The Midnight Sanctuary blurs the line between reality and surreal both in storytelling and visual style. Blending static 2D textures and moving 3D models creates a striking visual effect, further enhanced in VR. The Midnight Sanctuary's graphics, which incorporate a stained glass-style to create a beautiful aesthetic, provides an eerie background for the alarming events Tachibana encounters.
About the story
"Um, so. Are you... maybe one of the Dead, too?" A story of strange doings in the town of Daiusu, with surrealist visuals and a team of professional voice artists to immerse you in the story. An occult horror visual novel by the creators of This Starry Midnight We Make and Forget-Me-Not Organ.
Platforms
NDS Switch PC PS4 PSVRGenres
Adventure Indie Visual NovelThemes
Horror
Languages: English and 1 more
| Interface | Audio | Subtitles | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | |||
| English |
Media
Critic Reviews
GamePitt
By Rob PittThe Midnight Sanctuary is a hidden gem from 2018 which deserves a lot more credit than it got. Upon launch, the game was a treat to play with its eerie setting and uneasy atmosphere, yet the free PSVR patch added a whole new perspective to the story as you get up close and personal with the big-headed protagonist and relive her tale as her guide to the village. The game itself isn’t horrific, terrifying, or scary but it will leave you feeling a bit freaked out and disturbed as you uncover more about the village you’re currently residing within. Visually, it may look simple, but in motion, the game looks a lot more colourful and psychedelic, VR mode emphasises this and turns the whole thing into a visual treat for your eyes!
The Digital Fix
By BeaOverall, The Midnight Sanctuary's mind-boggling, yet ambitious, storyline failed to impress me. The visual novel could be developed further to improve replayability and entertainment value. Kudos on trying to use 3D graphics in visual novels, but the graphics and pace of the storyline needed much more work, so that it increased the visual novel's quality.
oprainfall
By Josh SpeerIn the end result, while I didn’t love everything about The Midnight Sanctuary, I do feel it’s a story worth experiencing. There’s a lot of poorly designed elements, but they are outweighed by the good. For $9.99, you get a 3 hour adventure that’s perfect for playing while you’re trying to unwind. There are plenty of quirky and interesting characters, and a subtly unnerving plot here. Despite wishing the ending was less abrupt, I do feel the main story gets resolved. I just wish there was more story to draw us further into the strange village of Daiusu. If you enjoy VNs or just want to support a strange story this Halloween season, you might enjoy The Midnight Sanctuary.
TheSixthAxis
By TSA StaffThe Midnight Sanctuary is certainly not what I expected. I will always applaud any game – or graphic novel – which teaches the audience something new. Educating the player about the history of Japanese Christianity, even if just in passing, is commendable. However, as an experience, The Midnight Sanctuary is a little too slow and disjointed to be truly gripping.
PS4Blog.net
By Dusk FoxThe Midnight Sanctuary is most definitely not for everyone, but if you would like to try something different in the visual novel genre with a dash of horror and Japanese culture thrown in for good measure, then this is certainly a good pick. With a handful of hours of gameplay in total, it is certainly worth the price – not to mention you can go back and re-watch your favorite scenes with the log feature!
