Top Hat Studios has announced that its new cyberpunk horror game, Sense – A Cyberpunk Ghost Story, will release in 2020. Sense – A Cyberpunk Ghost Story is heavily inspired by Clock Tower and Fatal Frame, and there is a free demo for you to download.

The story of Sense is set in 2083 Neo Hong Kong, where a young woman, Mei Lin Mak, is dragged into a maelstrom of supernatural horror. Thus, Mei will have to question her perception of reality and her trust of her cybernetic eyes. Under the neon lights of a cyberpunk dystopia, the ruins of the ‘Chong Sing Apartments’ hides a bloody mystery. As such, Mei-Lin must explore this complex, piecing together the stories of 14 lost souls to discover the truth of her own family curse.

Sense – A Cyberpunk Ghost Story promises to mix cyberpunk with traditional Cantonese folklore. The game aims to return the horror genre to its roots, and will feature a 2.5D perspective.

The game utilizes a Hand-Painted 2.5D style for its art, which combines the benefits of 3D (such as shifting perspective) with the intricate, colorful style of 2D illustration. Sense also happily embraces eroticism and fan-service in its art. However, this embrace does not detract from its roots in the horror genre. Ghastly spirits, ghouls, and creatures of all types will be lurking in the shadows.

Furthermore, the game’s locations are heavily influenced by futuristic environments, drawing inspiration from the architecture of Asian cities and buildings. The aesthetic consists of bright, colorful neon lights, a stark contrast to the dark, brooding streets and back alleys of the dystopia that the protagonist finds herself in.

Andy Andi Han will also handle the game’s soundtrack, who was the co-composer of the visual novel Katawa Shoujo. With influences from John Carpenter, Vangelis, and traditional Chinese Opera, the synthesizer-meets-eastern sound provides a lasting and memorable auditory experience.

Lead developer and owner of Suzaku, Benjamin Widdowson said:

“After lots of drafting, feedback, and help from an established publisher and fellow developers, I think I found a solid look and feel. Most importantly, I feel was finally able to craft something unique and exciting.”

You can download the game’s free demo from here.

Have fun!

John Papadopoulos

John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
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