From there, the game is all about navigating the mysterious Hyakki Castle, which is full of traps, puzzles, and of course supernatural threats. Set in the Edo period of feudal Japan, players can customize their own group of yokai ghostbusters from a variety of races and classes. While the concept is intriguing, the mechanics feel unique, and the setting is cool, Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle doesn’t quite have the muscle to make the overall experience required reading. Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle does both, rooting itself in the creepier side of Japanese folklore, and pitting the player against ghouls and ghosts in a dark, quiet environment. However, every now and then one shows up that flips the script a little, giving real time combat a shot or taking itself a little more seriously in its setting and aesthetic. These days they typically lean hard on the anime aesthetic, adding lots of color and personality wherever they can to mask the more focused, old school gameplay.
When it comes to first-person dungeon-crawlers, the vast majority of them are turn-based affairs.
