Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo Critic Reviews

Paranormasight is a masterpiece. With a dizzying web of interwoven narratives, an uncanny ability to blur the lines of fact and fiction, and a thoroughly thrilling atmosphere, it’s truly the gold standard of engaging visual novels and a must for anyone fascinated by the deliciously dark world of the supernatural and the occult.

Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is another fantastic game from Square Enix, and an essential for fans of mystery, horror, and adventure games. It feels great to play on both Switch and Steam Deck. I want to see more releases like Paranormasight and The Centennial Case from the publisher.

Paranormasight is brilliant and subversive, toying with expectations and tropes across genres. The final product is entrancing — and it doesn’t loosen its death grip until the very last second.

It doesn't take someone with spirit sense to see that Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is something special. A horror visual novel game that blurs the role between character and player, Paranormasight is unique in its ability to give horror fans a new brain-teasing experience while allowing those who normally chicken out over this genre the ability to finally play a scary game by themselves. Paranormasight manages to blend familiar elements from beloved genres into something innovative, inventive, and altogether new; it is my hope this becomes a continuing franchise for Square Enix, who is on the cusp of further greatness. Grab Paranormasight or be forever cursed to remain outside its sinister, alluring shadow.

Paranormasight tells a gripping story full of murder and mystery, with some moments you simply have to experience yourself.

Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is a masterclass in puzzle-solving, utilising Japanese folk tales to root around to unravel a murder-filled mystery — what more could you want? The captivating narrative, challenging gameplay, and stylish presentation make this one of my favourite games this year.

PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is a gripping page-turner of a visual novel. It occupied my brain so much that every second not playing felt like a second wasted. It felt like I was hit with so many fitting and bending twists I was second-guessing everything I once knew, always on my toes. Immensely powerful and engaging writing in-game is bolstered with memorable and distinguished characters. Those characters and the late 20th century Japan setting are incredibly realised; a feat only possible by the industry legends at the helm. In art, music and writing, players are in for a meaningful and unforgettable experience that’s a must-play for the genre. Better yet, it even has fun with the genre tropes and traditions, creating engaging puzzles and problem-solving throughout. If there’s one visual novel game you play this year, make it this one. You won’t regret it.

Paranormasight is a very original and charming experience that blends horror and suspense to perfection. As a visual novel, it is more than remarkable despite certain stretches where it can become a bit obtuse due to its peculiar structure. However, it's a game that fans of horror visual novels and shocking plot twists will love.

Overall, I would say that Paranormasight surprised me in a way I don’t think I have been in a long time. My only issues with the game are the controls which can feel sort of sluggish and unruly on a controller, though not to an obscene degree. If playing in handheld mode you can get around this by using touch controls, which I found worked just fine for the game’s purposes. The “horror mystery” also seems to steer away from the horror part at certain points, which might disappoint those hoping to see a lot of curse action, but the plot during these moments is just as interesting as when those curses are involved. I am happy my eye was pointed in Paranormasight’s direction, as I think it may already be one of my favorite experiences of the year, and if this kind of game sounds like it appeals to you, it just might be one of yours, too.

With stunning and highly stylised character art, some exceptional and efficient writing, and some excellent “death game” scenarios, Paranormasight is one of the better visual novels that I’ve played in some time. Square Enix might not be known for this genre, but perhaps the company should look for more opportunities to participate in it, because while this won’t outsell Final Fantasy XVI (to put that mildly), it does remind us of how, among the bigger publishers, it is probably the most creative and willing to take risks on smaller scale projects like this… and just how good it is when big publishers support creative projects that aren’t expected to sell millions of copies.

Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is one of the most surprising games we've experienced in a good while. Its overarching narrative, while initially quite heavy on exposition, is wonderfully told, interweaving the lives of multiple protagonists and tasking the player with progressing their stories in meaningful ways. The puzzles are fantastic, the characters well realised, and the visuals top-notch, making those brief moments of horror and terror exceedingly effective. It's an experience we fully recommend going into with as little information as possible, as this will prove to be an incredibly memorable experience; one that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Switch's best visual novels.

If you enjoy the likes of Ace Attorney, Paranormasight is an easy recommendation. I’m not a big horror guy, but it was good enough for me to see through to the end. It plays really nicely on the Switch, and I really appreciate the inclusion of touch controls. Just be aware that the game does like to whip out the occasional jump scare, so if you’re the sort that throws whatever is in your hands when you get startled, keep a pillow near by. Your Switch will thank you, both for sparing its life and playing this slick game on it. More like this please, Square Enix.

Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo immerses us in a fascinating story that plays with the limits of atrocity, in which urban legends play a deadly role, and mysteries lurk in every corner waiting to be found - if you don't die in the attempt of solving the mystery.

Complex at the beginning and with an uncertain start, it doesn't take long for PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo to cloak you in its darkness, suspense and terror to provide you with hours of high-quality interactive entertainment.

A gripping mystery visual novel that enriches the exciting story with a few clever puzzles, the latter of which unfortunately falls short over the entire duration of the game.

Sumida and its urban legends come to life in PARANORMASIGHT in a way I didn’t expect from a 2D visual novel. I expected something artistic, yes, but I got something that engaged me, sent a shiver down my spine, and that I ultimately couldn’t put down.

Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is really unique: structured like a visual novel, it has some of the most engaging moments recently seen in a narrative adventure game, although being a little light on puzzles.

Paranormasight makes me feel like the visual novel genre has been held back by largely adhering to a formula first created 40 years ago. It makes its evolutionary steps seem effortless, simple, and long overdue. But more importantly, it tells an excellent story that defies expectations. So, as long as you’re up for some reading and a bit of thinking, Paranormasight is one you shouldn’t miss.

Paranormasight has more pros than cons in many aspects. It brings an innovative gameplay and flowchart that, sadly, it's not used in an efficient way, sometimes presenting the interesting part of the gameplay just to throw it away to never return. But still, the game has beautiful artwork and music, an incredible story with memorable characters and, if it wasn't for the mentioned flaws, it could be easily the best mystery visual novel out there.

This is a very good visual novel if you like horror stories, that shines thanks to its mysterious plot and well-crafted art.