South Korean solo developer Jayhyeon Studio released their new game Sasaeng on August 29, earning a Very Positive rating on Steam. Following in the footsteps of indie studios like Chilla’s Art, with a story that’s somewhat reminiscent of Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue, Sasaeng is a short but sweet, lo-fi psychological horror game that lets you live the life of a K-pop idol.
As suggested by the title Sasaeng – meaning “obsessive fan” in Korean – your glamorous life as a K-pop idol will slowly start turning into a nightmare, as you realize “somebody” has been watching you. While you get to embrace the celebrity life, living in a luxury apartment, reading fan letters and being the star of meet-and-greet events, not everything will be sunshine and rainbows. Behind the scenes, you won’t be able to shake off the creeping sense of being watched, and it will only get more intense as days go by.
The story driven game will let you explore the entertainment agency that hired you, gather clues and reveal the truth behind that suffocating feeling of being stalked. Apparently, the game has two different endings, and the Steam page contains a hint on how to unlock both of them.
One interesting tidbit about the development of the game is that none of this would’ve been possible without the support of the developer’s wife. In a recent interview with Game*Spark, Jayhyeon shared that one of the most memorable moments when developing the game was fleshing out the story beats and core themes of the game with his wife. “I especially remember the numerous heated debates we had over the main points of the story and the art direction. We would clash opinions over even the smallest details while trying to figure out how to best bring out the emotional impact of each of the scenes,” he explained.
Apparently, things would get pretty heated at the time, but as Jayhyeon remarks, “my wife was right most of the times.” According to him, the development process of Sasaeng turned into quite a personal experience. “The time I spent creating all of the core emotional elements of this game with someone who I could share its ‘heart’ with was an experience so precious for me I wouldn’t change it for anything else.”
Sasaeng is out now for PC (Steam).
