One of the most promising, upcoming names in the world of horror is making a Junji Ito game. That's right - after decades of works from the master of horror manga, we're finally getting an officially licensed game featuring Tomie, Souichi's beloved pet, the haunting Headless Sculptures, and more, and it's shaping up to be some real frightful fun.
First, I'll lay down a little context. Horror games have always been a tough thing to nail, as have game adaptations of movies and other IP. As such, I was pleasantly surprised when I stumbled upon The Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation back in 2022, and it became one of my favorite horror games of the year. Set in the world of the 2020 Taiwanese movie, this unique little gem managed to tick all of my boxes, combining urban legends, perplexing puzzles, chilling chases, and an intriguing plot that had me on the edge of my seat by the final act.
I was all the more surprised to find that this was, in fact, an indie horror game from a small development team under Softstar Entertainment. Following the first game, Softstar has continued to build on this foundation, creating what is now known as the Softstar Horror-Verse. This collection currently only includes three games: an adaptation of the excellent 2022 Taiwanese found footage horror film Incantation, The Bridge Curse: Road To Salvation, and its 2023 sequel.
This sequel, titled The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication, might be one of my favorite horror games of all time. It takes a massive leap over its charmingly rough-around-the-edges predecessor, digging even deeper into the world of urban legends in the most unexpected way. In fact, the entire time I was playing the brilliant Silent Hill f, I found myself thinking back to The Bridge Curse 2 and drawing parallels.
It was this thought path that saw me return to the Bridge Curse games this spooky season, only to learn that there's a new game in the works - and this one is based on one of my favorite authors and artists of all time, Junji Ito.
Burning with curiosity and Halloween spirit, I reached out to Softstar Entertainment for a chat, and was lucky enough to secure this interview with the producer of the Bridge Curse games and the upcoming Junji Ito Maniac: An Infinite Gaol, Bing-Yu Wu, discussing the art of adaptation, the essence of the horror genre, and what exactly makes a game 'scary'. So, grab your trick-or-treat candies and a blanket to hide behind, because things are about to get spooky.
Pocket Tactics: With the Bridge Curse games, Incantation, and now a Junji Ito game in the works, you've adapted quite a few horror IPs into games. How do you go about getting the license to make these adaptations, and how do you choose what IPs you want to adapt?
Bing-Yu Wu: The Bridge Curse came about through a collaboration between Softstar Entertainment and Double Edge Entertainment. The idea actually started from the management team, who suggested making a game adaptation of the movie. The story of The Bridge Curse itself already had a strong foundation, with elements of traditional Taiwanese beliefs and campus legends, giving it a unique charm.
I've always been a big fan of horror games, so it felt like the perfect match when the opportunity came up. Everything lined up - the timing, the theme, and my personal interest. Once the proposal was approved, we officially started development in 2021.
For Junji Ito Maniac, we found out there was a chance to work with Muse Communication and Junji Ito's team on an official licensing partnership. We realized that Junji Ito's horror is globally recognized, but there hadn't been an interactive experience that truly let players immerse themselves in it. Turning that unique horror into a game became the key reason for the collaboration.
What made you decide to go into licensed games rather than entirely original works?
Established IPs have already been tested in the market and have a solid fan base. From a game production perspective, adapting an existing IP reduces the time needed for initial worldbuilding, focuses our creative direction, and makes it easier for the team to visualize and communicate ideas.
We've definitely thought about creating original titles as well - and in fact, we are working on that.
Beyond the projects you've worked on so far, if you could choose to adapt any horror media to a game, what would it be?
I'd probably say Smile [2022 film]. I think it could offer a very different kind of gameplay experience - one where the player has to figure out how to stop or break the curse. There could be all sorts of strange and unexpected deaths that the player needs to uncover, while the evil entity constantly tries to mess with their mind. The challenge would be in recognizing the tricks of the curse before it destroys you.
What drew you to horror as a genre?
I'm drawn to intense visuals, spine-chilling stories, and, ideally, some mystery or puzzle-solving elements. The story should have room to expand and spark the imagination. Turning it into a game that players can actively experience is just perfect.
What makes a game 'scary' to you, and how do you go about implementing it into your games?
For me, a truly scary game is one where you're constantly on edge - always expecting danger around the corner. That kind of tension keeps your heart racing. I recently played Amnesia: The Bunker, and it really nailed that feeling.
When we make our own games, we try to build that same sense of unease by carefully laying down little breadcrumbs of doubt. As players start to connect those pieces and their imagination kicks in, the tension naturally grows, and that's when we know we've done our job right.
So far, the Softstar Horror-Verse games have naturally taken a lot of inspiration from the media they're based on, but they're not one-for-one adaptations, often dealing with different characters and narratives that allow them to stand out as unique, standalone experiences.
How do you approach the art of adaptation while still making the games your own? Is it difficult to balance your original ideas with honoring the source material?
The adaptations of The Bridge Curse and Junji Ito Maniac actually ended up being two pretty different experiences for us. With The Bridge Curse, we had a lot of creative freedom to expand the world and add new story scenarios - it was also a chance to get more people familiar with the IP.
Junji Ito's IP, on the other hand, is globally recognized. Everyone already knows it, so there are specific rules we have to follow. We have to be careful not to go beyond what fans expect, because that could backfire, and that's something neither the game nor we, as developers, would want.
Prior to Junji Ito Maniac: An Infinite Gaol, the three Softstar Horror-Verse games each revolve around different threads of Taiwanese culture, including urban legends and myths, religion, and even approaches to mental health.
What draws you to these themes, and how do you go about navigating them?
Urban legends are something everyone's heard of, and they often share similar elements - they come from people's desires, fears, and emotions. Every generation has its own challenges, and these legends evolve over time. I find it fascinating to explore human struggles and choices through these stories.
When we work on a game, we discuss every possible scenario in team meetings to ensure nothing is overlooked. In the end, we decide on the path that feels right for the story and the experience we want players to have.
Both of the Bridge Curse games revolve around several different perspectives, with the player taking control of different characters at different points in the story.
How did you find the process of developing these different perspectives and their responses to the horrific events surrounding them?
When we tell the story from multiple perspectives, the key is ensuring that players can clearly understand who the main character is, who's driving the events, and how the protagonist eventually resolves everything, while the other characters offer different gameplay experiences.
For example, in The Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation, Hsin-Chiao Chao's story and gameplay start with negative emotions. By the time she decides to break the curse, she has to endure enormous psychological pressure to succeed, allowing everyone to escape the curse. Meanwhile, her classmates provide alternative gameplay opportunities and positive energy, whether through story moments like joking around or gameplay mechanics like being chased by ghosts or playing hide-and-seek.
Because the games are in first-person, showing players what their character looks like is always tricky. In The Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation, we revealed the main character's appearance at the end of the prologue. In The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication, players don't actually control the protagonist until Chapter 3, while they get to see her in Chapter 2 - a different approach that changes pacing and how the story unfolds. Sometimes, the protagonist appears later when the story is longer, and we design around that.
I've noticed most of your horror games have at least some compatibility with handheld consoles - both of the Bridge Curse games are Steam Deck verified and available on Nintendo Switch, Incantation is Steam Deck compatible, and you've confirmed that Junji Ito Maniac will also be Steam Deck verified.
Is handheld compatibility something you prioritize when making your games?
We prioritize Steam Deck as our main handheld platform. Steam is a very developer-friendly environment, and we can test performance directly on the Steam Deck. It gives us a clear idea of how the game runs and provides a solid foundation for future porting to other handheld devices.
How have you found the response to the Softstar Horror-verse games from the community and content creators online? Did you expect your games to have such a wide global reach?
We were surprised to see players outside the Chinese-speaking regions enjoying our games. Most Asian horror games focus on creating atmosphere and supernatural elements, so the global support shows that this style of horror, including elements such as traditional beliefs, resonates worldwide. We're really grateful for that.
For The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication, we added English dubbing to make it easier for global players to immerse themselves in the game. Making the experience friendly and accessible for players motivates our development team.
Junji Ito's works are notoriously hard to adapt, with many movie and animated adaptations falling short over the years. However, as a long-term Junji Ito fanatic, I've been very impressed with what I've seen from the Junji Ito Maniac: An Infinite Gaol demo so far.
Did you feel a lot of pressure taking on such an iconic subject, especially as such a small team?
Yes, we definitely felt a lot of pressure. But rather than trying to compete with big AAA titles, we focused on what we do best: creating story-driven gameplay experiences. Our script and gameplay are closely intertwined, so the story flows naturally through gameplay, and gameplay strengthens the story experience. Maximizing this connection and leaving a strong impression on players - that's our first step toward success.
There are decades of works from Junji Ito to choose from, with many recognizable characters and scares. With such a broad catalog at your fingertips, how did you go about selecting which characters and elements to include, and what was your process for adapting them from 2D to 3D?
The scope of our license covers the content of Junji Ito Maniac anime, so we approached it from the perspective of the player or reader. We asked ourselves which creatures players can actively engage with and which are better suited for building atmosphere. For the creatures players can actively engage with, we closely studied how they behave in the anime and how they affect the characters.
For example, the Headless Sculptures chase humans, decapitate them, attach the heads to themselves, or disguise themselves as living people to lure victims for other Headless Sculptures. That behavior translates perfectly into a 3D game, letting players experience the thrill and pressure of being hunted firsthand.
After Junji Ito Maniac, what's next for you? I've seen your posts about the mysterious Project:UIA, which you have said will be your "new approach to horror games" - can you share any details about this or other upcoming projects?
Having worked on several licensed games, we've gained experience with story-driven gameplay, and now we want to bring players a fresh game experience. Project:UIA is a game about various mysterious events, where we'll use different methods to track and investigate these anomalies. It's also our own original IP, and we can't wait to share a playable demo with everyone.
And that's everything we had time to discuss. A massive thank you to both Bing-Yu Wu and the team at Softstar Entertainment for taking the time to answer my questions. It was very insightful, and I hope all my fellow fright-lovers got as much out of it as me!
While there are plenty of exciting spooks popping up this year, I genuinely feel that some of the best horror games we've seen recently have been from smaller studios and indie developers, and Softstar Entertainment, at least for me, has quickly become one of the most exciting names in this space.
If you're curious to try any of the games yourself, The Bridge Curse: Road To Salvation, The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication, and the upcoming Junji Ito Maniac: An Infinite Gaol all have free demos that you can download on Steam. Alternatively, if you're looking for something a little less spooky to help you sleep tonight, you can check out our lists of the best Switch games, the best mobile games, and the best Steam Deck games for picks from a wide variety of genres.