Support NeoGAF

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Gematsu:

HEXADRIVE has announced Japanese-style horror adventure game Niraya of ■■ for PC (Steam, Epic Games Store). It will launch in Q4 2025.

Users attending BitSummit Drift in Kyoto from July 19 to 21 will be able to go hands-on with the game for the first time at the HEXADRIVE booth, as well as interact with the developer, ask questions, and provide feedback.

Here is an overview of the game, via Steam:​

---

"Niraya of ■■"​

"Niraya of ■■" is a Japanese horror game inspired by the Buddhist beliefs of the Kamakura period. The game focuses on a unique system where players "avoid" the attacks of various monsters, rather than defeating or hiding from them. This, combined with the fear of exploring eerie environments and solving puzzles, is a major draw of the game.​

A Unique Gameplay Experience of Dodging​

"Niraya of ■■" emphasizes "dodging" instead of the typical actions of "repelling," "hiding," or "fighting" found in major horror games. Players control a young child, managing limited stamina and using their surroundings to evade monster attacks. While being pursued by supernatural creatures, players will experience the thrill of finding ways to survive through trial and error.​

The Fear of Exploring an Unknown World​

In this game, the protagonist is cast into a mysterious realm unknown to the modern world and must attempt to escape. Players will guide the protagonist through unknown areas, solving hidden puzzles to progress. However, as mentioned, the exploration is filled with terrifying experiences, including strange phenomena and sudden monster attacks.

 

[Pejo]

Love the concept but the gameplay looks REALLY rough. I thought he ran into the brazier at the end and caught his hair on fire at first, had to rewatch it to see it was just some weird lighting.

Gives me kind of a Clock Tower vibe in that you're a pathetic weakling of a character and seemingly need to hide/avoid the monster. Dunno why they thought they had to make his default running animation look like he dropped a deuce in his pants though.

 

[Mephisto40]

Looks like an asset flip tbh

 

[peronmls]

Well that looked a little goofy.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[Clear]

Shat pants simulator judging from that walking animation!

 

[alphachino]

I buy anything hecadrive put out. The bluepoint of the east!

 

[DragonNCM]

I'm sick & tiered of playing games with tank controls....look.....you cant even turn properly.
Horror element in games need to FUCKING FORGET TANK CONTROLLS. They rly need to learn from Alien isolation.......

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Niraya of what?

How do you even pronounce that thing?

Niraya of double black square.

 

[Rickyiez]

Why is the camera so fucking close to the character. I'm gonna puke a few time playing this from nausea, not from getting scared

 

[CamHostage]

Well, it's not their best genre (although they were involved with Silent Hill The Short Message,) and in skipping through the trailer, I'm not seeing a lot that shows why they want to do a horror game. Still, it's Hexadrive, so I will trust their ambition at this stage and wish them well...

Still, this looks so early, I'm worried that the reason it posted so early is that they are in a bad way and in need of new options. Hopefully that's a mistaken read of the situation.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[Bartski]

I tried playing the demo as near suggested, ran on a single unit of ROG handheld at the asus booth. No way to change screen prompts from k&m, the game crashed twice on reaching the first action sequence, but then when it didn’t it froze on the retry screen after I failed the first monster encounter. Might as well be an interesting game but no way to tell

 

[near]

I tried playing the demo as near suggested, ran on a single unit of ROG handheld at the asus booth. No way to change screen prompts from k&m, the game crashed twice on reaching the first action sequence, but then when it didn’t it froze on the retry screen after I failed the first monster encounter. Might as well be an interesting game but no way to tell

Fuck! RIP game. I wonder why they wanted to demo it only the ROG handheld? It’s a shame because HexaDrive use to be full of really competent technical wizards, so to hear it’s running poorly isn’t a good sign. Thanks for making the effort to go check it out for me Bartski, I appreciate it bro.

 

[Killer8]

HexaDrive just need to stick to being a porting and support studio. They had the potential to be the next Bluepoint at one point. These companies need to know their place and not even attempt making new IP.

Konami could make a ton of money putting them to work on a proper Team Silent collection instead of having them make The Short Message.