopsis from the box is as follows; “A… For those who have been living under a rock for the last few years, Vtubers are a popular format of streamers who use an animated avatar in the style of…Alien Isolation (2014) Game Review – In Space, No One Can Hear You Poop Yourself
Examining One Night at Flumpty’s – A Chaos God of Death (who’s an egg)
Japanese Folklore of Fate/Grand Order: The Tongue-Cut Sparrow
Japan Deep Dive: The Curse of Kowai Shashin (2002)
Hunt A Killer’s Death at the Dive Bar Game Review
Hololive Error Teaser Demo – Video Content
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.