While many horror games scare the living daylights out of you from the get-go, Hachishakusama by Fukachi World looks like it wants to take you on a nostalgic summer vacation first, and then literally smother you in “affection.” Left in the Japanese rural village of Kibuse with his grandfather, a young boy named Saku finds himself pursued by an eight-foot-tall woman whose true motives are unclear.
Though initial interactions with Hachishakusama look pretty tame (she watches from a distance as you complete chores for your grandfather), she soon becomes more possessive. Since no child in their right mind would appreciate being followed by an abnormally giant stranger, you politely decline. What results is a series of chases and escapes throughout Kibuse. The sky turns red, concrete walls block your path, and Hachishakusama stops at nothing to capture you.
Unlike the comedic horror indie game Hyakushaku-sama (roughly translated to “Ms. Hundred Feet Tall”, which takes liberties with the Japanese urban legend, Hachishakusama stays mostly true to the source material that grew popular on Japanese creepypasta forums such as 2chan in the late 2000s. In the classic tale, a young boy who locks eyes with a massive woman finds himself being stalked for days (sometimes months) before being abducted… never to be seen again. While Hachishakusama’s eight-foot frame, long hair, and white dress is by far her most iconic look, she has been known to shapeshift and mimic the voices of her victims’ loved ones, making her job much easier.
Set within the backdrop of a soothing countryside, Hachishakusama mixes horror and nostalgic playtime into a nightmarish fever dream. There is no way to fight back against the eight-foot-tall woman, so you’ll have to run, hide, and outsmart her to survive encounters.
As a disclaimer, the developer states that generative AI was used for script proofreading, partial translation, and some in-game textures, all of which were manually reviewed afterward.
Hachishakusama is set to release in July for Windows (Steam).
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