SENSEs: Midnight

In its current state SENSEs: Midnight feels unfinished and rushed to be released. I cannot recommend this title for multiple reasons, but it seems like Suzaku Games is listening to the community's feedback and will make changes.

42%Game Brain Score

story, atmosphere

graphics, gameplay

74% User Score Based on 31 reviews

Critic Score 31%Based on 6 reviews

Platforms

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About

"SENSEs: Midnight" is a survival horror game inspired by classics like Fatal Frame and Resident Evil, featuring 3D graphics, tank controls, and fixed camera angles. Players step into the shoes of an adventurous college student, Kaho, investigating an urban legend in an abandoned park. With a limited inventory, managing resources and solving puzzles while avoiding hostile spirits becomes a nerve-wracking challenge. The game relies on environmental storytelling and lore to uncover the park's secrets.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

74%

Audience ScoreBased on 37 reviews

story8 positive mentions

graphics4 negative mentions

The game offers a nostalgic throwback to classic survival horror with fixed camera angles and tank controls, appealing to fans of the genre.
The atmosphere and lore are engaging, with interesting puzzles that require thought and exploration.
The developers are responsive to feedback and have shown commitment to improving the game post-release.

The gameplay is hindered by frustrating mechanics, including a slow character movement speed and limited inventory slots, leading to excessive backtracking.
The fixed camera angles can be disorienting, making navigation difficult and obscuring important paths and items.
The game feels unpolished and incomplete, with numerous bugs and a lack of depth in character expressions and story development.

story
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
67%
9%
The story in "Senses: Midnight" is described as a typical spooky ghost narrative, lacking innovation but enriched with interesting lore scattered throughout the game. While it features new enemies and cutscenes, many reviewers feel it falls short compared to its predecessor, "Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story," which had a more engaging and cohesive storyline. Additionally, players noted that the game's slow pacing and backtracking can detract from the overall experience.
- “It's a 'ghost-hunting' story, featuring fixed camera angles and tank controls, where you solve supernatural mysteries and classic survival horror puzzles while trying to avoid evil spirits on a night in a cursed park.”
- “The story is what you'd expect from spooky ghost happenings; it's nothing revolutionary, but there's a lot of lore bits scattered around that are quite interesting to read (I haven't found all of them yet, but all in due time).”
- “It was a wonderful little game with a good story and amazing art.”
- “Shame it wasn’t used to actually add meaningful story.”
- “Senses: Midnight is a painfully slow, generic adventure game that's a step back from Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story, which played better, looked better, and had a far stronger and creepier atmosphere.”
- “- Needs more direction to progress the storyline; having to backtrack is annoying with Kaho's slow speed, which is not going to change and will put people off.”
graphics
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
63%
21%
The graphics of the game feature a vibrant mix of cyberpunk aesthetics and classic horror influences, with a strong neon palette that enhances the ambiance. While some players appreciate the nostalgic PS2-era style and the updates that improved the visuals, others criticize the graphics as mediocre and not meeting the standards of previous titles, expressing a desire for further polish and refinement. Overall, the art style and atmosphere receive praise, but concerns about graphical quality persist.
- “A mix of classic Resident Evil and Fatal Frame set in cyberpunk Japan, with a strong neon aesthetic.”
- “The park was originally more desolate, but the Halloween update added more futuristic visuals so it's more in line with the in-game lore and the world itself.”
- “Love the ambiance, the art style, the dialogue, as well as the overall cute aesthetics and especially all the classic yokai-inspired horror.”
- “Graphics are mediocre, and not even on par with the previous game.”
- “Hoping the state of this game as it is now isn't the final product; they need to polish it more and improve the game's gameplay and graphics.”
- “[Bland character, not very original concept, not a lot of tension for a horror game, constant backtracking, lackluster sound and graphical design.]”
gameplay
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
64%
18%
Gameplay reviews highlight a mix of frustrations and improvements. Players experienced issues with bugs, such as items not appearing correctly and disappearing elements near the screen's edge, leading to tedious backtracking due to limited inventory space. However, the sequel introduces better-implemented mechanics, including a more integrated use of hiding spots, though some still feel the game lacks polish and fails to deliver on its horror inspirations.
- “With the sequel, we now have less, but more properly implemented mechanics.”
- “The hiding spots and the accompanying mini-game from the original are back, but are now a proper game mechanic you'll have to utilize to get some breathing room.”
- “Most of my grievances got fixed in the Halloween update.”
- “A lot of my gameplay was spent just running back and forth to find a 100 yen coin that was apparently bugged because it wasn't shining like every other item.”
- “The only issues I've seen that still persist are that on occasion certain things will vanish if they are close to the edge of the screen, like grass, or a certain enemy's hair, and the talismans on the torii gate being invisible if you look at them from the other side of the gate (you can only see this one if you use the camera, though, it's not seen in regular gameplay).”
- “Hoping the state of this game as it is now isn't the final product; they need to polish it more and improve the game's gameplay and graphics.”
atmosphere
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its spooky and picturesque qualities, effectively creating a creepy and brooding vibe that enhances the experience. However, some reviews criticize the overall atmosphere as lacking and disorienting, particularly in comparison to previous titles in the series. The protagonist is described as cute and likable, contributing positively to the game's ambiance.
- “The atmosphere and vibe of the park is perfect; it's spooky in places, picturesque in others. While some people don't like the look of the protagonist, I thought she was super cute and likable in the texts, and her unlockable outfits are great.”
- “The atmosphere is still on point, and I even managed to get spooked a few times.”
- “That being said, the character is cute and likable, and the atmosphere is creepy and brooding.”
- “Painfully slow and completely lacking atmosphere; repeated camera cuts are incredibly disorienting.”
- “Senses: Midnight is a painfully slow, generic adventure game that's a step back from Senses: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story, which played better, looked better, and had a far stronger and creepier atmosphere.”
- “Decent J-horror atmosphere.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The music and sound effects in the game are highly praised for enhancing the tense atmosphere, with a notable main menu theme. Unlike other titles that rely heavily on ambient sounds, this game features a significant amount of music throughout, contributing to the overall experience.
- “The music and sound effects are wonderful and really help build a tense environment.”
- “Unlike other games that mostly feature ambience, 'Midnight' does have music playing for the majority of the game.”
- “The music is nice, especially the main menu theme.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is marked by numerous bugs and glitches, including unresponsive interactions, menu issues, and problems with item pickups, which can detract from the overall experience. While some players appreciate the charm of its indie roots and find value in the content, others criticize its outdated mechanics and visual quality, leading to a mixed reception regarding its stability. Frequent saving is recommended to mitigate these issues.
- “Some interactions don't always work, sometimes you lose a charm when you feel you shouldn't have, the menus can be buggy, taking photos can be painful, and sometimes you can't pick up an item you dropped (save often). There are some strange bugs that haven't been fixed, like being unable to finish a side quest if you do one of the puzzles beforehand, even though they have nothing to do with each other.”
- “If games like this, bland, buggy, and uglier than some games from the PS2 era, are what they are going to be making now, why on earth would I want more people to give the devs their money?”
- “It lacks the heart of its otherwise very flawed predecessor, resulting in a bland, buggy, and unattractive experience.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game offers significant replayability despite its short length, featuring multiple endings, unlockable costumes, and a New Game+ mode. Players appreciate the engaging environments and the developers' responsiveness to community feedback, enhancing the overall experience.
- “It's kinda short, but has lots of replay value, with different endings/routes, unlockable costumes, and a new game + mode.”
- “The environments are nice, and the replayability is high, showing that the developers are listening to the community.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews suggest that "Senses: Midnight" is perceived as a cash grab, lacking the depth and completeness expected from a fully developed game.
- “Senses: Midnight feels like a quick cash grab, rather than a complete product.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by a mix of amusing interactions and practical dialogue, often blending comedic elements with helpful information. Players appreciate the lighthearted moments, such as quirky remarks about mundane objects, which add a playful tone to the experience.
- “Sometimes the interactions are funny ('there's a dirty rag here!' 'ok?'), and sometimes they're helpful.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers express disappointment in the emotional depth of the game, noting a lack of heartwarming moments similar to those experienced in previous titles, particularly missing the impactful connection with characters like the doll woman.
- “There was no heartwarming smile like the doll woman from the last game had once you helped her move on.”