{"id":65932,"date":"2026-04-28T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=65932"},"modified":"2026-04-28T16:56:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T07:56:26","slug":"japanese-psychological-horror-visual-novel-lets-you-step-into-the-role-of-a-teacher-visiting-the-homes-of-mentally-unstable-hikikomori-girls-in-your-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-psychological-horror-visual-novel-lets-you-step-into-the-role-of-a-teacher-visiting-the-homes-of-mentally-unstable-hikikomori-girls-in-your-class\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese psychological horror visual novel lets you step into the role of a teacher visiting the homes of mentally unstable hikikomori girls in your class"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Spring at Dawn, I Am a Monster<\/strong>, the latest title from Japanese indie developer Studio Charon, was revealed on April 23 with a Steam store page<\/a> featuring a trailer highlighting the game\u2019s cast and themes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The game is played from the perspective of an elementary school teacher during cherry blossom seasons \u2013 which typically falls near the end of the Japanese school year \u2013 as he visits the homes of young girls in his class who have stopped attending school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Spring<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The three girls at the center of the game\u2019s narrative are each described as mentally troubled in different ways despite their outward appearances, with each of them having fractured relationships with the family members and other adults in their lives. The developer lists \u201csalvation, dependency, or ruin\u201d as some of the possible outcomes for the game\u2019s heroines depending on the player\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the game, like many visual novels, allows the player to make decisions that influence the outcome of the story, the devs emphasize that the \u201cright\u201d choice does not always lead to the best results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studio Charon, headed by its lead developer Kaoru Nekofuji, has made a name for itself with off-kilter, disturbing story-driven games like 2019\u2019s Akeno no Yosuga \u2013 Twilight Loop (which has an English release coming in June) and 2024\u2019s Visiting Shrine at Night. Spring at Dawn, I Am a Monster boasts the developer\u2019s highest production values yet, featuring multiple vocal themes sung by indie performers with lyrics written by Nekofuji.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Spring<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One caveat that interested players may wish to take note of is the game\u2019s use of generative AI in its development. Per the game\u2019s Steam page: \u201cSome visual assets and promotional video materials in this game were created with the assistance of generative AI tools. These AI-generated elements were used as part of the creative process and were further edited and integrated by the developer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spring at Dawn, I am A Monster is slated to be released for PC (Steam<\/a>) sometime later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related articles:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From\u00a0slipping into\u00a0unhealthy\u00a0relationships to playing as a self-debugging game: 5 Japanese psychological horror indie games\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Korean indie psychological horror that puts you in the role of a stalked K-POP idol wouldn\u2019t have been possible without the developer\u2019s wife. \u201cShe was right about most things\u201d<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The psychological horror visual novel Spring at Dawn, I Am a Monster is set to be released on Steam sometime later this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":65934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,3],"tags":[39,17],"class_list":["post-65932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indie-games","category-news","tag-indie-games","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nJapanese psychological horror visual novel lets you step into the role of a teacher visiting the homes of mentally unstable hikikomori girls in your class - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The psychological horror visual novel Spring at Dawn, I Am a Monster is set to be released on Steam sometime later this year.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-psychological-horror-visual-novel-lets-you-step-into-the-role-of-a-teacher-visiting-the-homes-of-mentally-unstable-hikikomori-girls-in-your-class\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Japanese psychological horror visual novel lets you step into the role of a teacher visiting the homes of mentally unstable hikikomori girls in your class - AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The psychological horror visual novel Spring at Dawn, I Am a Monster is set to be released on Steam sometime later this year.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-psychological-horror-visual-novel-lets-you-step-into-the-role-of-a-teacher-visiting-the-homes-of-mentally-unstable-hikikomori-girls-in-your-class\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-28T14:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/20260428-65932-header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"540\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Emmett Harris\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Emmett Harris\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Japanese psychological horror visual novel lets you step into the role of a teacher visiting the homes of mentally unstable hikikomori girls in your class - 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