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
The sixth-generation era of video games is often regarded as the pinnacle of survival horror, having granted us titles such as Silent Hill 2, Fatal Frame, Forbidden Siren, and the… Hello, everybody, this is Anthony and in this article I will explore the ghostly video game series ZERO, a.k.a Fatal Frame in North America a.k.a Project Zero in Europe and… Hi fellow weirdos! Javi here again with another curious Japanese videogame of the early 90s. For those familiar with the fantastically oneiric LSD: Dream Emulator game, the Osamu Sato name… Silent Hill is potentially coming for 2020. An industry insider has disclosed an upcoming announcement for Silent Hill at a future convention we cannot legally mention, which may or may… Atlus’s Persona series is a critically acclaimed video game franchise which depicts a group of high-school students battling creatures known as Shadows by using “Personas.” Personas in this context are… 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…Ikai (2022) Game Review – A Treat for Fans of Japanese-Inspired Horror Games
PROJECT ZERO – A retrospective of the terrifying Fatal Frame series
Eastern Mind: The Lost Souls of Tong Nou (1994) Game Insight – From the Mind of Osamu Sato
Silent Hill 2020 almost confirmed. There was a source here, it’s gone now.
Persona 3 The Movie #2 : Midsummer Knight’s Dream (2014) Review – Battlefield Unconscious
Japanese Folklore of Fate/Grand Order: The Tongue-Cut Sparrow
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.