UN:Me: An Cerebral Horror Merging Survival Horror with Social Deduction Gameplay
The recent Day of the Devs digital showcase revealed a number of fascinating future games, but one in particular has seized attention: UN:Me. Created by Historia and Shueisha Games, this solo adventure appears to fuse together the dread-filled setting of a Silent Hill game with the suspicion-driven heart of Among Us.
"It's a distinctive game where a young woman containing multiple personalities inside her needs to flee from a maze of the mind," states producer Yasukazu Kawai.
Stepping Into a Shattered Mind
In UN:Me, players take control of an unnamed female protagonist seeming to be of teenage years. Within her exist four separate personas, each with their own fears and drives. These entities can take over at will, unleashing their deep-seated phobias upon her without warning.
Judging by revealed gameplay, much of the narrative unfolds within a eerie medical facility, while additional clips show the main character navigating a desolate church.
A World of Individual Horror
"What makes you afraid of? What makes you uneasy?" poses game director Shun Sasaki. "Heights. Confined spaces. Authority figures. Things that seem trivial to other people can activate something primal inside us. This game explores that concept — anxieties that are unique to each person."
The core gameplay loop involves controlling whichever soul surfaces at a particular time. However, these souls will switch involuntarily during gameplay. During exploration, every persona's anxieties become amplified and attack the girl in succession. As the persona shifts, so does the specific fear the player experiences.
Eerie Visuals and a Fatal Decision
At first glance, UN:Me shares striking aesthetic parallels with the Silent Hill series. The setting is filled with nurses all sporting the identical visage, with disturbingly broad smiles. Patients in the lobby have large blooms growing from their necks are. Flowers are a recurring element, contrasting organic elegance with supernatural dread.
Yet, UN:Me introduces a unique mechanic. Players must determine which of the four souls inhabiting the protagonist is the "true" one. "All four souls claims that the physical form is rightfully them," notes a creator. "Throughout the game, you need to figure out who is real."
After a player have deduced a soul is fake, they are forced to destroy it. But, because every entity can deceive or obfuscate the reality, it is incredibly simple to make a mistake.
"Perhaps you've already eliminated the real [soul] with your own hands," the narration states. "The final entity standing could be a fake. In any case, your decisions are irreversible."
UN:Me currently lacks a publicly announced release date, but it is can be wishlist on platforms.