Publisher Top Hat Games and developer Suzaku Games have announced Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story is coming to Xbox consoles in January 2022.
Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story is coming to Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S on January 12th, and pre-orders are already live on the Xbox Store.
“It’s here. Hell arrives in Hong Kong next week as Sense – 不祥的预感: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story arrives uncut on XB1/Xbox Series XS!,” Top Hat Studios teased. “Explore the future and the past to solve a century old oriental mystery.”
Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story has been available on Windows PC, Linux, Mac (all via Steam), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita. In case you missed it, you can find our review here (we recommend it!).
Here’s a rundown on the game’s original release:
Sense – 不祥的预感: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story is a 2.5D game inspired by Clock Tower and Fatal Frame. With careful attention to pacing, atmosphere and storytelling, Sense hopes to return the horror genre to its roots; celebrating the slow, fearful creep of dread instead of relying on over the top action and jump scares. The ghosts – as glitches on our reality – act as spiritual and paranormal threats, not monsters to be killed. The horror of our story comes from atmosphere and storytelling, not loud sound and artificial effects.
Story
In 2083 Neo Hong Kong, a young woman named Mei-Lin Mak is dragged into a maelstrom of supernatural horror. As she peers deeper into a century old mystery, Mei will be forced to question her perception of reality and whether she trusts her cybernetic eyes. Under the neon lights of a cyberpunk dystopia, the ruins of the ‘Chong Sing Apartments’ hides a bloody mystery illuminated by both the traditions of Chinese folklore, and the innovations of the industrial future. If there is any hope of escaping this nightmare, Mei-Lin must explore this complex, piecing together the stories of 14 lost souls, and discover the truth of her own family curse.
Gameplay
Sense features deep survival horror and exploration-based gameplay complemented by partial voice acting, puzzle solving, and intricate secrets and exploration. The game is playable in English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Russian.
Features
- Interaction – The player will need to search and examine every nook and cranny of the world around them in order to progress. Some items may not be visible until specific chains are completed, and some items may be hidden from Mei’s cybernetic eyes at all times, as if spirited away by the ghosts stalking her. Some may require quick wit – and have urgent consequences.
- Dialogue – NPCs will be heavily populating a few areas of the full game, but there may be some wandering the halls with you. Talking to them can reveal information about the world, the mystery at hand, and even some unexpected secrets.
- Zooms – Some interactions require a closer look, zooms allow for a different view of items, areas, and puzzles. Make sure to search every inch.
- Lore – The world of Sense is huge and complex, each location will reveal details about Neo-Hong Kong and the surrounding world. From Geo-Politics to inter-character relationships, don’t be afraid to click on anything that looks interesting.
- Ghosts – The ghosts of the Chong Sing building can hurt you, but can you hurt them? Short answer is no, but you can help them pass on. Shrines, offerings, and solving mysteries will be your only weapons.
- Shinrei Spot – The 14 lost souls of the Chong Sing building are not the only spirits lurking the halls. Dozens of hidden ghost photos fill the locations of Sense. Finding them all may reveal a secret!
- Death and Failure – Like all the best games, failure and mistakes should be punished, but in a heavily narrative game how do you do that? How do you promote stakes and risk? The answer is simple, fill the world with dangerous events and deadly spirits. Just make sure to record your progress at the occasional TV, there are NO checkpoints or autosaves in the Chong Sing building.
- New Game + Replayability – Sense will be filled with secrets, only some of them will be revealed in a single play through. Some secrets wont be able to escape the spirit realm until the “Plus” appears