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1st impressions: Sense - 不祥的预感 [A Cyberpunk Ghost Story]

I recently got my hands on the demo for Sense - 不祥的预感 [A Cyberpunk Ghost Story] and these are my first impressions of the game. This is in no way a review, just some thoughts I had about the game after playing around with the demo. I will separate my thoughts into 3 categories, good, bad, and ugly, so my thoughts are as clear as possible. I will end this piece with some basic information on the game.
The Good
Right off the bat the music sets the tone of Sense for the creepy while still seeming futuristic. As I played the demo the music never seemed intrusive nor did it ever get tiresome. Sense is filled with some very pretty visuals. From the character designs to the background art, everything in this game looks exactly like a cyber punk future from my dreams. The lore bits found in this game paint a very vivid picture of the universe Sense inhabits. It is an interesting world and I always found myself looking for more bits of world lore. The game also does not shy away from adult themes, sexy women, and gore.
The Bad
The main character moves slow. Even when she runs it feels like she is moving slower than her movements would suggest. Another issue in the game is the dialogue. While the narration and lore bits are very well written, the parts where people are talking to you seem off. It's almost like it was originally written in another language and translated into English. Now, that is not to say the dialogue is grammatically incorrect, rather I am saying it feels stiff and unnatural.

While the dialogue won't ruin your immersion there are a few bugs that, while not game breaking, can throw you off a bit. One such bug, which was relayed to the developers, involves an early "puzzle" sequence. You need to get a car moved and can either ask the police to tow it or ask the owner. If you ask the owner, complete a fetch quest for him, and then get him to move it you can still backtrack and ask the police to tow the car that is no longer in your way.
The Ugly
There is 1 game breaking bug in the game that one of the developers has admitted to not being able to fix. To be fair, this bug does not completely break the game, at least in the demo, but it will severely hinder your ability to traverse the world.

Basic Info
Sense - 不祥的预感 [A Cyberpunk Ghost Story] will release in 2020 with no set price as of yet. Sadly, this game should have been out already but Suzaku was forced to leave mainstream gaming development after being told the content of Sense was too "problematic." The team was hell bent on remaining faithful to the vision they created so they turned to Kickstarter. They were able to get 600% of their Kickstarter goal so this game looks all set to deliver the story the team behind it wanted.

The Team behind Sense according to their website...

"Sense is the debut project of Suzaku, a small team formed over the summer of 2017 by Benjamin Widdowson, a veteran games industry concept artist, and co-founder Ka Yi "Kay" Law. The game is published by Top Hat Studios, an independent game developer and publisher. Project Sense features music from Andy Andi Han and programming from Al Tan."
The story of Sense according to their website...
"In 2083 Neo Hong Kong, a young woman named Mei Lin Mak is dragged into a maelstrom of supernatural horror. As she peers deeper into the century old mystery, Mei will be forced to question her perception of reality and her trust of her cybernetic eyes. Under the neon lights of a cyperpunk dystopia, the ruins of the 'Chong Sing Apartments' hides a bloody mystery illuminated by both the traditions of Chinese folklore and the innovations of the industrial future. If there is any hope of escaping this nightmare, Mei-Lin must explore this complex, piecing together the stories of 14 lost souls, and discover the truth of her own family curse. Sense - 不祥的预感: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story is a 2.5D game inspired by Clock Tower and Fatal Frame. With careful attention to pacing, atmosphere and storytelling, Sense hopes to return the horror genre to its roots; celebrating the slow, fearful creep of dread instead of relying on over the top action and jump scares. The ghosts - as glitches on our reality - act as spiritual and paranormal threats, not monsters to be killed. The horror of our story comes from atmosphere and storytelling, not loud sound and artificial effects."


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