Hands-On With Japanese Inspired Horror Visual Novel The Letter

I’m not sure why I agreed to write on the demo for The Letter, but I did. At least it’s very short and only gets really freaky at the end. Which I can sorta handle. I love horror, but even I draw the line at certain styles. I prefer to have my monsters heard but not seen. It adds to the atmosphere, but it also means that I don’t get a glimpse of whatever is prowling around until it’s too late.

Anyway, The Letter starts out with a brief history of the mansion and its curse. People don’t want to go near it because of its history. And rightfully so if it’s true. I certainly wouldn’t want to step foot in any place that has a nasty reputation let alone live in it. Anyway, said mansion is being fixed up and cleaned for sale by a real-estate company and two agents are working on getting it ready for the upcoming open house.

Enter Rose and Isabella. The demo deals with the beginning of Isabella’s story. As mentioned above, she’s a real-estate agent working on the sale. We begin with her at a school with her friend Rebecca, one of the other five playable characters in The Letter. Rose calls her and reminds her that she needs to head on over to help finalize the preparations. Reluctantly, Isabella agrees and heads out.

The tension really starts to heat up after she arrives. Not finding Rose waiting for her, and being such a huge house, she tries calling her co-worker. Which doesn’t work. So, what does she do? Being afraid and believing in such supernatural forces, she nearly bolts. However, she wants to make sure that Rose is fine. A brief message during the last call mentioned the attic, which is where Isabella heads next.

In the attic, she expects to find her friend waiting for her. But, nothing. It’s empty and full of cobwebs. Probably the only room in the mansion that hasn’t been scrubbed clean by the company. Anyway, searching the room for clues she spots a letter lieing on the floor. Written in red, probably blood for all I know, it just says “Help me” over and over and then, like a chain letter it tells her to send it to five people or else.

So far nothing I can’t handle. However, it’s what happens next that sent me, and Isabella, packing. Just as she finished reading she notices two rather disfigured and disgusting feet that sent shivers down both our spines. I just wanted to run then and there, but for the sake of writing this article I had to look up. And promptly wished I didn’t.

The Letter is not for me. I can’t handle body horror. Supernatural and psychological horror are just fine, but when confronted with the macabre right in front of me I squirm. It might not be my cup of earl grey, but I’m sure that there are people who love this sort of thing. And if you’re one of them I’m certain you’d enjoy this game. For me, though, I’m going to have to pass.