Hachi: Eight Feet Tall aims to test your tolerance for eerie atmospheres and super tall ghosts who love big hats.
Miyu was told to stay out of the woods by her grandparents, but you know how these things go. When you get told to stay out of the cursed forest, you just have to go check it out, right? And when a giant ghost dressed for a lovely summer day rushes you amongst the trees and makes you pass out, you’ve got no one but yourself to blame. Still, being cursed isn’t a great fate (at least judging from the repeated appearances of our new creepy phantom friend), so we have to head back to the woods to carry out a purifying ritual if we want to survive.
This game makes great use of atmosphere to make you feel uneasy as you play it. Stray sounds like birds and wind through a cave will have you wondering if you’re hearing voices as you try to collect the bell you need to complete the ritual. It feels like the ghost is always somewhere nearby even if nothing seems to be happening. That very absence stretches your nerves thin as you walk through the gray woods and the torchlit cave. It gets even worse when that wind gets louder when you find the bell and start walking back. Still, worse things are in store when you try to make your way to the shrine and our ghost pal is standing right in our way.
Hachi: Eight Feet Tall tells a succinct horror tale that drags out its scares to make you feel afraid throughout the game. It slips a bit at the end as you mash buttons to escape the ghost’s clutches, but overall it does well at winding you up tight as you wait for the horrors to come.
Hachi: Eight Feet Tall is available now (for whatever you wish to pay for it) on itch.io.
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