12AM BLACKOUT Announces JIAOHUN Horror Game Set In Pre-Y2K China
A first project from a new Shanghai studio arrives with an Unreal Engine 5 period setting and a folk-custom title, which puts the game's hook in local memory rather than imported horror grammar.
Reporting from 1 source: Game Spark.
Shanghai studio 12AM BLACKOUT announced JIAOHUN during the Triple-i Initiative Showcase, which aired from 1:00 AM on October 9. The first-person psychological horror game is set in Fairy Town in 1990s China, where the player returns as a homecomer who has lost their soul. It is scheduled for release in 2027 for PC via Steam and PS5.
The game places the player in Fairy Town in Baishoi County, a small town where calendars stay frozen on the eve of Y2K and a banner reading "Let Us Welcome the New Century" still hangs. The player walks it as a homecomer who has lost their soul, chasing scattered souls while the town's decline comes into view.
Development uses Unreal Engine 5, with a screen ratio that switches between 4:3 and 2.39:1 and a texture drawn from film and VHS. Gameplay is a walking simulator with puzzle elements. The title refers to a Chinese folk custom of calling back a soul that has left the body.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.