Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo review: An exceptional masterpiece of enigmatic storytelling

Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is a horror mystery visual novel. It takes place in the city of Sumida during the Showa period (1926-1989). The game allows players to assume the role of several characters and tell the tale through their perspectives, with players having the ability to twist the fate of the characters and ultimately decide the conclusion.

Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo has everything a fan of the genre would expect. It delivers a compelling narrative of mystery, horror, and the paranormal.

I received the review code for Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo before its launch. Hence, there was sufficient time to explore its multiple endings and completely understand the lore, uncovering every little secret the developers have included in the game. In this review, I will be taking a closer look at the various elements that make up the game.

This includes the story, audio design, art style, and gameplay. However, I won't add any details that might ruin your experience with Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo and possibly spoil the storyline.

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Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo: First impressions

Regarding video games, I usually avoid visual novels since they offer little in terms of gameplay. While I enjoyed games like Doki Doki Literature Club! and the Ace Attorney series, only a few visual novels have been able to live up to the mark.

However, when I heard about Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo, the intriguing nature of the plot grabbed my attention. In this section, I will review my initial impressions of the game and how it sets you up for the rest of the tale.

Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo starts off with a tutorial where a mysterious personality converses with you. He tries to understand you and asks a few questions, instantly piquing my attention. Instead of interacting with the game, it interacted with me. The mysterious character then talks about the paranormal and curses.

He explains how the various gameplay mechanics work, such as looking around the world and adjusting the settings (an important factor).

The story arc of the first character you are introduced to, Shogo Okiie, begins. The first section acts as a tutorial, and while generally boring, Paranormasight does a tremendous job of making this section of the game interesting. In fact, the tutorial section forms the basis of the entire story.

As soon as the first section ended, I was confused yet intrigued about the rest of the tale.

The game then introduces you to other characters. As previously stated, Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo has several characters, allowing you, through their eyes, to continue this mysterious and thrilling journey.

Every action you complete can impact other characters' lives in the game and the story. With Shogo Okiie’s arc having ended, you step into the shoes of other characters and uncover The Seven Mysteries of Honjo.

The intense introduction incites several emotions within you, only for you to want more and continue playing through. Having said that, my first impressions were amazing. I didn’t expect a visual novel game to grab my attention so quickly and keep me hooked until the end(s).

Thrilling narrative with ordinary gameplay mechanics - Analysis of story and gameplay

Story

Some of the characters in Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo (Image via Square Enix)

The story is one of the most interesting aspects of Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo. There are multiple characters in the game who, upon chance, end up amidst twisted curses. I will try to steer through this section without going in-depth to avoid any spoilers.

The story takes place in Sumida city, where ancient curses from the Edo period have suddenly been activated. These curses have taken inspiration from the Seven Wonders of Honjos, a collection of ghost stories and urban legends from the Edo period.

Nine curses possess some of the characters, known as curse bearers. They can kill people using their curse stones, provided that the victim fulfills the requirements for the curse. Each curse is unique and devised from ancient tales of the unfortunate who now hex those who live.

Now you might wonder, why use the curse stones when you can throw them away or destroy them? Well, killing people with these stones grants them soul dregs, which can be used to bring the dead to life, also called the Rite of Resurrection.

Unfortunately, all the characters who possess the stones long for someone who no longer exists, and thus chaos ensues. Amidst this, a former criminal has returned from jail, threatening to take the lives of hundreds, creating panic and a state of emergency in the city.

Mio and Yakko in Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo (Image via Square Enix)

This is only the gist of Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo. Going in-depth into the storyline will only ruin the game for you. However, the story is exceptionally well written, and the game has multiple endings. However, there is only one good ending, which is the easiest to miss.

Finding the game's ending is nearly impossible unless you follow walkthroughs or decide to replay Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo.

The writers have done well in weaving the stories of different characters together, uniting strangers from different worlds due to fate and history. Each character is unique with a distinct personality but united by their obsession with the Rite of Resurrection. Only a handful of games can tell a story so intricately, bringing out the best (or worst) within you.

That said, I only have one complaint regarding the narrative of Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo. Being a horror story, it does little to instill fear in the player. Instead of giving one an eerie feeling, players empathize with the in-game characters.

The mystery behind the Seven Mysteries of Honjo and crimes in Sumida City is so intriguing that it diverts your attention from the horror element the game sets out to provide.

Gameplay

Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo can be played using just a mouse and offers little in terms of gameplay. Being a visual novel, it mostly involves reading up on in-game characters, events, and the history of the game’s plot.

In terms of gameplay, you spend most of your time exploring the game’s world using your mouse, clicking on various objects to reveal details about them, and solving puzzles.

Some of these puzzles can be challenging and involve players transitioning between different characters’ story arcs or reading up the game’s log book to complete them successfully.

Apart from that, you can interact with the game itself (in two instances) by fiddling with the settings. After failing to find the right adjustments several times, the mysterious man at the beginning appeared again and guided me on what to do.

Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo (Image via Square Enix)

For a visual novel, I didn’t expect much from Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo regarding gameplay, but these quirky ways of interacting with the game add a sense of surprise that makes up for it.

So despite the lack of proper gameplay mechanics, I enjoyed the minimalist approach that the game has taken. While these little elements don’t completely constitute gameplay mechanics, they are fun to explore.

Graphics, audio, and performance: Three components of immersion

Graphics

Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is a 2D visual novel and doesn't offer much in terms of graphics. However, the art design is impressive, and the designers have done well in that aspect. The character models and the world are beautifully crafted, with each visual element of the game given attention.

The characters and their expressions are well-animated. It is so brilliantly executed that you don’t need to hear them speak to feel the various emotions they portray.

Apart from the world and the characters, the user interface is also well-designed. You often need to enter the game’s menu to recollect events and read up on places, people, or curses. Thankfully, this experience isn’t hampered by a poorly designed UI.

Audio

Music in Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is top-notch. You can sit through the main menu listening to the intro for hours. Being a visual novel, the characters don’t speak, but the music brings various moments to life. The game relies heavily on music which helps portray the intensity of a situation.

The background score is soft and slow, particularly when a deep in-game conversation occurs. Similarly, once the characters discover something intriguing about their conversation, the game smoothly transitions to a mysterious soundtrack.

Performance

Being a visual novel, the game's technical requirements are not high, and it will run on almost any modern hardware without breaking a sweat. I didn't encounter even one crash in my entire playthrough (including replays). Moreover, no bugs were encountered in my entire playthrough or glitches.

This is surprising, considering the situation with PC ports these days. But it is worth noting that Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is merely a visual novel and doesn’t demand high resources, nor is it technologically complicated enough to cause a crash.

Conclusion

Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is an exceptionally well-written game that nails the narrative aspect. It tells an intriguing tale of eight characters intertwined due to ancient curses. The game combines several genres, such as horror and mystery, to present a beautiful game that captivates the player from the moment they set foot into the fictional realm of Honjo.

While it qualifies as a horror game, it does little to portray the theme. Although the game falls behind in gameplay, its puzzles and the requirement to read up on the events keep players hooked.

The audio comes a close second to the narrative, bringing the world of Paranormasight to life. Despite being a 2D game, the exceptional art design makes it appear like a well-produced anime series.

Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is a must-play for those seeking a solid story that becomes more intense as the game progresses.