Why Early Access?

“WORLD OF HORROR is a roguelite style horror RPG that challenges players to investigate a series of creepy and unusual occurrences arising in the town of Shiokawa, and consequently survive a cruel gauntlet of battles and challenges against the machinations of the Old Gods. Balancing of event difficulties, combat difficulty and item / character statistics is delicate and we believe wider player feedback through an Early Access program will give us the necessary data to calibrate the game's balance to a level that all types of players can enjoy.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We plan for the game to be in Early Access for at least 6 months, with a roadmap to aim for a full release in the last quarter of 2020, but this is subject to the quality and volume of player feedback. We may take more time to tweak and overhaul the game should we receive compelling feedback, and are able to invest in appropriate solutions for the indicated issues.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“The Early Access version offers 12 mysteries to solve, with 200 encounterable events and 5 main characters (plus two hidden unlockable characters) with differing starting stats and perks to play through the game with. We plan to offer at least 20 mysteries in the final game alongside additional characters, items and many more bloodcurdling events.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“We consider the current state of WORLD OF HORROR to be a pre-release version that might not function as expected. Bugs and game-breaking crashes may still occur with certain permutations of the alignment of particular items, actions and events. Should such a crash occur, we encourage players to report this to us, and to please try a new playthrough.

Please note that a standard playthrough of the game consists of 5 randomized mysteries to be solved along with the final ascension into the Lighthouse, which can take between 90 minutes to 4 hours depending on one's playstyle. The critical path for the game involves making decisions to resolve all events and battles encountered by the player character during the course of the above mysteries and the Lighthouse ascent, and surviving the consequences by not losing all of the player character's Stamina and/or Reason points.

There are many non-essential actions players can take within the game that are not required to complete a playthrough the game, though such actions may increase the player's survivability within the game, or offer additional immersion and/or enjoyment. These actions include, but are not limited to the following:

• Using the television, VHS player or telephone in the player character's home
  
• Changing outfits in the player character's home
  
• Using the apartment peephole to look outside the player character's home
  
• Investigating optional locations not indicated as relevant by the current mystery
  
• Undertaking tasks to complete the optional side quest in each mystery (eg. the Building History side quest involving investigating the Seaside location twice)
  
• Visiting sub-locations to gain allies, such as the Neighbor in the Apartments, or the Schoolyard at School
  
• Visiting sub-locations to purchase items, such as the Friendly Dog in Downtown, the Hardware Store at the Seaside, or the Pharmacy in the Hospital
  
• Visiting the Library sub-location at School to acquire additional Spells
  
• Resting at the player character's Home during an investigation
  
• Resting at the player character's Home in between investigations
  
• Using the Level Up feature to add Perks to the player character and gain additional Stamina/Reason or other stats
  
• Clicking on environmental art features (rather than buttons indicating actions to take) in each location or event in the hope of discovering a hidden item or spell

Any permutation of the game in its current state should be completable to bring you to the ending at the conclusion of the Lighthouse, provided you survive and do not encounter a Game Over by losing all Stamina and/or Reason points. We have completed the game multiple times in our testing prior to the Early Access release. If players encounter any crashes caused by the above non-essential actions and find that they have difficulty completing the game, we recommend customizing the playthrough at the beginning of the game and selecting the Initiate difficulty level to maximize their Stamina and Reason stats.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“Upon leaving Early Access, we intend to raise the current price to a price comparable with other roguelite style games.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“WORLD OF HORROR's developer panstasz is actively listening and looking out for feedback that reaches us through the Steam discussion forums, or other channels such as Twitter (https://twitter.com/panstasz) and Discord (https://discord.gg/AvZ5pAV). If you encounter an error, please contact bugs@wohgame.com for support.”