is a

graphic adventure An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...

survival horror Survival horror is a subgenre of survival of the players as the game tries to frighten them with either horror graphics or scary ambience. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical ac ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developed by

Nude Maker is a Japanese video game developer based in Tokyo, Japan. The company is composed mostly of ex-Human Entertainment members, including Hifumi Kono, who directed the first two titles in the ''Clock Tower'' series of horror games. Nude Maker has bee ...

and published by

Playism Games Playism (stylized as PLAYISM) is an independent video game publisher operated by Active Gaming Media. Playism started as a digital distribution platform for PC games, launched in May 2011. History Playism was launched in May 2011 as a digital ...

. ''NightCry'' is directed and written by ''

Clock Tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

'' series creator

Hifumi Kono is a Japanese video game developer based in Tokyo, Japan. The company is composed mostly of ex-Human Entertainment members, including Hifumi Kono, who directed the first two titles in the '' Clock Tower'' series of horror games. Nude Maker has be ...

, and is considered a

spiritual successor A spiritual successor (sometimes called a spiritual sequel) is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous work, but (unlike a traditional prequel or sequel) does not explicitly continue the product lin ...

to the series. It was first released for

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

in March 2016, and later for the

PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...

in January 2019. Ports for Android and

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

were also planned, but never released.

Development

The game was directed by Hifumi Kono as a spiritual successor to the ''

'' series. Kono notes that the female protagonist of ''NightCry'' is louder and more confident than the female protagonist from ''Clock Tower''. Kono collaborated with film director

Takashi Shimizu Takashi Shimizu (清水崇 ''Shimizu Takashi'', born 27 July 1972) is a Japanese filmmaker. He is best known for being the creator of the ''Ju-On'' franchise, and directing four of its films, internationally, in both Japan and the U.S. Accordi ...

on the project, who directed a 12 minute short film to promote the game. Originally intended to be released for Android and

, the game took to crowdfunding platform

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

to raise funds for a PC version in January 2015. The campaign was successful, raising 314,771 in February. The Windows version was released on 29 March 2016, while a

port was released in North America on 31 January 2019.

Plot

''NightCry'' largely takes place on the ''Oceanus'', an ocean liner attacked by an evil creature called the Scissor Walker. There are three chapters to the game with a different controllable character in each. In Chapter 1, Monica is the main character, a lady being set up for a date on the cruise. In Chapter 2, the main character is Leonard, a professor who explores a nearby ruin guarded by cultists. In Chapter 3, the main character is Rooney, a morose girl also on the ''Oceanus'' attempting to escape the Scissor Walker and discover the truth behind the attack.

Reception

Western critical reception to ''NightCry'' was mixed. Caitlin Cooke of ''

Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. History ' ...

'' gave the game a 2 out of 10, saying that she could not "recommend anyone play ''NightCry'' unless you have a steel resolve, unlimited time on your hands, and a penchant for terrible physics and animations straight out of the PS2 era". In contrast, L. Harvard of ''Digitally Downloaded'' gave the game a 4.5 out of 5, saying "an authentic ''Clock Tower''-style, classic stalker horror experience for the modern day. The ambition and the unique vision of ''NightCry'' genuinely make me excited that there is a future in traditional gameplay".

Notes

References

External links

* {{Clock Tower series 2016 video games Cancelled Android (operating system) games Cancelled iOS games Clock Tower (series) Crowdfunded video games Indie video games Kickstarter-funded video games Nude Maker games PlayStation Vita games Point-and-click adventure games Single-player video games Video games developed in Japan Video games featuring female protagonists Video games scored by Michiru Yamane Video games set in Japan Windows games Playism games