The Game UN:Me: A Cerebral Horror That Blends Survival Horror with Social Deduction Mechanics
The recent Day of the Devs digital showcase revealed a number of fascinating future games, but one especially has seized the imagination: UN:Me. Developed by Historia and Shueisha Games, this single-player adventure appears to fuse together the dread-filled setting of a Silent Hill game with the paranoid deduction heart of Among Us.
"It's a distinctive experience where a girl harboring several personalities within her needs to flee from a maze of the psyche," states producer Yasukazu Kawai.
Stepping Into a Fractured Mind
In UN:Me, players take control of an unnamed heroine who appears to be of teenage years. Inside her reside four distinct souls, each with their own fears and motivations. These entities can take over spontaneously, unleashing their deep-seated phobias upon her without warning.
Based on showcased gameplay, much of the narrative unfolds within a creepy hospital, while other scenes show the protagonist navigating a desolate church.
A World of Individual Horror
"What are you afraid of? What causes you uncomfortable?" asks creative lead Shun Sasaki. "High places. Small rooms. People in power. Things that seem trivial to other people can activate a deep instinct inside us. This game explores that idea — anxieties that are specific to every individual."
The core gameplay loop revolves around managing whichever soul surfaces at a particular moment. However, these souls will switch against your will as you play. While exploring, every persona's fears become amplified and assault the girl one after another. When the soul shifts, so does the specific fear the player encounters.
Eerie Aesthetics and a Fatal Choice
At first glance, UN:Me shares striking aesthetic parallels with the Silent Hill series. The hospital is populated by nurses who all share the identical visage, with unnervingly wide smiles. Patients in the lobby have enormous blooms where their heads should be. Flowers are an ever-present element, juxtaposing natural beauty with supernatural dread.
Yet, UN:Me introduces a singular twist. Players are tasked with deducing which of the four entities haunting the heroine is the "real" one. "All four souls claims that the body is rightfully them," notes a developer. "During the game, you need to figure out who is real."
Once players believes a persona is fake, they must eliminate it. However, since each soul can deceive or hide the truth, it is incredibly simple to make a mistake.
"Perhaps you've already eliminated the true [soul] with your own hands," the narration states. "The final entity remaining might be a fake. Either way, your choices are final."
UN:Me currently lacks a publicly announced launch window, but it is available to wishlist on digital storefronts.
