The game we’re introducing this time, Who’s knocking at the door?, is developed by the indie studio SKONEC Entertainment, drawing inspiration from games that focus on abnormal phenomena, like Exit 8. However, in this game, it’s not just the environment that’s distorted; you’ll step into the shoes of a person with schizophrenia, confronting various hallucinatory disturbances that could even threaten your life. Can you tell what’s real and what’s not?
Who’s knocking at the door? is a first-person horror game set against the backdrop of 1990s Seoul, South Korea. Players step into the shoes of a protagonist plagued by a mental illness that brings about intense hallucinations. As a patient, you must stabilize your mental state and work hard to mitigate the impact of these hallucinations. Every day, a person will deliver your medication, but the path to recovery is far from straightforward.
The story unfolds in an old apartment, complete with an aquarium, a television, and several cabinets. The layout consists of a living room, kitchen, bathroom, a small studio, and a corridor leading outside. Players must carefully observe whether they are experiencing hallucinations in the game. If they notice illusions, they need to take the medication placed at the front door; if there are no hallucinations, they can safely open the door to receive the medication. Each day ends after you take the medication or open the door, and only by making the right choices can treatment continue; otherwise, you'll have to start over from Day 1.
The gameplay is similar to Exit 8. When players encounter anomalies, they must decide whether to take medication. Some hallucinations can be aggressive and will chase you down quickly, so you need to make split-second decisions. Additionally, the layout of the anomalies in the game is cleverly designed; as time passes, symptoms might ease, and sometimes the hallucinations may fade away. Thus, players need to discern which situations are truly abnormal. For example, when turning on the TV, the default display is usually a color calibration screen, but if it's showing news reports, it's not necessarily an anomaly. If you hastily choose to take medication, the consequences could send you back to Day 1.
In the daily progression, players have the chance to obtain doll parts, and once they collect them all, they'll unlock hidden storylines. The protagonist feels a sense of calm while interacting with the dolls, believing that gathering them is the key to overcoming their symptoms. The game features three different endings, and to achieve the true ending, players must replay the game and collect all the doll parts, revealing the truth behind the hazy narrative. Each playthrough lasts approximately 90 to 120 minutes.
Who’s knocking at the door? has officially launched recently, available on the PC Steam platform, and it supports Traditional Chinese. The store page offers a downloadable demo version.
