Yomawari: The Long Night Collection (Nintendo Switch) Review

Survival horror games that give the sense of helplessness are far and few between in the modern era, normally due to games giving protagonists a method to fight back. In both Yomawari: Night Alone and Yomawari: Midnight Shadows, the sensation of dread is heightened due to the fact that there is no way to attack the enemies. It is this reason as to why both games contained in the Yomawari: Long Night Collection should be on the radar of all horror genre enthusiasts.
It is not advised to let the cute and charming art style dissuade from what is one of the most brutally darkest stories on Nintendo Switch. The child-friendly aesthetic to the art style is glorious to look at, with beautiful buildings and backdrops, to then turn into nightmare inducing jump scares and artistically mangled monsters. The premise of both titles is that the main protagonist is looking for someone; firstly, their sister, and in the second game, their friend. Leading a one-girl search party, the main protagonist, with a sense of guilt as to why they have gone missing, takes to the monster-filled streets to find them. For the most part, the towns and areas are empty, dark lonely streets. However, there is a sense of dread, as there is always the feeling that something is lurking in the shadows. The developers have recreated this paranoid feeling with clever subtle touches to both the visual and audio cues.

The inability to dispose of monsters and the one hit kill from them brings a greater sense of dread but being defenceless doesn't necessarily mean that enemies cannot be bypassed. Armed with a trusty torch, the main protagonist can utilise the torch to light a path, stones and rocks can be thrown to cause a distraction and bushes can be used to cower and hide. For the largest part, gameplay centres on getting clues in one location and heading to the next one to find another clue as to the whereabouts of the missing person.
Monsters will hamper this goal, and with no way to attack the only way to continue is to hide in bushes. It feels like being chased in a nightmare, with the feeling of legs turning to jelly or the inability to run fast, as running away from enemies depletes the stamina bar thus not always allowing this as an option around every obstacle.
Enemy placements can become frustrating over times as they can block the pathway that is needed. Combined with no way to attack or nowhere to hide, the encounter will more than likely result in death. There are frequent save points, although on the odd occasions they may be a far distance away from each other along with blocked pathways in between.