UN:Me: An Cerebral Horror That Blends Silent Hill with Among Us Gameplay
The recent Day of the Devs online presentation revealed a number of intriguing future games, but one especially has seized attention: UN:Me. Developed by Historia and Shueisha Games, this solo adventure appears to fuse together the oppressive atmosphere of a Silent Hill game with the paranoid deduction core of Among Us.
"It's a distinctive game where a girl harboring multiple human souls within her needs to flee from a labyrinth of the mind," explains developer Yasukazu Kawai.
Entering a Shattered Mind
In UN:Me, players take control of an unnamed heroine who appears to be of teenage years. Within her reside four separate personas, each with their own anxieties and motivations. These entities can seize control spontaneously, unleashing their deep-seated terrors upon her without warning.
Based on showcased footage, much of the action unfolds within a creepy hospital, though other scenes show the main character navigating a abandoned church.
A World of Individual Horror
"What are you afraid of? What makes you uneasy?" asks game director Shun Sasaki. "Heights. Small rooms. Authority figures. Things that seem trivial to other people can trigger a deep instinct inside us. This game delves into that concept — anxieties that are unique to each person."
The central gameplay loop revolves around controlling the persona that surfaces at a particular time. However, these souls will change involuntarily during gameplay. While exploring, every persona's fears become amplified and attack the girl one after another. As the persona shifts, so does the specific fear the player encounters.
Eerie Aesthetics and a Deadly Choice
At first glance, UN:Me displays noticeable visual similarities with the Silent Hill franchise. The setting is populated by nurses who all share the identical visage, with disturbingly broad grins. Patients in the lobby have enormous blooms growing from their heads should be. Flowers are an ever-present theme, juxtaposing organic elegance with unnatural horror.
Yet, UN:Me presents a singular mechanic. Players must determine which of the four souls haunting the heroine is the "true" one. "Each of the personas asserts that the physical form is rightfully them," notes a developer. "Throughout the game, you need to figure out who is real."
After a player believes a persona is fake, they are forced to destroy it. But, because each soul can deceive or hide the truth, it is incredibly simple to choose incorrectly.
"Maybe you've already destroyed the real [soul] with your own hands," the narration suggests. "The last one remaining could be a fake. In any case, your decisions are irreversible."
UN:Me currently lacks a publicly announced launch window, but it is available to follow on platforms.