Review for White Day: A Labyrinth Named School. Game for PC, Android, iOS and PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 19/11/2015 The version for PC came out on 22/08/2017 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 22/08/2017
Although it is not that exploited as a setting for horror, school has always been a good starting point from which to start the plots whose purpose is to terrify the viewer. The story of White Day: A Labyrinth Named School in fact it starts right from the school, or rather makes it its backbone. White Day is certainly not a first-hair title, as we have already seen two versions of it: the first on PC and the second on mobile. However, in the period in which remake and remastered are the masters, it too is renewed: this time in its third version, on PlayStation 4.
Cliché but not too much
White Day is a celebration born in Japan, then widespread also in South Korea, linked to Valentine's Day. During the feast of February 14, the girls give chocolates to the boys they are interested in, if the interest is mutual the latter are required to reciprocate the gesture a month later, precisely for White Day. It will be precisely during this anniversary that Hui-Min Lee, the student we will wear the clothes, will sneak into the South Korean school: to move the boy will be the will to surprise his flame, as well as returning the diary that it he had lost it the day before.
It goes without saying that sneaking into the school at night will not be a good idea, if we also add that ghosts and individuals possessed by entities that are not at all benevolent roam within the institution in question, the extent of the error committed is clear. The student is not to blame, however, as he is unaware of all this and does not know that he will end up finding himself in something much greater than him. Fortunately Lee will not be alone, in fact he is not the only one to have decided to sneak into the school at night: other students have made the unconscious but reckless gesture, some for one reason and some for another.
To transmit anxiety and tension, however, will not be mainly the ghosts, but the janitor: an individual as strange as he is disturbed and violent. If he finds someone wandering around the institute outside the appropriate hours, he will have no problem taking a blow, literally. However, this behavior, as well as other very strange events that occur within the school, will have a justification that is based on the roots of oriental culture. To separate you from the answer and the seven endings of the game, there will be a good amount of hours of play and as many jumpscare.
Run or hit (and die)
As a good self-respecting horror, White Day does not give the player any means of defending himself from the threats looming over him. The only possibility of salvation is linked to running away and hiding and if we fail, we will be found a good dose of blows seasoned by the game over. Not being able to have any means to eliminate the threat of the killer janitor is one of the anxious elements of the title, combined with the fact that we will have a limited number of rescues. In fact, in order not to lose the progress of our adventure, we will have to find some markers, scattered throughout the school, and save at the appropriate bulletin boards. However, there will still be some checkpoints, positioned following certain key events, where the saving will be automatic: in this way the game will not be too frustrating in case of excessive deaths.
The only way to avoid or at least limit the raids of the janitor is to move with caution: limit the switching on of the lights, always use the lighter to orient yourself in the dark and walk lowered when possible. In this way, moving from one room to another to solve the various puzzles that will be put in front of us, the risk of being discovered will be lowered. For a total identification it is recommended to use the PlayStation VR, as the title is entirely played in first person. Not having defense weapons and limited rescues are therefore elements that contribute to creating tension but, to make you jump out of your chair, it will be anything but: be prepared for sudden appearances, strange noises and above all to always watch your back.
Moving from one room to another, we will be able to find useful objects such as keys, healing objects, messages that will show us the way or, even small purely oriental horror stories that will only contribute to immerse us even more in the atmosphere of the game. The gameplay is very simple and has few elements but the mix turns out to be effective enough to scare us and instill fear.
The title, however, is not without defects: it has often happened to us that we cannot read the HUD options entirely or even that we cannot fully read the dialogue options to choose from, being placed at the right and left edges of the screen, and given the impossibility of setting the screen by centering it better. The result is quite annoying as we will have to rely on our ability to deduce to understand what lies behind the cut sentences and choose accordingly.
We are looking forward to a future patch that resolves this problem.
White Day, Black Night
The graphics sector of White Day is not a scream: the first incarnation of the title on PC dates back to 2001 and, although we are talking about a modernized version, the title suffers. So do not expect absurd or well-kept details and the school environment turns out to be quite bare but not for this to be disdained. Surely a greater expressiveness on the faces of the spirits and characters, more accurate details on their bodies and the more defined light effects would have contributed to making everything much more terrifying. However, this does not undermine the gaming experience even if we can certainly consider it a missed opportunity.
In a self-respecting horror, however, the sound sector can and must be the master. That of White Day comes out without infamy and with little praise: the indecipherable noises as we wander through the corridors, the whispers, the sudden alarms and the terrifying whistles that haunt the school do their dirty work, managing to make us identify with the character, together with the first person camera. The title is also entirely dubbed in English but the dialogues are entirely subtitled in Spanish, as is the game interface.
White Day: A Labyrinth Named School suffers from the classic flaws of a port: the inability to adjust the screen, the half-dated graphics and other small flaws scattered here and there do not make it one of the main titles in a landscape that is a lot of horror titles. rich. However, it has several arrows in its bow with which it can still break through the hearts of fans of the genre: it manages to recreate the atmosphere of classic oriental horror, transmits tension and anxiety while managing to be simple and light in the gameplay at the same time. Having a PlayStation VR will only help you immerse yourself even more in character, making you jump out of your chair over and over again. In short, White Day is a horror that manages to do its job, it does not excel, but it will scare you properly, of this we are sure.
► White Day: A Labyrinth Named School is a Horror-type game developed by PQube and published by ROI Games for PC, Android, iOS and PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 19/11/2015 The version for PC came out on 22/08/2017 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 22/08/2017
