Blending Japanese mythology and the choice-directed gameplay of Pathologic 2, Den-Den: Tokyo Horror is an unsettling tale of a senior caregiver trying to survive the night in an alternate reality Japan. The country is in some sort of conflict, but whatever’s happening in the Kagutaba area is far more of an immediate threat.
Your choices matter in Den-Den, often in ways you can’t predict as the city descends further into chaos with each passing hour. As the player, you must figure out how to juggle your responsibilities as a caregiver while trying to uncover the secrets of Kagutaba and the mega corp Kageteku that seems to be causing paranormal activity in the area. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it.
Caregiving Needs to Come First
You’re in Kagutaba to care for the elderly first and foremost. There are three facilities you’ll be tasked with traveling to in this psychological horror, with three clients per location you’ll need to cater to.
Each person has a list of three items they want, which you’ll need to find and bring back to keep their status up as the night becomes increasingly perilous. These items can range anywhere from drinks and foods, to reading material and face masks. Failing to bring the requested items to your clients can eventually lead to their death, which brings a lot of negative karma with it.
One Man’s Trash Is Another’s Treasure
Den-Den: Tokyo Horror really exemplifies this, as garbage is going to be your main source of income. An orderly gives you some pocket money when you visit the first elderly care facility, but most of your cash will come from turning recyclable trash in at Automatic Recycling Stations.
Trash can be found everywhere in Kagutaba, and not just in trash cans. Cabinets and other lootable containers all have a chance to contain recyclable trash you can turn in at any functional Automatic Recycling Station. Just be careful to put the recyclables you find in the proper receptacle, otherwise you’ll clog the station and won’t be able to use it for some time.
Most of What You Need Can Be Found Rather Than Bought
At the time of writing, the loot tables for any and all containers are completely randomized. You can find food, batteries, weapons, and even medicine and other supplies all over Kagutaba, with little rhyme or reason.
This is set to change in a later update, but for now this means you can often get most of what your clients need from nearby containers. They won’t care if the mango you bring them was in a trash can, only that you bring it. This also counts for recyclable garbage, which is often found in unlikely places.
There is one critical keybind not listed in the input settings that will save you more real time than anything else in the game: the Ctrl key. Holding Ctrl brings up the directional overlay at the top of the screen, allowing you to see which direction you need to go without having to open the map every so often.
The Ctrl key also highlights anything you can interact with nearby. Containers, enemies, and NPCs you can talk to are all highlighted in blue while you hold the key. This saves a lot of precious time you might otherwise spend running around looking for containers to open.
Use Taxis to Save Time
Time is of the essence in Den-Den: Tokyo Horror, you’ll want to save every second you can so you can further explore the city while fulfilling your role as a caretaker. This is almost impossible if you rely only on going by foot.
There are several taxis spread across Kagutaba that you can use for a fee to fast travel to far parts of the map. The first you’ll probably come across is the one on the road just south of the train station, which is conveniently close to a recycling station. Most of the money you make from recycling will likely go toward trips by taxi. Neither taxis nor recycling stations are marked on the map at the time of writing, so take note of their locations to come back to them when you need them.
