Taiwanese found footage horror Incantation - one of the scariest movies of 2022 - is about to terrify a whole new audience, as a game adaptation is officially in development and is planned to hit PCs later this year.
Softstar Entertainment Inc. (the developers behind The Legend of Sword and Fairy and Xuan-Yuan Sword series) and Timid Cat Studio are set to launch the first-person horror game on Steam, although an exact date has not yet been announced.
Incantation, from director Kevin Ko, follows a young mother, Li Ronan (Tsai Hsuan-yen), desperate to lift an ancient, evil curse that she believes has been placed upon herself and her young daughter. Thanks to its hugely unsettling blend of body, folk and religious horror all wrapped up in a found footage bow, Incantation was a huge hit in its native Taiwan, winning big at the Taipei Film Festival and becoming the highest grossest Taiwanese horror film of all time. It wasn’t long before Netflix snatched up streaming rights to the movie, releasing the curse of Mother Buddha onto international audiences in July of 2022. Audiences were even more creeped out to learn that the movie was inspired by a bizarre true crime case in Taiwan's Gushan District.
A full overview of the game from the Steam store reads as follows:
Incantation is a first-person horror mystery game that's adapted from a movie of the same name. The game reveals the chilling story behind "Chen Village" from the movie. A mother searching for her missing daughter accidentally stumbles into a village filled with mysterious cults. Beyond the palpable madness and fear in the village, there's a sinister force that drives one to despair. What happens when one crosses the forbidden line of this evil deity? In this unknown and eerie environment, search for fragile clues to piece together the whereabouts of your loved one. Is all this struggle to solve the mystery, or just a desperate desire to survive? Danger can strike from unexpected places; be alert to everything in the village! Try to hide your movements as if you've never set foot on this land before. Throughout this journey, every corner, every object, every emotion you encounter will lead you closer to the truth. But, is all of this just a coincidence? Or is there a hidden agenda behind everything? Wholeheartedly offer your name. If it pleases the Mother-Buddha, maybe, just maybe, you'll find a glimmer of hope in this deadly game...
Ko, an avid gamer himself, has overseen development on the project since first teasing it last summer. Back in December, the Incantation game was part of Taiwan's independent game show G-Eight, where it received praise from over 122 players who dared to enter the terrifying world of Mother-Buddha.
While the Incantation game is official for PC gamers, a PlayStation 5 version is apparently also in talks, although nothing is confirmed at the time of writing. Languages confirmed for the game so far of course include Mandarin, English and Japanese.
Check out some stills below, courtesy of Softstar (Warning! Some are pretty damn creepy and/or gross), plus an eerie trailer that previewed at The Horror Game Awards last month. Keep an eye out for further updates on the Incantation game as and when we get them!:
