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PARANORMASIGHT: THE SEVEN MYSTERIES OF HONJO
review | SWITCH
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Publisher: Square Enix.
Developer: Xeen. Released: March 2023. Genre: Investigation; Visual Novel. Other versions: PC. Posted 9th March 2026. By Tom Clare © 2026 |
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What lengths would you go to, what sacrifices would you be willing to make or to mete out, to bring someone back from the dead? Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo poses this question, seemingly innocuously, at the very beginning, and it will ask you again right at the very end. There isn’t a great deal riding on the player’s selection, though it speaks of Xeen’s confidence in its story that the developer suspects your viewpoint may well have altered based on what you experience during the period in between. We love a good mystery, and even more so one that has you pondering the ethics of power.
Sometimes, all we ask for is to be lost in a great story, and whilst visual novels rarely make for truly satisfying gaming experience unto themselves, the investigation genre has, since the mid-2000s, helped facilitate an array of thought-provoking narratives. In particular, a niche that has focused on tales of the supernatural, games of death, and chilling mysteries that centre around the unexplained and the uncanny. Paranormasight is another title that matches modern Japan with an ancient curse, weaving its unpredictable tale through a number of branching narrative strands, incorporating surprising twists and novel gameplay touches to keep players guessing.
What triggers the deadly curses? Players must stay vigilant, though not everyone with a curse object has the same motivations
The Seven Mysteries of Honjo begins with a masked storyteller standing in a black room, with just an old TV set for company. This enigmatic conductor proceeds to ask the player a little about themselves. It’s rather reminiscent of The Dark Pictures Anthology. You’ll periodically find yourself returning to this narrator figure, who appears to exist outside of the scenario. Through teenager Shogo, you’ll learn about a sequence of deadly curse objects that have surfaced in Honjo. These can be held onto, given up, or used to kill: taking the life of another curse bearer allows you to collect their object and their soul dregs. These take the user one step closer to performing a Rite of Resurrection: bringing back to life a lost loved one. The rub is, each curse object is triggered differently, and no bearer knows the means by which the others are activated.
There’s more than a hint of The Nonary Games to Xeen’s effort, and not just because the seven mysteries of the title actually number nine. The central intrigue behind the curses is, initially at least, that you aren’t sure of the conditions that activate them. Thus, when two curse bearers meet, with one or both hoping to claim the other’s curse object, a tense stand-off typically ensues, with characters aiming to steer conversations and behaviours down a certain path. There’s no easy way of knowing how or when you’ve triggered a curse until it’s too late. Furthermore, not all curses are equal. Some are exceptionally dangerous, requiring only that the character gets their victim to walk away, or say something considered deceptive. Others, such as the curse that requires the victim to be carrying a lighter on their person, rely on far more particular conditions.
There’s more than a hint of The Nonary Games to Xeen’s effort, and not just because the seven mysteries of the title actually number nine. The central intrigue behind the curses is, initially at least, that you aren’t sure of the conditions that activate them. Thus, when two curse bearers meet, with one or both hoping to claim the other’s curse object, a tense stand-off typically ensues, with characters aiming to steer conversations and behaviours down a certain path. There’s no easy way of knowing how or when you’ve triggered a curse until it’s too late. Furthermore, not all curses are equal. Some are exceptionally dangerous, requiring only that the character gets their victim to walk away, or say something considered deceptive. Others, such as the curse that requires the victim to be carrying a lighter on their person, rely on far more particular conditions.
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These rules and possibilities are exploited across an exciting sequence of events near the beginning, seeing the game at its creative best. Pinpointing where you’re going wrong during certain dialogues can be surprisingly challenging, and sometimes calls for some left-field reasoning. How to stop a curse activating when all that’s needed to kill the player is that they hear the curse bearer speak the word ‘wash’? The answer to this lies in the sound menu. There’s also a bit of game logic required to indicate to a spirit that they won’t be forgotten.
It isn’t long before the game instigates its first bit of misdirection. After a frantic opening, the game abruptly pivots to focus on three main protagonists. Paranormasight settles into safer visual novel territory, albeit with some investigation and exploration elements thrown in to keep things ticking over. The narrative crosses back and forth, with the plot unfolding from the perspectives of Harue, a woman unable to deal with the grief of having her young son kidnapped and murdered; Yakko, a schoolgirl whose friend died a few weeks prior to the events of the story; and Tetsuo, a policeman trying to round up curses and limit the damage. It’s a refreshingly refined take on the genre. Characters lend the story colour and depth, neatly side-stepping peculiar modern anime stereotypes, and with no voice-acting, there’s nothing to mire the game’s effective, oppressive tone in pantomime schlock. Instead, you’re free to appreciate some very decent writing, a nice line in humour that isn’t overplayed, and a likeable roll-call of macabre, and occasionally deranged, characters.
It isn’t long before the game instigates its first bit of misdirection. After a frantic opening, the game abruptly pivots to focus on three main protagonists. Paranormasight settles into safer visual novel territory, albeit with some investigation and exploration elements thrown in to keep things ticking over. The narrative crosses back and forth, with the plot unfolding from the perspectives of Harue, a woman unable to deal with the grief of having her young son kidnapped and murdered; Yakko, a schoolgirl whose friend died a few weeks prior to the events of the story; and Tetsuo, a policeman trying to round up curses and limit the damage. It’s a refreshingly refined take on the genre. Characters lend the story colour and depth, neatly side-stepping peculiar modern anime stereotypes, and with no voice-acting, there’s nothing to mire the game’s effective, oppressive tone in pantomime schlock. Instead, you’re free to appreciate some very decent writing, a nice line in humour that isn’t overplayed, and a likeable roll-call of macabre, and occasionally deranged, characters.
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The absence of voicing puts further onus on the music, which is a very good thing, because The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is propelled by a stunning score. It should not be understated how big a part the audio plays in charging the atmosphere. There’s a raft of unsettling tunes to set the player on edge, with highlights including “Main Theme”, “Yin Yang”, and “Suspicion”. The standout amongst a stellar collection of songs is the spine-chilling “Curse Echoes”, whose spidery piano patter, dramatic violins and nightmarish, discordant harmonies make for an unforgettable combination that’s guaranteed to raise the hackles. The music is simply magnificent.
It looks fantastic, too. Manga-style characters are superbly drawn, and though the animation is fairly simplistic, its richly coloured settings are given distinction by the game’s use of chromatic aberration. This effect can be turned off, but doing so tempers Paranormasight’s unique visual appeal. Many of the locations allow the player to pan the camera through wide arcs, sometimes a full 360 degrees, and these capture detailed, attractive modern Japanese locales. Creative ideas and active gameplay involvement go a little quiet for a time as story progression takes priority in the middle portion, but with five main endings and a hidden sixth, alternative outcome to unearth, you’ll likely be glued to it all the way until full completion, which in my case, was around ten hours.
It looks fantastic, too. Manga-style characters are superbly drawn, and though the animation is fairly simplistic, its richly coloured settings are given distinction by the game’s use of chromatic aberration. This effect can be turned off, but doing so tempers Paranormasight’s unique visual appeal. Many of the locations allow the player to pan the camera through wide arcs, sometimes a full 360 degrees, and these capture detailed, attractive modern Japanese locales. Creative ideas and active gameplay involvement go a little quiet for a time as story progression takes priority in the middle portion, but with five main endings and a hidden sixth, alternative outcome to unearth, you’ll likely be glued to it all the way until full completion, which in my case, was around ten hours.
Super-stylish visual design and chilling music ensure Paranormasight's big moments land with impact
Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is a little less involved than either the Danganronpa series or the Nonary Games, but it’s still a fantastic experience. Flashes of ingenuity keep the player locked into the scenario, whilst strong storytelling, beautiful art design, and a superlative soundtrack combine for an investigation-lead narrative experience that is well worth checking out.
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VERDICT
"A thoroughly absorbing supernatural mystery propelled by beautiful presentation and a towering soundtrack. Flashes of creative ingenuity are welcome and though it becomes a little more passive in the middle, it's well worth experiencing." OVERALL: 8/10 |
OTHER CLASSY INVESTIGATION GAMES REVIEWED
Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (2010, DS)
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Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (2014, PlayStation Vita)
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