NOROI KAGO: Toei's Unexpected Expansion Into Horror Games Looks Promising
September 8, 2024
Toei Animation, well-known for its iconic contributions to anime, has taken quite a big step into the gaming industry with its reveal of NOROI KAGO: the Grudged Domain. NOROI KAGO is a GeGeGe no Kitaro-inspired indie horror game — one of Toei's first forays into video game publishing. While Toei's other game in development seems like a more modest endeavor, NOROI KAGO shows potential to be a breakout hit with its unique appeal. It is expected to be released on Steam in 2025.
Yokai Inspirations — Vintage Japanese Aesthetic
GeGeGe no Kitaro is a manga series centered around yokai, which are supernatural entities in Japanese folklore. NOROI KAGO: the Grudged Domain perverts that series a tad bit, turning its comedic characters into evil creatures of the night. Well, they already were evil creatures of the night, but now they're scary.
If you look closely, you can actually see exactly who some of the monsters in NOROI KAGO are based off of. Kitaro is very easy to identify. That design is unmistakable. Gyuki is also pretty easy to spot; although, he looks a lot more terrifying in this horror game. There are other yokai identifiable in the reveal trailer as well such as the oni, but I don't believe there are any other established characters of note to look out for.
What stands out the most, though, is undoubtedly the visual design of the game. It's going for a vintage camera kind of aesthetic. The heavy film grain and monotone colors are definitely big players in that. It honestly looks really good. The environment and models look surprisingly crisp, thanks in part to the high color contrast, which makes the overall aesthetic more visually engaging. It's a good look for the game; it definitely makes it stand out more.
Details On NOROI KAGO's Gameplay
While it's not entirely clear how NOROI KAGO is supposed to play, we do have a pretty good idea based on information shared. First of all, NOROI KAGO will have online, co-op play (up to 4 players). This isn't just for show; you can actually interact with one another in-game. In fact, NOROI KAGO seems to consider multiplayer as the default way to play the game. It makes sense, given the fact that reviving your teammates is an advertised feature. That would go to waste on your lonesome. But yeah, the idea is that everyone will work together to escape the cursed, Yokai domain. You'll be doing that by collecting items. It's one of those games.
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Okay, maybe the gameplay doesn't sound like the most original thing on Earth. That said, it's one thing to read about the game and it's another to actually play it. NOROI KAGO can distinguish itself from other horror games just off of its enemy design. And if we're basing things off of that, then this game has a lot of potential. I mean, the atmosphere looks like it'll be insanely tense. I can only imagine how it'll feel when you're getting chased down. Add in some proximity chat and this could be a big streamer game, regardless of how much extra depth there is to the game.
In due time, we'll see if NOROI KAGO: the Grudged Domain amounts to anything. It's definitely winning on the presentation front, and that's half the battle. Still, I'm stuck on the fact that this is a Toei Animation game...Anyway, it sounds like more news for the game may be coming our way during the Tokyo Game Show so keep your eyes peeled for that!
