NightCry


is a graphic adventure survival horror video game developed by Nude Maker and published by Playism Games. NightCry is directed and written by Clock Tower series creator Hifumi Kono, and is considered a spiritual successor to the series. It was first released for Windows in March 2016, and later for the PlayStation Vita in January 2019. Ports for Android and iOS were also planned, but never released.

Development

The game was directed by Hifumi Kono as a spiritual successor to the Clock Tower series. Kono notes that the female protagonist of NightCry is louder and more confident than the female protagonist from Clock Tower. He cites the differences as a result of his changing perception of women, who he no longer idealises as docile and ladylike. Kono collaborated with film director Takashi Shimizu on the project, who directed a 12 minute short film to promote the game.
Originally intended to be released for Android and iOS, the game took to crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to raise funds for a PC version in January 2015. The campaign was successful, raising 314,771 in February 2015. The Windows version was released on 29 March 2016, while a PlayStation Vita port was released in North America on 31 January 2019.

Plot

NightCry largely takes place on the Oceanus, an ocean liner attacked by an evil creature called the Scissor Walker. There are three chapters to the game with a different controllable character in each. In Chapter 1, Monica is the main character, a lady being set up for a date on the cruise. In Chapter 2, the main character is Leonard, a professor who explores a nearby ruin guarded by cultists. In Chapter 3, the main character is Rooney, a morose girl also on the Oceanus attempting to escape the Scissor Walker and discover the truth behind the attack.

Reception

Western critical reception to NightCry was mixed. Caitlin Cooke of Destructoid gave the game a 2 out of 10, saying that she could not "recommend anyone play NightCry unless you have a steel resolve, unlimited time on your hands, and a penchant for terrible physics and animations straight out of the PS2 era". In contrast, L. Harvard of Digitally Downloaded gave the game a 4.5 out of 5, saying "an authentic Clock Tower-style, classic stalker horror experience for the modern day. The ambition and the unique vision of NightCry genuinely make me excited that there is a future in traditional gameplay".