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A sequel to Zombie Studio’s Daylight has been announced today by Konami. That’s right, the Japanese publisher has purchased the rights to Zombie Studios’ survival horror IP and are ready to release a sequel: Nightlight. Daylight: Nightlight will expand upon the first game’s Twitch.TV integration in startling new ways. We had a hands-on preview with Daylight: Nightlight earlier this week.
Konami wanted us to have the best experience playing this game when we demoed it, so they set up individual rooms devoid of any light, background noise and hope. The lights in the room were off as I sat in front of the computer’s blank screen, waiting anxiously as the video stream buffered. While I can’t spoil too much, I can promise you it was terrifying. Daylight: Nightlight includes over twice the number of Twitch commands as the base game does. This adds numerous layers of depth to the horror value, providing not only a frightening experience but a true, deeply disturbing one that’s sure to trivialize mental illness to heights never seen before.
During my time with the game, it was made clear that Nightlight is a complex piece of horror. One that’s not to be forgotten. As I spoke with the game’s lead designer, he was happy to echo those thoughts.
“We want to move beyond the jump scares and shocks that some believe the first game relied too heavily on. Daylight isn’t about cheap thrills. Our aim with Nightlight was to bring the more subtle and nuanced aspects of the genre into the hands of spectators. We want viewers to experience real fear. Real emotions. So we’re teaming up with over a dozen popular YouTube and Twitch personalities. They’ll be IN the game yelling at you in unison like some really fucked up choir. It makes my ears bleed. I love it.”
And trust me, Nightlight does just that. The new commands also give viewers more to do. More control not only over the game but over the players themselves. Broadcasters will be able to hook themselves up to a device which will deliver sensory stimulation unheard of before in the gaming medium. This gives the game’s viewers a level of agency they’ve never experienced while watching games. If the broadcaster isn’t responding well to the horror on screen, they can now be made to react to things that may or may not even be there! This makes for an exciting and unpredictable experience.
Overall, this is shaping up to be one of the most ambitious horror games out there. And while we are already so excited to learn more, Konami has assured us that Hideo Kojima definitely didn’t make this game.
