Junji Ito has become one of the most popular and influential creators within the modern horror landscape, with his style permeating across continental borders to make him a household name among the fandom. Unsurprisingly, many creators have become inspired by the twisted visions of Ito and his work has become influential across various mediums.
Enter NextDoor, a 2D pixel art visual novel developed by Sijbren Schenkels, Yun Ying Hu, Bjorn Dingeldein and Clément Panchout. The title gets its namesake from Ito’s The Woman Next Door, which inspired the project.
The game has excellent use of sound, with a beautiful midi soundtrack that also embraces terrifying ambient sounds to heighten the tense story. Visually, the use of 2D pixelated graphics benefits the extremely creepy tone allowing the player’s imagination to fill in the graphical gaps.
With a run time that matches the short story, (taking around 10 minutes to complete) NextDoor is a ideal spooky little gem.
Experience the game yourself for free at NextDoor’s ich.io page, or check out our full game playthrough here:
More Video Game Reviews
Due to the current climate in the gaming market, I have become bored with most triple A game titles. With many being released in an unplayable state, requiring ‘Day One’… Kuon, developed by FromSoftware, is an atmospheric survival horror game released for the PlayStation 2 in 2004. Set in the Heian period of Japan, the game presents a gripping, eerie… For those who have been living under a rock for the last few years, Vtubers are a popular format of streamers who use an animated avatar in the style of… Hello, everybody, this is Anthony and in this article I will explore the ghostly video game series ZERO, a.k.a Fatal Frame in North America a.k.a Project Zero in Europe and… Today I’d like to talk to you about the visual novel series, Spirit Hunter, known in Japan as Shinrei Horror (心霊ホラー), a series that seems to have passed many by,… Evil Dead is a cult franchise in every sense of the idea – a variety of divergent media in the realm of comics, games, and merchandise; all humbly originating from…Game Insight: Dusk (2018) A Modern Day Boomer Shooter
Kuon (2004) Video Game Review – A Forgotten Survival Horror Classic
Hololive Error Teaser Demo – Video Content
PROJECT ZERO – A retrospective of the terrifying Fatal Frame series
Spirit Hunter (2019) Game Review – A J-Horror Visual Novel Series
Evil Dead: The Game Review – The Fantasy of Every Evil Dead Fan
Hey there, I’m Jim and I’m located in London, UK. I am a Writer and Managing Director here at Grimoire of Horror. A lifelong love of horror and writing has led me down this rabbit hole, allowing me to meet many amazing people and experience some truly original artwork. I specialise in world cinema, manga/graphic novels, and video games but will sometime traverse into the unknown in search of adventure.