Sumizome Roukaku (Ink-Dyed Pavilion) (Free Suspense Horror Novel) - Introduction and Review

This is an introduction and review article for the visual novel "Sumizome Roukaku" by 8bluepiece.
This is a visual novel game set in the Meiji and Taisho periods.
I would describe it as a suspense game that incorporates elements of horror, mystery, and fantasy.

I happened to learn about the existence of this work from a tweet by someone I follow on X, and after playing it, I ended up reading it all in one go.
The biggest appeal of this game is its story, which gets progressively more interesting from the very beginning.
The film is packed with highlights, including intricate plot twists and their resolution, and thrilling mystery scenes where you try to figure out who the culprit is.

The completion time was approximately 10 hours.
(Until you see the TRUE END)

Game Overview

The story takes place in 1915 (Taisho 4), and centers on Ichiha, a young girl working for the wealthy Onguji family.
One night, unable to fall asleep, he went for a walk in the garden of his estate, where he was stabbed with a dagger by a mysterious figure wearing a Hannya mask and lost consciousness.

When Ichiba regains consciousness, the stab wound he was supposed to have had is gone, and he wakes up in the Omiyaji residence.
However, there was no sign of anyone in the mansion, and it was different in many ways from the mansion I knew.

Moreover, strange creatures roam the mansion, and if they spot you, they will chase after you.
The long story begins with everything shrouded in mystery: where are you, why are you here, and who are these monsters?
Can I escape from here by cooperating with other people?

It's basically a linear story with six bad endings.
Many of the choices you make are quite important, so it's a good idea to save your progress as you go.

Review (no spoilers)

I was completely engrossed until the very end and managed to complete it.
This is a suspense novel set in the Taisho era, but it also has mystery elements, and the power of the mystery drives the reader forward.
Once you've read through the first 30 minutes or so, you'll find yourself unable to resist wanting to know what happens next.

I feel frustrated that I can't write anything specific because I think it would spoil the fun.
While it might seem like a death game horror story where the protagonist is chased by monsters, that single idea isn't enough to sustain the work; it's merely one element among many.
The setting is utilized effectively to create a great deal of suspense, and there are exciting scenes at key points.

When I first started reading, I thought it would continue in this same style, but there are so many plot twists that I think you'll be able to read through it without getting bored.
If I had to point out a flaw, it would be that the early stages of the game might be a little slow.
「Shizuki YoukaI think people who like works like "Higurashi When They Cry" are especially likely to enjoy this.

It was undoubtedly a wonderful story, but I'd like to mention a few things that bothered me regarding the system.
First of all, the fact that you can only save data in five slots was inconvenient.
There are so many scenes I want to reread, but unfortunately, it's not even possible to save them as a bookmark.
Since there is no downloadable version and it can only be played in a browser, you cannot use the trick of saving your game data separately.

Another minor inconvenience was the inability to change the message speed.
At the default speed, it feels a little slow to me.
The skip function doesn't distinguish between read and unread messages, and it's not particularly fast, so I hesitated to use it.

These points are important to me personally when it comes to visual novels, and under normal circumstances, they might have caused me to stop playing immediately.
However, I still had a strong desire to play this game to the end, and in the end, those points became almost negligible.
Rather than viewing this point as a negative, I would like to note that it was so enjoyable that it more than made up for this drawback.

Thoughts and screenshots included (spoiler alert)

From here on, I will be writing my impressions, which may contain spoilers.
Due to the nature of the work, spoilers may diminish the enjoyment of the game, so please be careful if you haven't played it yet.

I love the mischievous look that Ichiba sometimes (or often) shows.
She looks quiet and reserved when she's silent, so the contrast with her face is appealing.

It reminded me of a dungeon in a roguelike game.
If there's no chance of a hundred-sided creature getting under the floor, then I feel it's a pretty safe place.
I was worried that revealing a safe zone so early in the game would diminish the sense of tension, but since the main focus isn't on being chased around on a hundred levels, it wasn't a problem.

This is the first time I've ever heard of the color "tomekon-iro" (dark blue).
I think it's amazing how you can casually include such words in your writing.
By the way, the color of this lettering is dark blue (#1c305c).

At first, the characters seemed to be from diverse backgrounds in terms of occupation and gender, but as their connections and relationships gradually began to be revealed, the story became exponentially more interesting from that point onward.

Here comes Misaka, the one in charge of military matters.
I was surprised to learn that you can at least repel an enemy by relentlessly attacking them one after another.
However, their ammunition supply is limited, and they're probably not the kind of opponents we can easily defeat.

We don't know the true identity of the shrine god, but he looks like a different color version of Seisou, so there might be some reason for that, such as being related by blood.

These kinds of family trees are thrilling in horror and suspense stories.
I found it horrifying that the "task" of sacrificing humans was so frequent that it required leaving notes.

While the horror and suspense elements are the main draw of this film, I felt that it also focuses heavily on themes such as "blood ties" and "family bonds."
There were many scenes involving family that brought tears to my eyes, and these scenes also left a lasting impression on me.

Uncle Taisei was incredibly cool when he appeared like a hero in that desperate situation.
Thanks to the pre-existing animosity between us and the Omiyaji family, they ultimately helped us out.
While he probably didn't actually shoot and kill the other person, it's easy to imagine that the situation was so intimidating that it wouldn't have been surprising if he had.

Similarly, Misaka-san is a fighting machine who comes to the rescue when you're in a desperate situation.
From Misaka's perspective, several years must have passed, but she kept her promise.

I laughed at how Wakaba's expression at that moment was so full of murderous intent.
While it's true that Yukihisa Omiyaji is naturally a womanizer, he may not be acting solely on desire, as he needs to increase his stock of sacrifices.

Compared to when we first met at Sumizome Pavilion, he seems to have become more human, perhaps due to the passage of time.
While their combat-machine-like appearance is cool, their Western-style attire is also very appealing.

Iroha's vitality and willingness to do anything to survive is something to be admired.
Perhaps it stems from her past experience of nearly being killed, but I get the feeling she has a mental aptitude for survival on par with Misaka.

Although it's a standard character portrait, the way the black shadows are cast gives it a sense of power and intensity.
I was quite shocked by this detective-like deduction scene, as it revealed the true identity of Mr. Abiru, whom I hadn't really paid much attention to before.

I like this defiant smile; it reminds me of Kuroi Chiba.
The line, "So you're dead too," is ironically effective.

That scene made me realize how abnormal Seisou is.
Even if it doesn't actually kill her, shooting Misaka-san in the back of the head, who has been taking care of you, is going way too far.
I felt really sorry for Misaka.

The part about the body being thrown into the well disappearing is a common trope in "scary stories that make sense once you understand them," but I felt it was cleverly woven into the episode.

Misaka was killed by Seisou and happened to end up here, but since she finally met the person who killed her family, perhaps it all worked out for the best.
Regarding the identity of the enemy, I was convinced that it could only be that one person.

The image of countless hands reaching out from the darkness and pulling me away reminds me of the vision from "The Path You Must Not Look Back On" in Part 4 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
It's visually terrifying, but seeing the nemesis get drawn in is incredibly satisfying.

※EDのネタバレは規約に控えて欲しいと書いてあったため、削除しました。
（２０２６年９月３０日追記）