Tag Archives: Horror Games

Game News

Japan Stigmatized Property 2 Comes to Switch on 20 August

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If you have ever wondered why certain Japanese apartments rent for suspiciously low prices, part of the answer is a very specific legal category: the 事故物件 (jiko bukken). Japanese indie developer Loxarc has been turning that concept into survival horror gameplay since late 2025 — and publisher G-MODE Corporation is now bringing the second entry, Japan Stigmatized Property 2, to Nintendo Switch on 20 August 2026.

The Switch version has received almost no coverage in English-language gaming media, and the 事故物件 concept itself is largely unknown outside Japan. That combination makes this one worth knowing about.

What Is 事故物件 (Jiko Bukken)?

A 事故物件 — pronounced jiko bukken, literally “incident property” — is a Japanese real estate term for any property where an unnatural death has occurred: suicide, murder, or a fatal accident on the premises. The formal legal name is 心理的瑕疵 (shinriteki kashi), meaning “psychological defect,” and under Japanese law, agents are required to disclose this status to the first tenant or buyer after the event.

The cultural weight behind the term runs deep. Shinto and Buddhist traditions treat death — especially violent or distressed death — as spiritually polluting, and Japan’s rich kaidan (ghost story) tradition reinforces the idea that sites of unnatural deaths can be haunted. The result: jiko bukken typically rent at 20–50% below market rate, and they carry a real social stigma that some landlords try to offset with formal Shinto purification ceremonies.

Loxarc takes the concept seriously. All four locations in Japan Stigmatized Property 2 are described as based on real Japanese stigmatized properties with real histories — which gives the game an unsettling authenticity that a purely fictional setting could not replicate.

How Japan Stigmatized Property 2 Plays

Japan Stigmatized Property 2 surveillance camera footage showing an anomaly — a crouching figure and bloody text on the wall
Image courtesy of Loxarc / G-MODE Corporation

You play as a field agent for the titular Japan Stigmatized Property Surveillance Association. Your job: monitor multiple surveillance cameras inside a jiko bukken from midnight (00:00) to 5:00 AM, identify anomalies as they appear, and report them without triggering a false-alarm failure state.

The camera system has two modes — standard and infrared/night vision — and some anomalies are only visible in one. Each playthrough randomises the anomalies, so no two sessions are identical. The game tracks two failure conditions: missing too many real anomalies, and filing too many false reports.

Japan Stigmatized Property 2 — surveillance cam view of a kitchen with a figure pressing hands against the frosted glass window
Image courtesy of Loxarc / G-MODE Corporation

Two difficulty modes are available: Normal (standard anomaly frequency) and Special Allowance, which pushes anomaly occurrence so high the game itself includes a content warning about the psychological strain. Streaming is fully permitted — including monetisation — without any prior application.

Note: the Steam release carries Mixed user reviews (68% positive from 176 reviews), so the game will not suit everyone, and it uses AI-generated assets as disclosed on its store pages. Manage expectations accordingly, especially if you found the first entry divisive.

The Four Locations

Japan Stigmatized Property 2 — surveillance camera exterior view of the abandoned Hotel Celine with glowing neon katakana sign at night
Image courtesy of Loxarc / G-MODE Corporation

JSP2 features four properties to monitor, each drawn from a distinct real-world jiko bukken archetype:

  • Kurotake Drive-In (Shizuoka Prefecture) — an abandoned roadside rest stop associated with unexplained group behaviour
  • K Residence (Tottori Prefecture) — a private home where a lonely death occurred, featuring a mysterious altar
  • Hotel Celine (Nagano Prefecture) — a shuttered budget hotel linked to pregnant-woman imagery
  • K Animal Hospital (Shikoku) — a closed veterinary clinic

On Nintendo Switch from 20 August

Japan Stigmatized Property 2 — night-vision infrared surveillance camera footage showing a face looming above a low table in an abandoned room
Image courtesy of Loxarc / G-MODE Corporation

Japan Stigmatized Property 2 arrives on the Nintendo Switch eShop on 20 August 2026. The Japanese eShop price is ¥800 (with a 10% launch-week discount down to ¥720 through 30 September). The PC/Steam version — which launched globally in December 2025 and includes English localisation — is available now at $7.99 USD: that is the safest route if you want to play before the Switch version’s regional availability is confirmed for Singapore.

The original Japan Stigmatized Property launched on Nintendo Switch in July 2026 and is available on the Nintendo Singapore eShop; assume JSP2’s Switch version will follow, but check the Singapore eShop directly around the 20 August launch date before purchasing. Developer Loxarc has also released a third entry in the series on Steam and mobile as of early August 2026, so this is an actively expanding series if the concept clicks for you.

For more game news and releases, keep checking back at GameTrader.SG.

Game News

Shift at Midnight: Gas Station Co-Op Horror Is Out Now on Steam and Game Pass

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Working the night shift at a lonely gas station already sounds like a rough deal. But in Shift at Midnight, some of those customers aren’t quite human — and figuring out which ones before they figure out you is what makes this co-op horror game worth picking up today.

Shift at Midnight — blood-soaked convenience store interior after a creature breaks loose
Image courtesy of Kwalee

What Is Shift at Midnight?

Developed by solo developer Bun Muen and published by Kwalee, Shift at Midnight is an online co-op detective-horror game for up to three players. The premise: manage a rundown gas station convenience store during the dead of night, 1993. Stock the shelves, hit your revenue quota, and identify which customers are doppelgangers wearing a human face.

There’s no combat button. The whole experience runs on observation and communication. Talk to customers, inspect their head, clothes, limbs, and movements, then cross-reference everything against the in-game database with your teammates. Get it right and you log the sale. Get it wrong, and the doppelganger drops the act. Now you’re barricading doors, setting traps, and praying you survive until sunrise.

Each of the 13 Story Mode shifts is randomly generated, so no two nights play out the same. An Endless Mode — unlocked after finishing the story — is also available from launch, delivering endless chaos for squads who want more.

Watch the Launch Trailer

Shift at Midnight – Game Pass Trailer — via Kwalee Gaming on YouTube

Built for the Co-Op Horror Squad

Shift at Midnight sits somewhere between Lethal Company and Papers, Please — tense, deliberately lo-fi, and genuinely funny when your crewmate confidently accuses a perfectly innocent nurse of being a monster while the actual creature walks out unchallenged. The proximity voice chat means all that paranoia happens out loud, which makes both the tension and the chaos land harder.

Shift at Midnight — player verifying a customer's body parts in the detection menu
Image courtesy of Kwalee

The game’s free Steam demo drew over 4,500 user reviews at 99% positive before today’s full launch — a striking number for a debut release from an independent developer. That kind of word-of-mouth pull is hard to manufacture, and suggests the core loop delivers even in the limited demo build.

The 1993 Database You’ll Live In

Shift at Midnight — NET Database screen showing a customer profile set in 1993
Image courtesy of Kwalee

A good chunk of each shift is spent in the NET Database — a clunky, deliberately retro in-game computer that lets you look up a customer’s name, occupation, and physical description against what you actually observe in the store. The whole aesthetic leans into the 1993 setting: chunky pixel fonts, faded UI elements, the vibe of a dial-up-era system running something it probably shouldn’t. It keeps the atmosphere unsettling without needing a AAA budget to pull it off.

How Singapore Players Can Jump In Today

Shift at Midnight — two players confronting a glowing doppelganger outside the store at night
Image courtesy of Kwalee

Shift at Midnight is out now, 22 July 2026, across three platforms Singapore players can access:

  • Steam — USD$9.99, available on Singapore accounts right now
  • Xbox Game Pass Ultimate — included at no extra cost from day one
  • Xbox Series X|S — available via the Xbox digital store

One thing worth noting: crossplay at launch connects PC Game Pass and Steam users but does not yet extend to Xbox console players — full crossplay is still in development. Check for updates on the official Steam store page.

If your gaming crew hasn’t found its next co-op horror obsession, Shift at Midnight is worth a trial shift. Catch up on more game launch news for everything else arriving in your backlog this week.

Game News

Ao Oni 2 Hits Switch and Steam on 6 August — Cult Horror RPG Returns with New Seaside School Scenario

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The Blue Demon is back on modern platforms. Ao Oni 2 launches on Nintendo Switch and Steam on 6 August 2026, bundled with a brand-new companion scenario in a two-in-one package priced at ¥1,200 (approximately S$13–14). Developer Game Studio Inc. and publisher LiTMUS Co., Ltd. confirmed the August date earlier today — and for anyone who grew up watching Let’s Play videos of the original cult horror RPG, this is a genuine nostalgia moment.

Two Complete Horror Scenarios in One Package

Ao Oni 2 gameplay screenshot — exploring the school interior
Image courtesy of LiTMUS Co., Ltd. / Game Studio Inc.

The ¥1,200 bundle includes two fully separate scenarios:

Ao Oni 2 is the direct sequel to the original, picking up the same premise: protagonist Hiroshi and his friends are trapped in an abandoned building, puzzles must be solved, and the Blue Demon must be evaded. The sequel expands the room count, deepens the puzzle design, and adds new monster variants — all with higher production values than the original freeware release.

Ao Oni: Seaside School is the new addition. Hiroshi’s group takes a summer coastal school trip and wakes up imprisoned in the cells of an abandoned seaside building. Players must uncover the dark truth behind an incident that once shook the school while finding their separated friends and evading mutated Ao Oni species, some of which now take the form of twisted sea creatures. The scenario introduces a first-for-the-series stage-selection system — four stages playable in any order, with difficulty that scales based on which you tackle first, creating multiple distinct strategy routes per playthrough.

Both scenarios include a 17x speed mode, the fastest the series has shipped, up from 15x in the previous game.

Watch the Official Trailer

Ao Oni 2 Official PV — via ゲームスタジオ (Game Studio Inc.) on YouTube

Why Ao Oni Has a Cult Following in Singapore

Ao Oni 2 screenshot — tense encounter in a darkened corridor
Image courtesy of LiTMUS Co., Ltd. / Game Studio Inc.

If you’ve never met the Blue Demon: Ao Oni is a freeware horror puzzle game created by Japanese indie developer noprops in 2008, built in RPG Maker XP. The recipe is deceptively simple — a group of students, a haunted building, one monster, and a set of puzzles standing between you and escape. Its minimalist pixel-art presentation and deeply unsettling ambient score turned it into a viral sensation on Niconico Douga and early YouTube, logging over 50 million views by 2013. Global YouTubers — including PewDiePie and Markiplier — and a wave of Southeast Asian content creators brought it to audiences across the region. The franchise grew into anime, manga, light novels, three live-action films, and multiple game releases, with the series totalling 34 million downloads across platforms.

For Singapore players who caught the Let’s Play wave in the early 2010s, Ao Oni 2’s arrival on Switch and Steam is the series finally moving off free browser releases and onto mainstream storefronts. The accessible price point keeps it welcoming for newcomers too.

Physical Edition Lands in October

Ao Oni 2 promotional visual — Ao Oni: Seaside School new scenario
Image courtesy of LiTMUS Co., Ltd. / Game Studio Inc.

Beyond the August 6 digital launch, a physical Nintendo Switch edition releases 8 October 2026 with an early-purchase bonus: the Ao Oni Horror Pencil Set (青鬼ホラーえんぴつセット). Physical copies will be available first at Japanese retailers; regional import availability will depend on the usual import channels.

Ao Oni 2 launches digitally on Nintendo Switch and Steam on 6 August 2026. Check the Steam page to wishlist it now. More game news at GameTrader.SG →

Game News, Singapore Gaming Scene

Hantu and Hunted: Singapore Studio Zeevium Games Drops Gameplay Reveal

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A Singapore studio just put our own folklore on the map — and made it terrifying. Hantu and Hunted (stylised HaH!), an asymmetric horror prop-hunt game built around the legendary ghosts of Southeast Asia, has dropped its official gameplay reveal. Developer Zeevium Games is a local Singapore studio, and the game is now live on Steam for wishlisting ahead of an Early Access launch targeting Q4 2026.

Hantu and Hunted – Official Gameplay Reveal | Southeast Asian Horror Prop Hunt — via Zeevium Games on YouTube

What Is Hantu and Hunted?

At its core, HaH! is an asymmetric game of hide-and-seek — but instead of cowering in a corner, the humans can morph into props to avoid detection. Meanwhile, one or more players step into the role of a Hantu, a Southeast Asian ghost with the sole purpose of sniffing out the living.

There are no guns, no upgrade trees, and no health bars to grind. Your survival depends entirely on how convincingly you can pretend to be a crate. Or a lamp. Or a durian. Yes, a durian.

Hantu and Hunted prop morph gameplay screenshot
Image courtesy of Zeevium Games

A match plays out in three acts. First, The Awakening: players pick their roles — humans scramble for cover while the Hantus lurk in the shadows. Then comes the main phase, Hide or Hunt: humans must move through the map collecting Batuprana crystals and feeding them into Rupavarna Machines to power up their escape. Working together speeds things up, but any noise draws the Hantu’s attention. Finally, The Final Escape: once the machines are humming, portals open — and it becomes a mad dash for the exit before the Hantu reaches full power.

Meet the Hantus — Southeast Asian Folklore in the Spotlight

Hantu and Hunted playable ghost characters from SEA folklore
Image courtesy of Zeevium Games

This is where HaH! stands apart from every Western prop-hunt game on the market. Instead of a generic masked killer or a jump-scare creature, the ghost roster is drawn directly from Southeast Asian mythology — the kind of folklore most Singapore kids grew up hearing about:

  • Pocong — the bound shroud ghost of Malay and Indonesian tradition
  • Kuntilanak — the malevolent female spirit that haunts tropical forests
  • Kuyang — the infamous flying-head entity from Borneo and Sabah lore
  • Hantu Raya — a powerful, commanding ghost rooted deep in Malay belief
  • Amalanhig — a zombie-like pursuer from Filipino mythology

Each ghost has a distinct toolkit designed to flush out hiding humans, so choosing which Hantu to play will shape your entire hunting strategy.

Your Best Weapon Is a Durian

Hantu and Hunted multiplayer prop-hunt action
Image courtesy of Zeevium Games

For the human side, the morph mechanic is everything. Players can transform into hundreds of objects scattered across each map — chairs, crates, barrels, and yes, a durian. Maps include environments like an eerie village and a floating market, both thick with furniture and everyday objects to blend into. The catch: collecting Batuprana crystals requires movement, and movement makes noise.

Tension escalates as the match goes on. Both sides unlock power spikes as crystals are collected, pushing the final moments of each round into a high-intensity finale where the Hantu reaches its most terrifying form. It is designed to be the kind of game where one wrong step triggers a full-volume Discord meltdown.

Built by Singapore, Built for Southeast Asia

Hantu and Hunted eerie village map environment
Image courtesy of Zeevium Games

Zeevium Games is a local Singapore studio, making HaH! a rare local indie production targeting the global PC market. The game launches with proximity voice chat built in — hear the Hantu breathing as it closes in on you — and it is designed explicitly for multiplayer chaos with friends.

Crucially for regional players, the game will support Malay, Indonesian, Thai, Vietnamese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, and Japanese at launch, alongside English and several European languages. That language list reads like the Steam storefront’s own Southeast Asian wishlist, and it signals that Zeevium is targeting the home audience deliberately.

The Early Access launch is slated for Q4 2026 on Windows PC via Steam. No SGD pricing has been announced yet. You can add it to your Steam wishlist now to be notified when it drops. For more local and regional game releases, check out our Singapore Gaming Scene coverage.

Game News

Dead by Daylight Turns 10: Jason Voorhees Arrives and a Movie Is Coming

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Dead by Daylight turned 10 last weekend — and Behaviour Interactive marked the milestone by dropping the one killer fans had been clamouring for since the game launched: Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th. The slasher icon arrived on 16 June 2026, and he brought a sprawling multi-year roadmap with him.

Jason Voorhees in Dead by Daylight Chapter 40
Image courtesy of Behaviour Interactive

Chapter 40: Jason Voorhees Is Finally in Dead by Daylight

After years of fans asking “where’s Jason?”, Chapter 40: The Slasher went live across all platforms on 16 June — the game’s exact 10th anniversary. Jason’s hockey mask and machete are instantly recognisable, and his power set delivers on the horror-icon promise. His core ability is Phase Walk, a supernatural speed mode (181% movement) that makes him near-impossible to outrun. Layer on Footprint Tracking to follow Survivors’ trails, a Jump Scare that reveals anyone within 16 metres, and Throwing Spikes that can pin Survivors in place — and you have one of the most aggressive killers in the game’s history. His exclusive Hook Spike Kill execution is exactly as gruesome as it sounds. Three exclusive cosmetics launched alongside him.

The announcement trailer channels the Friday the 13th films directly, using Jason’s point-of-view as he picks up his machete and pulls on the iconic mask — a faithful nod to Part 3.

Dead by Daylight | Jason | Official Trailer — via Dead by Daylight on YouTube

The 2026–2027 Content Roadmap

The 10th anniversary livestream doubled as a roadmap reveal. Here’s what’s confirmed:

  • 25 June 2026 — The Life Road chapter, introducing the game’s first Indigenous Survivor.
  • November 2026 — Terrifier crossover, bringing Art the Clown as a new playable killer.
  • December 2026 — A new Mall map drops.
  • 2027 — Crossovers with Diablo IV, Scooby-Doo, The Walking Dead (Glenn and Negan cosmetics for Rick Grimes), and Silent Hill additions including Shimizu Hinako and Bubble Head Nurse cosmetics from Silent Hill f.
Dead by Daylight 10th Anniversary key art
Image courtesy of Behaviour Interactive

A Dead by Daylight Movie Is in Development

Perhaps the biggest news for casual fans: a Dead by Daylight feature film is officially on its way, with Blumhouse Productions attached. Director Thordur Palsson (When the Darkness Comes) is helming the project, and the screenplay is already complete — written by Alexandre Aja and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick. Palsson has said his priority is “capturing the feeling of playing Dead by Daylight — the dread, the tension, the fear.” Filming is expected to begin in 2027.

No DBD 2 — Behaviour Is Going Big on the Original

Behaviour Interactive explicitly ruled out a sequel: the studio is “doubling down on evolving its current foundation” rather than starting fresh. That means a sweeping visual overhaul is coming in 2027 — upgraded character models, more expressive facial animations, enhanced environments, improved audio, and full voice lines for all original characters. A dynamic weather system is also in the pipeline. New game modes are confirmed: a 1v1 mode arrives in early 2027, while a Zombie Mode is further out. Official modding support rounds out the 2027 slate.

Last Words

Dead by Daylight is free to play on PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and mobile — individual chapters like Jason’s are purchasable DLC. Singapore players can grab the Jason Voorhees chapter right now. With Art the Clown, a movie, and a full visual renovation on the horizon, it’s a strong time to be a DBD fan. Check out more gaming news here.