The Vanished Scream (Free Horror Action ADV Game) - Introduction and Review

I played "The Vanished Scream," a horror action-adventure game created with RPG Maker MV.
Including the retries, I was able to clear it in about two hours.
The thrilling suspense and shocking truth made this a captivating work.

Game Overview

This is an action-adventure game where the protagonist, who has been kidnapped by a mysterious man, attempts to escape while being chased.
While the overall atmosphere is horror-themed, the gameplay is a thrilling combination of action and puzzle-solving.

You can choose the difficulty level,The game is basically designed with the expectation that players will need to restart.
Since trial and error is the basic principle, if you get caught up to and it's game over, just start over.
The pacing is good because each stage isn't too long and each stage has a specific theme.

thoughts

The game was thrilling and kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish, as I had to solve mysteries while being chased by a mysterious man.
The puzzle itself isn't that difficult, and if you're really stuck, the author's website has a walkthrough.
The puzzles can be solved by reading a walkthrough, but the chase sequences require the player's own experience and skill.

It seems that playing with headphones is recommended, but I was playing using my PC's speakers.
どうやら男の足音に耳を澄ませることで、回避しやすい仕組みになっているようです。
Using this might make it a little easier.
男がどこにいるか分からないときは恐る恐る歩いていました。
そのため、急に出会ってしまったときなどは、声が出そうになるほど驚いてしまいました。
(Image taken just before game over ↓)

The part where the truth is revealed towards the end of the game was fantastic because it made sense of the foreshadowing.
If you're interested, I highly recommend playing the game to find out the truth.

Analysis (contains spoilers)

This section contains spoilers, so if you haven't finished the game or haven't played it yet, you should stop reading here.
Also, please be aware that this contains spoilers for another free game called "The Witch's House."

12019 / Pixabay

This game is an action-adventure game where you must solve mysteries and escape while being chased by a killer.
However, I think the most distinctive feature is the twist at the end.
In other words,The protagonist being pursued is one of the classmates who bullied and killed "Yumi," and the killer who is pursuing him is "Yumi's" father.This is the scene where the truth is revealed.
Just when you think you've escaped, you end up falling into a pit, and a feeling of futility and despair washes over you.
However, the truth is revealed immediately afterward, and the bad ending turns into a good-versus-evil ending.
The protagonist's seemingly gentle appearance in the graphics led me to mistakenly perceive him as a "victim," which was misleading.

There is a free game called "The Witch's House" that has a similar, but inverted, structure.
That work is,What I thought was a good ending was actually a bad ending.It was innovative in that respect.
The shock of the truth and the lingering unpleasantness hit you at the same time, leaving a deep scar on the player's heart.
This film, which I initially thought would have a bad ending, turns out to have a not-so-bad ending (though I wouldn't say it's a good ending), so compared to "The Witch's House," I thought it left a better aftertaste.
In both works, there are convincing justifications for the tools and mechanisms provided for escape, and I was impressed by how well-developed the settings were.

Based on the information obtained when the game ends, the protagonist is a 20-something office worker.
So, who is the main character among "Riko," "Yuna," "Runoa," and "Kyoko"?
It doesn't really matter who it is, but since the name suits the atmosphere of the character's portrait, I'm going to go with the theory that "the protagonist = Yuna," based on my own personal opinion and bias.

(Added on March 18, 2019: According to the author, it was about today.)