A TTRPG can pull off many cool things. There’s one that can go GM-less. One that you can play by yourself. And there’s even one that even uses your actual trash as plot devices.
But even then, how does a medium capture something as visual as analog horror?
For those of you not deep enough in the cesspool we call “the internet,” analog horror is a sub-genre of visual horror that uses a sort of VHS style. (Perhaps the most famous example of this being The Mandela Catalogue series on Youtube.) Hence why I’m skeptical of a TTRPG catching the vibe of a very video medium.
But, regardless, Chorogaiden (チョロ外伝) is stepping up to bat to face such a challenge.
Inspired by Junji Ito, your players’ adventure centers around a Japanese village of your creation. The world’s filled with unspeakable evils, and naturally, they have to look into it. Assuming that the slowly-decaying world isn’t destroyed first, of course.
The game utilizes a pool system that ties available dice with health points, overusing it resulting in players dropping. Each adventure centers around your players finding a hidden location called a “Gate,” which they must close before dark forces creep through. Of course, this also means solving mysteries, such as deaths related to a speed dating service.
I’m hard-pressed to call Chorogaiden an analog TTRPG, the only analog I see being (legitimately) creepy pictures in the guidebook.
But either way, Chorogaiden still taps into the dread and eeriness of J-horror. A strong recommendation for any fans of the genre!
Unlike many other projects I’ve covered, this game is actually available right now on Itch.io, the campaign a means of getting it into physical form.
2 comments on “An Analog Horror TTRPG?”