“In the sprawling megacity of Sydney3, a young detective becomes the unwilling host of a parasitic gauntlet and gains the power to fight back against the growing threat spreading through the lower levels,” begins the description for Samurai Unicorn, an in-development lofi horror game that I am honestly immediately intrigued by based entirely on the strength of the visuals of its enemies, the VRmin. Get it? Vermin, but infected by evil VR headsets or whatever. VRmin.
They are like if HR Giger was obsessed with technology from the early 2000s. They’re the blocky, toaster-sized projector on the ceiling of the school classroom that nobody has tried to use since 2005, the same year it was installed. I am here for the VRmin.
Samurai Unicorn will be an action horror game, something that I’m guessing is a little punchier and fightier than early Resident Evil games, but still has the story pacing of those games. Detective Klo will hunt through the streets of Sydney3 to unravel the schemes and secrets of the monolithic cyberpunk corporate bureaucracy of the Goliath corporation.
For my part I’m really interested in the eponymous Samurai Unicorn, which probably resides in that aforementioned parasitic gauntlet and apparently allows Klo to deliver “devastating melee attacks” and to “Face off against monstrous Dream Eaters in challenging boss fights.” I kind of love the idea of transitioning from tense horror combat to weird cyberverse battles! I don’t know if that’s what they mean, but I love it.
The more traditional third person shooting seems pretty neat to boot, with a focus on enemies that react to where they’re shot and limb dismemberment allowing you to disable or limit their range of attack. Shotguns will be involved.
Samurai Unicorn also promises to have diverse and interesting characters to meet, including “intimately crafted hub areas” that I hope play into the detective-work and mystery solving parts of the narrative.
You can find Samurai Unicorn on Steam and its website, samuraiunicornps1.com.
