Yûrei Station or “Ghost Station” is an independent game made in a very short time span at the workshop at “le Pôle des Arts” of La Joliverie in Nantes. Not only is the art style really neat because of its watercolors and pencil technique, the story itself is built on traditional Japanese ghost stories.
This is a point and click game with a minor puzzle element. Based on memories of Atelier Sentô, this game follows the story of a girl and what happens when she receives some alarming messages. Not really planning on where she is going, the girl leaves home to almost do some soul searching. The end of the game is open for interpretation and some people go as far as to play it more than once to grasp the understanding of the game because the game is fairly short. Roughly, there is about 20 to 30 minutes of play time in the game depending on the player and their puzzle solving abilities. Don’t expect the game to hold your hand though, the player has to work their own way through this one.
Creatively too, for those that may get stuck on puzzles, there is a small feature within the phone in the game that offers some small assistance. For me, I had to go above and beyond to get help toward the end of the game because I don’t speak Japanese. But don’t fret, the puzzle is completely solvable. Through the game, there is an unsettling atmosphere too and the art does just enough to get your attention without needing blood and death to put you out of your element. Some interesting drawings come in as well that just made me curious, like the large face. I’m not sure what this represents but I would be willing to bet there is a good story behind it that we should all want to hear.
The replay value of this game is pretty high and I recommend it. Since the game is short and open for interpretation, the curiosity keeps building every play through. Puzzles are easy and to be honest, it’s fun to show our friends that may not know much about Japanese ghost stories. Since the release of this game as well, there has been another release with the same art style, so we are anticipating another game worthy of multiple plays in the near future.
Play the game FREE here: https://ateliersento.itch.io/yurei-station