World of Horror (Official GOG Installer)

2023 · horror · Paweł Koźmiński

World of Horror is an Indie Horror RPG Game that was developed by Paweł Koźmiński and published by Ysbyrd Games on October 19th, 2023 for PC. This is the Official GOG Installer for the game. Description - Wikipedia World of Horror [ a ] is a 2023 role-playing video game developed by Paweł Koźmiński and published by Ysbryd Games. It takes place in the year "198X" in the fictional town of Shiokawa, Japan. The player explores various locations and fights otherworldly creatures in order to halt a looming apocalypse. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Initially conceived as a card board game , Koźmiński later reimagined the project as a video game, inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft and Junji Ito , among others. The game's art design has a 1-bit pixel art , created by Koźmiński in Microsoft Paint . Cassandra Khaw provided additional writing, while Sebastian Zybowski and Joseph Bailey composed the soundtrack. Koźmiński released several World of Horror demos on itch.io before launching the game in early access in February 2020. After several delays, the full game was released on 19 October 2023 for macOS and Windows . Versions for Nintendo Switch , PlayStation 4 , and PlayStation 5 were released on 26 October. It received generally favorable reviews, with praise for its narrative and visuals, though some criticism was directed at its gameplay, particularly the combat. Gameplay Screenshot of enemy encounter World of Horror is a roguelite role-playing game, built around individual self-contained playthroughs consisting of five different "mysteries" that must be solved, each corresponding to one of five keys that are used at the end of the playthrough to enter a locked lighthouse, in order to defeat one of several possible Old Gods that is threatening the town. The player must do this before the game's "DOOM" meter reaches 100%, which marks the point at which the entity is summoned. DOOM increases each time the player takes an action, and can increase further as a result of certain events. Each of the various Old Gods apply various unique effects or limitations on gameplay. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] The game features turn-based combat where the player queues up actions and attacks to be used against hostile creatures, [ 5 ] many of which are based on creatures from Japanese horror manga or urban legends, such as Kuchisake-onna . [ 6 ] The game also incorporates adventure game and roguelike elements through its exploration and puzzle-solving mechanics. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] Development and release World of Horror is the debut project of Polish developer Paweł Koźmiński, also known as Panstasz. [ 9 ] Initially conceived as a card board game , [ 10 ] it draws inspiration from the works of H. P. Lovecraft and Junji Ito , 1970s and 1980s Japanese horror , [ 2 ] direct-to-video films, as well as The Thing (1982) and The Fly (1986). [ 9 ] Finding the card board game format too time-consuming, Koźmiński later reimagined the project as a video game, [ 10 ] developing it during his spare time while working as a dentist. [ 11 ] A publishing deal with Ysbryd Games eventually allowed him to pursue World of Horror full-time. [ 9 ] Cassandra Khaw , known for her work on Sunless Skies (2019) and Wasteland 3 (2020), provided additional writing. [ 12 ] [ 13 ] The Old Gods, who serve as antagonists in World of Horror , were partly inspired by the deities in Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos . [ 2 ] For the art design, Koźmiński created thousands of images using Microsoft Paint . He found the limitations of the editor "actually really inspiring and somehow relaxing", noting that it "really force[s] you to get creative with it, which is a huge thing". He opted for a 1-bit pixel art style to emulate Ito's manga [ 11 ] and to evoke the aesthetic of early computer interfaces, such as those of the PC-8800 , PC-9801 , and Macintosh II . [ 2 ] The game was developed using the GameMaker Studio 2 engine. [ 14 ] Between 2016 and 2019, Koźmiński released several World of Horror demos on itch.io . [ 10 ] [ 12 ] [ 15 ] He announced the game in July 2018 with a teaser trailer on YouTube [ 16 ] [ 17 ] and showcased the project at various events, including PAX . [ 9 ] [ 10 ] It was launched in early access in February 2020, [ 13 ] followed by numerous updates based on player feedback to expand both story and gameplay elements. [ b ] The full game was released on 19 October 2023 for macOS and Windows , [ 4 ] after several delays—initially from its original 2019 release date to late 2020, [ 17 ] [ 22 ] then to summer 2023, [ 23 ] and finally to its October date. The soundtrack, composed by Sebastian Zybowski and Joseph Bailey, was released on 24 October. [ 24 ] [ 25 ] [ 26 ] Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 versions followed on 26 October, [ 27 ] with the physical Switch edition including an instruction manual and the Old Gods art card set. [ 28 ] Fangamer also launched a line of World of Horror merchandise, featuring items such as clothing. [ 29 ] Reception Critical Response World of Horror received