Published by NIS America Inc. and developed by Nippon Ichi Software, the Yomawari Trilogy Collection brings together three unsettling survival horror adventures in one package on PlayStation 5. The collection combines Yomawari: Night Alone and Yomawari: Midnight Shadows, previously bundled together as Yomawari: The Long Night Collection, with the later Yomawari: Lost in the Dark. Although the games share a distinctive visual identity and a familiar approach to horror, each tells a different story about young girls caught in situations far beyond their understanding. What initially looks like an adorable collection of little adventures quickly reveals a much darker side, making this an unusual but appealing proposition for fans of atmospheric horror.
The first game, Yomawari: Night Alone, follows a young girl whose dog, Poro, goes missing during an evening walk. When her older sister heads out to look for the animal and fails to return, the protagonist eventually ventures into the darkness herself. What should be a relatively straightforward search soon becomes a nightmare as the seemingly peaceful Japanese town reveals its supernatural inhabitants. Midnight Shadows takes a slightly different approach, following Yui and Haru, two friends who become separated after attending a fireworks festival. Switching between their perspectives, players must guide both girls through the same kind of unsettling nighttime environment in the hope of reuniting them. The third instalment, Lost in the Dark, introduces a new protagonist who suffers from bullying at school before becoming trapped in a mysterious situation involving a curse and her lost memories. She must recover those memories before sunrise to discover how to break it. While the narratives are largely independent, they share themes of loneliness, vulnerability and the frightening things that can hide in familiar surroundings. The stories are often surprisingly bleak, particularly considering the youthful appearance of their protagonists, and the contrast between their innocent presentation and the disturbing events unfolding around them is one of the series’ greatest strengths.
Gameplay across all three adventures revolves around exploration, puzzle-solving and avoiding supernatural creatures rather than fighting them. The protagonists are essentially defenseless, with no weapons available to deal with the spirits roaming the streets. Instead, survival depends on recognizing enemy behavior, finding hiding places and knowing when to run. A flashlight helps illuminate dark surroundings and reveal objects of interest, while throwable items such as stones can distract certain creatures long enough to slip past them. Stamina management also plays an important role, as running consumes energy and becomes particularly risky when fear causes the protagonist’s heartbeat to accelerate. This creates an effective sense of vulnerability, especially when a seemingly harmless walk down an empty street suddenly turns into a desperate escape. The Jizo statues provide useful checkpoints and fast-travel opportunities, although their placement sometimes means that dying can result in having to repeat a considerable stretch of exploration. The basic controls are straightforward, making the games relatively easy to pick up, but surviving their encounters requires patience and a good understanding of the different threats.
Although Night Alone and Midnight Shadows share much of their underlying gameplay, the sequel builds on the original with a larger town, additional interior locations and the ability to switch between two protagonists. Their different circumstances and abilities add some variety, while charms and other upgrades provide useful advantages during the more demanding encounters. The second game also places greater emphasis on situations involving multiple enemies, sometimes requiring more careful use of distractions and stealth. Lost in the Dark continues this evolution with a mechanic that allows its protagonist to close her eyes while moving. This makes it possible to detect nearby spirits as ominous red shapes without making direct visual contact with them. Movement becomes considerably slower in this state, so players must carefully judge when to use it. It is a clever addition that creates some interesting situations without fundamentally changing the established formula. Unfortunately, the three games also share a tendency to reuse familiar ideas, enemy behaviors and environmental elements. That consistency gives the collection a recognizable identity, but playing all three adventures consecutively makes the similarities increasingly noticeable.
Exploration is another important part of the experience, and each game encourages players to investigate the town rather than simply follow the main objectives. Collectibles, hidden objects and optional encounters reveal additional details about the locations and the strange creatures inhabiting them. The third game expands on this considerably, offering a larger map and a longer adventure built around recovering the protagonist’s missing memories. Unfortunately, knowing where to go is not always straightforward. Objectives can be rather vague, and the gradual expansion of the maps means that players will occasionally find themselves wandering around without a particularly clear idea of what to investigate next. This lack of direction can become frustrating, especially when an inaccessible path or an enemy blocking the way forces another lengthy detour. On the other hand, the uncertainty also contributes to the atmosphere, as exploring an unfamiliar street always carries the possibility of encountering something unpleasant. The puzzles are generally manageable, although some of the more repetitive objectives in Lost in the Dark could have benefited from greater variety. The third instalment does at least offer a more substantial adventure than its predecessors, with plenty of additional secrets for those willing to explore every corner.
Visually, the collection has a very distinctive identity. The characters and environments use a charming, almost storybook-like art style, with small, cartoonish protagonists wandering through beautifully illustrated Japanese neighborhoods. That appearance is deliberately misleading, however, as the supernatural creatures are often grotesque, disturbing and considerably more elaborate in their designs. The contrast works particularly well because the games rarely rely on conventional horror imagery. Instead, they turn ordinary locations into threatening places, whether that means a deserted street, a quiet school corridor or a seemingly harmless corner of a forest. Midnight Shadows builds on the original with more varied environments and interiors, while Lost in the Dark introduces further creature designs and expands the areas players can explore. There is inevitably some visual repetition across the trilogy, particularly when revisiting familiar types of locations, but the overall art direction remains one of its strongest qualities. The presentation also helps make the darker narrative moments more unsettling, as the cute character designs never quite prepare players for the disturbing situations they encounter.
The audio deserves just as much credit. Rather than relying on a continuous horror soundtrack, the games frequently use silence to establish tension. Footsteps, rustling leaves, distant cries and other environmental noises become particularly noticeable when wandering through otherwise deserted areas. The protagonist’s heartbeat is especially effective, gradually becoming louder and faster as danger approaches. This provides useful gameplay information while simultaneously increasing the tension, as players often hear a threat before they can properly identify it. Sudden screams and unexpected noises provide the occasional jump scare, but the quieter moments are arguably even more effective. The third game continues this approach, with its sound design encouraging players to pay close attention to their surroundings. Headphones are particularly worthwhile here, as the subtle environmental effects play such an important role in creating the atmosphere. Across all three adventures, the audio is a major contributor to the feeling of isolation and vulnerability that defines the series.
There are, however, some limitations to consider when approaching the collection as a complete package. The first two individual adventures are relatively short, and their similarities become more apparent when played back-to-back. Midnight Shadows introduces some welcome additions, but it still feels like a natural continuation of Night Alone rather than a substantial departure. Lost in the Dark is more ambitious in terms of its scale and narrative, yet even that instalment relies heavily on familiar mechanics. Its story also takes its time revealing important information, with some of the final revelations delivered rather abruptly. Furthermore, the collection itself appears fairly straightforward in its presentation. There is no substantial bonus material or additional content connecting the three adventures beyond bringing them together in one package. A gallery, collection of artwork or other extras would have been a welcome addition, particularly for players who already own the earlier releases.
Despite these shortcomings, Yomawari Trilogy Collection offers a considerable amount of atmospheric horror for those who appreciate a slower, more exploratory approach to the genre. Its three stories provide different perspectives on a world where seemingly ordinary places become terrifying after dark, while the combination of charming visuals, disturbing creature designs and excellent sound design remains remarkably effective. The original two games show the foundations of the series, with Midnight Shadows refining the formula, while Lost in the Dark expands the experience with a larger environment and a more involved central mystery. The lack of substantial gameplay evolution across the trilogy is difficult to ignore, and players who prefer action-oriented horror or constant narrative momentum may find the exploration and occasional aimlessness frustrating. For fans of Japanese folklore-inspired horror, however, there is plenty to appreciate here. Bringing all three adventures together makes this a convenient way to experience Nippon Ichi Software’s distinctive horror series, even if the package could have offered a little more for returning players.
Score: 7.8/10