In 2012, indie developer Fummy released a horror-themed puzzle game called The Witch’s House. Made using the RPGMaker VX engine, Witch’s House stars Viola, a young girl trapped in a forest who must enter a mansion belonging to the witch Ellen. It’s a brutal game with the house constantly shifting and everything right down to the walls themselves trying to kill Viola. If you’re familiar with the better-known Corpse Party, it’s similar in atmosphere and twistedness. It flew under the radar, making it a hidden gem of a game you kind of have to stumble upon.
The Witch’s House seems to have gotten noticed overseas, however, as manga author Yuna Kagesaki (Chibi Vampire) has picked up the story and published it as a manga series. In fact, the first two chapters release the same day this very article is being written. Don’t worry, you don’t have to read Japanese in order to understand it, because of Yen Press, situated right here in North America, recently announced plans to simulpub a digital version of the manga… also today. Fans of the game, or interested readers in general, can find chapters one and two “wherever e-books are sold.”
✨New Simulpub Announcement! ✨https://t.co/gsoEk9OiSc pic.twitter.com/SiHvqNs1gN
— Yen Press (@yenpress) August 7, 2017
It’s recommended to either play the game or watch a playthrough before reading the manga, due to the nature of Viola’s and Ellen’s back stories. There are two separate endings to The Witch’s House, with one of them having a slight variation depending on whether or not the player makes it through the entire house without saving even once. It’s freeware and runs on all Windows systems from XP onward as well as Mac. The manga, meanwhile, seems like it will focus on Ellen’s side of things, possibly chronicling events of her life that happen before the game. If you’re the least bit into horror, grab them both up. You won’t be disappointed.