New indie game The Exit 8 may make us never want to enter another Japanese subway station again

Anyone who’s ever gotten lost in the maze of a Tokyo station is bound to feel something akin to adventure, horror, or both when playing this game.

There are busy stations and then there are Tokyo stations. To name just a few, Shinjuku Station, Shibuya Station, and Ikebukuro Station are places that even Tokyo natives have difficulty navigating if they don’t frqeuently visit their respective neighborhoods. In particular, Shinjuku Station, which is the busiest station in the world by daily passengers, has a labyrinth of passageways and a dizzying array of exits. It’s no wonder that the station was actually referenced as the dungeon floorplan for a role-playing game.

Now, an indie game slated to be released sometime this month over Steam, titled The Exit 8, is set to allow you to simulate the experience of walking through one of these bustling passageways…but with a twist. Developed by Kotake Create, its premise is as follows:

“You are trapped in an endless underground passageway. Observe your surroundings carefully to reach ‘The Exit 8.'”

▼ The Exit 8 trailer

While that goal seems straightforward enough, you’re also warned to be on the lookout for any anomalies you see while walking. If you do see something that looks off, you’re supposed to turn around immediately. Not much is currently known about what happens if you don’t, but based on the trailer above, you can bet that your character is in for a rude at best and horrifying at worst awakening of sorts.

▼ Something tells us that simply following the exit signs isn’t going to go as smoothly as in real life.

▼ Pay close attention to anything that you see on the wall.

Of course, probably the most unsettling aspect of the game looks to be the distinct lack of people in a place that’s supposed to be bustling with them. As a result, some net users are comparing the eerie emptiness seen in the trailer to the internet aesthetic of liminal spaces.

Even without hordes of people navigating the game’s passageway, one thing that’s certain is that the graphics are spectacular, especially in the hyper-realistic portrayal of light. In fact, it’s tricky to identify whether screenshots are of the game or of actual photos of real subway stations.

The Exit 8’s specific release date on Steam is not yet disclosed, though it should be sometime before the end of the month. That will thankfully give us plenty of time to map our way through real-life stations to get ready for whatever awaits us in the way of Exit 8.

Source: Steam via Hachima Kiko
Images: Steam
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Credit: