Yomawari: Night Alone is a brilliant isometric survival horror game from NIS America. The cute art style, which will appeal to many, makes this a very interesting release. How well does Yomawari: Night Alone play on the PS Vita? Will it scare the living daylights out of you? You are about to find out in our Yomawari: Night Alone review!

 

The story revolves around a young girl, as she goes out after dark to walk her beloved dog Poro. Unfortunately, Poro is hit by an oncoming car. The girl, who was not only distraught but in a deep state of shock, wanders back home to her sister. She asks about Poro and the girl, unable to speak, leads her sister to think he had disappeared, so she goes looking for him. After some time has passed, and with her sister still gone, the girl starts to worry and decides to leave the house and go looking for her sister. It is at this moment that things start to go bump in the night!

The game is split into several chapters, and as you continue your search takes you to new locations. As the little girl ventures out exploring each environment, the game world will become more open. You can access the hand-drawn map with the Triangle button to see where you are, and where you want to go.

There are also fast travel points in the form of Jizo statues, and you can also make quick saves at the statues – just put in a gold coin and you can make a quick save! These are handy when you die, since you will simply spawn at the last statue you performed a quick save at. But should you choose to go back home, your checkpoint will reset. There is a trophy for finding all the Jizo statues, so they are well worth your time! They are a bit easy to miss as they blend in with the environment, with nothing but a tiny shimmering light to guide you to them.

The girl is far from alone during her quest. Sure, the streets may be empty of human beings since it’s so late at night they all have gone to sleep… but there are strange spirits that wander the streets. They can only be seen with your torch, but if you quickly switch off the torch or shine it elsewhere they disappear, but I would run if I were you! If they get you, you will end up back at the last Jizo Statue you found.

You have no weapons to fight them off, and running doesn’t help much since you have very limited stamina – if you are being chased your stamina meter runs out faster. Since the game has absolutely no combat whatsoever, there are bosses which you have to try and pacify… that is of you can make it past their minions! You can use rocks that you collect as a distraction too.

The story sections are told in diary entries, allowing you to focus on the exploration. As you travel your hand-drawn in-game map will expand with names of places tagged, such as a park or a pond. You have a shovel you can use at dig spots, and you never know what treasures you may find! If you see a blue question mark above the girl’s head and if you look at that area closely, the blue question mark will turn into a red exclamation mark, which means you have hit a hot spot and can interact with it. Could it be a key? A hiding place? A Jizo Statue? Who knows!

The game is a mysterious one, and despite the cute graphics, it will surely make you jump here and there. The creatures in the game are weird and creepy while also being wonderful and unique. This is a highly addictive release, and its in-game sounds and music is first class- The game may not have combat, but it is definitely well worth your time and money. Yomawari will take roughly about 6-8 hours to complete, and a full Platinum should take you roughly 10-12 hours. If my Yomawari: Night Alone review hasn’t tipped you off, let me reassure you this is easily one of the best PS Vita games out there!

[review
pros=”Great graphics
Flawless gameplay
Lots of collectibles.
Plenty of mystery.” cons=”No complaints” score=96]

Disclaimer
This Yomawari: Night Alone review is based on a PS Vita copy provided by NIS America

 

[amazon id = B01FWKKVTM]