OBAKEIDOROR 2 REVIEW: This Adorable Spooky Game Has Me Obsessed

Disclosure: I received a copy of OBAKEIDOROR 2 through PR for coverage. Receiving the game did not influence my opinions in this review. All thoughts are my own.

Every once in a while, I get a game through PR that I expect to play for little while, gather my thoughts on, make my content, and move along to whatever is next.

OBAKEIDOROR 2 was absolutely not one of those games. I am OBSESSED!!!

This is one of those games where I started playing for coverage and very quickly realized, oh no. I'm actually going to be playing this when I'm not working too.

It's cute. It's spooky. It's chaotic. The matches are short enough to make you immediately say, "okay, ONE more." And we all know how that goes. Then my kids saw it. Yeah.... now everyone wants to play.

So, What Exactly is OBAKEIDOROR 2?

OBAKEIDOROR 2: Chase & Seek is an asymmetrical multiplayer game from FREE STYLE where players are divided between humans and monsters. The basic concept is incredibly easy to understand. You have three minutes. If you're playing as a human, you're trying to run, hide, work with other Humans and survive until the time runs out.

If you're the Monster?

Well.......Go catch everybody! If one human manages to escape, the Humans win. If the monster catches everyone. The monster wins. Humans aren't completely helpless either. They can use their lantern to stun monsters, while monsters have their own special abilities to help track down and capture humans. It's basically a giant supernatural game of chase and hide- and -seek. And who know that was the kind of game I needed in my life.

The Art Style Immediately Got Me

Before we even get into the gameplay, we need to discuss how CUTE this game is. That's what originally caught my attention. OBAKEIDOROR 2 has this colorful Japanese supernatural aesthetic that manages to be spooky without losing its charm. And if you're familiar with Toilet-bound Hanako-Kun, you might understand what I mean when I say the overall atmosphere gave me those kinds of vibes. Now I'm not saying the two are connected. They aren't I'm talking purely about the feelings I go from the visual style and some of the character designs.

The supernatural school settings, ghost, colorful characters and adorable-but-creepy aesthetic immediately made me think:

My kids are going to eat this up and I was correct.

My Kids Love It

One of my favorite things about reviewing games is discovering something that doesn't just interest me, but also my kids hovering around asking:

"what are you playing?"

OBAKEIDOROR 2 did exactly that. They love the characters and the spooky-but-cute atmosphere, and the basic concept is simple enough that they can understand what's happening without me giving a 45 minute PowerPoint presentation on the game mechanics.

You're hiding from a monster or you're the monster chasing everybody.

GO

There is more strategy once you start learning the maps, characters and abilities, but the core gameplay is incredible approachable. That makes it one of those games I can see becoming part of our family gaming rotation.

This Is going to Be HILARIOUS with Friends

This might actually be what I'm most excited about. OBAKEIDOROR 2 supports up to eight players through local or online play, depending on the mode and setup. The entire time I was playing, I kept thinking about how chaotic this could become with a group of friends. And my friends I have I know one of them is going to panic, and one will betray the whole group to save themselves. And one of them is going to scream cause the monster appeared out of nowhere. And there's always ONE friend who somehow becomes ridiculously good at the game and makes everyone else angry.

That's the kind of friendship-building experience I'm looking for.

There are also Room matches for playing with online in a group, along with different local options. The game even supports Game Share features on Nintendo Switch 2, giving you additional ways to bring other people into the chaos. This is where I think OBAKEIDOROR 2 could really shine long-term for me.

Playing alone is fun. Playing with randoms is fun. But getting a group of friends together and listening to everyone panic? That's going to be a whole new experience.

The Three-Minute Matches Are Brilliant

I didn't realize how much I would appreciate the short matches until I started playing. Three minutes doesn't sound like much Until something is chasing you. And suddenly three minutes feels like seven business days. the short rounds also eliminate one of my biggest problems with certain multiplayer games: feeling like i have to commit a huge chunk of time whenever I sit down. With this game I can hop into a match relatively quickly and there is one small problem. A three-minute match makes it dangerously easy to tell yourself:

"I'll play another one."

And another. And another. Next thing you know, your quick little gaming session has turned into an evening. Don't ask me how I know.

Playing as a Human is Stressful in the Best Way

I wouldn't call this game a traditional horror game. It's too adorable for that. But being chased still creates that little bit of panic that makes hide-and-seek games so much fun. As a human, you don't just stand around waiting to get caught, You can run, hide and use your lantern statically to stun the monster. There are also cooperative actions that encourage Humans to work together. That's where thing's get interesting. DO you help your teammate? Do you keep running? Do you try something risky? Or do you panic and completely forget everything you were planning to do? I'm usually very talented at option four.

Being the Monster Changes Everything

Then you switch sides.

Now you're not running. You become the problem. Monsters have their own abilities designed to help hunt Humans, including abilities that can help track players or move around the environment in unusual ways. And I LOVE games that let me experience both sides of the chase.

You start learning how Humans behave because you have been one. You know the places you would hide. You know when someone is probably waiting to use their lantern. This adorable game of hide-and -seek starts having more strategy than you expected.

Cute Doesn't Mean Boring

I think this is one reason OBAKEIDORO 2 clicked with me so quickly. I love cozy games. I love cute games. And sometimes I want something that still fits into that colorful, whimsical side of gaming without asking me to plant another filed of turnips. I like chaos, and this game gives me that.

It's cute enough to appeal to my cozy gaming brain while giving me the faster multiplayer gameplay I want when I'm in the mood for something completely different. And the supernatural effect makes it even better.

Is OBAKEIDOROR 2 family-Friendly?

For my family, this has definitely been one my kids enjoy. That doesn't mean every game is right for every child, so parents should always check ratings and gameplay themselves the U.S. Nintendo listing rates OBAKEIDORO 2 E10+ for Mild Fantasy Violence.

The spooky elements are much more cute and supernatural than realistic horror from what I've experienced. That's actually part of the appeal for us. My kids can enoy the monsters, ghost, and creepy atmosphere without the game needing to become genuinely disturbing. If your kids already enjoy cute spooky characters and supernatural stories, I can definitely see why this one might catch their attention.

What I Love So Far

My biggest surprise is simpl;y how quickly this game has won over me. I love the artwork, characters, short matches and being able to switch from being a monster to a human. And I REALLY love that it's something my kids saw and immediately became interested in too. The biggest selling point for me is multiplayer.

This feels like a game that gets even better when you bring your people into it. I already know I need to get some of my friends together. For research, obviously. Very serious professional game-review research.

Nothing to do with wanting to hear my friends yelling while a cute supernatural creature chases them around a map. Absolutely nothing.

is OBAKEIDORO 2 Worth Playing?

Based on my experience so far?

YES!!!

Especially if you enjoy:

• cute spooky games

• hide-and-seek or chase-style gameplay

• short multiplayer matches

• Japanese supernatural aesthetics

• games you can enjoy with friends and family

• multiplayer games that aren't overly complicated to understand

OBAKEIDOROR 2 knows exactly what kind of game it wants to be. It isn't trying to give you an enormous 100-hour adventure. It gives you three minutes. A monster, a group of humans and basically says: Good luck.

Before I Drag My Friends Into This

I went into OBAKEIDOROR 2 because I was fortunate enough to receive the game through PR. I walked away obsessed with it. And that's exactly why I love getting opportunities to cover indie and smaller games. A lot of the times a game lands in my inbox that I might not have discovered on my own, and suddenly I'm calling my kids down and jumping into Discord telling them I need them to play it with me. This game has officially become one of those games.

My kids love it. I love it. The art style scratches that cute-spooky itch perfectly and I know playing this with friends is going to be so much fun. So yes, I did received this game through PR but nobody told me I had to become this obsessed with it. Now I just need to convince everybody I know to play with me. Being chased by adorable monsters is my idea of quality friendship time.