Urban Myth Dissolution Center: This Year’s Must-Play Paranormasight

Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo was hands-down one of my favorite games in 2023. In fact, I crowned it my personal game of the year. I’ve always had a soft spot for eerie visual novels, especially those soaked in ghost stories and urban legends. So, when I heard Urban Myth Dissolution Center would be featured at Gamescom, I knew I had to check it out. Spoiler alert: it did not disappoint.

The game centers around Azami Fukurai, a character with the ability to sense spiritual entities to some extent. She arrives at the Urban Myth Dissolution Center searching for answers but soon finds herself employed there, joining forces with creative director Ayumu Meguriya and operative Yasumi Tomarigi to unravel a series of paranormal mysteries.

As the name suggests, the cases revolve around internet-born urban myths and legends. The team explores locations like rental properties with haunted pasts, cursed artifacts, and strange dimensional rifts.

During my hands-on preview, I played through the game's opening, which introduced me to the characters and some basic gameplay mechanics. The first paranormal case I encountered involved a supposedly cursed chair. However, the chair wasn’t cursed at all—it had been rigged with poison. Ayumu used this as a test for Azami before officially hiring her. Afterward, we were introduced to our first full-fledged case: investigating a ghostly figure caught on camera in a high-rise apartment. Unfortunately, my time with the game ended before I could dive deeper into that spooky mystery, but I’m eager to uncover more when the full game launches.

One of the standout features of Urban Myth Dissolution Center is its gorgeous pixel art. The cutscenes, in particular, evoke serious anime vibes. The game primarily sticks to a muted color palette, with the section I played heavily relying on blue tones. However, paranormal entities and points of interest pop with a vivid red, adding a striking visual contrast that really sets the mood.

A cool gameplay mechanic involves Azami’s special glasses, which allow her to see spirits more clearly. This creates a unique dynamic where you can switch between using the glasses to spot spectral oddities or removing them to view the environment normally. Although my time with the game was limited, I didn’t come across any complex puzzles, but I’m hopeful there will be plenty of mind-bending moments that force players to think outside the box.

Like Paranormasight, which quietly flew under the radar with minimal hype before its release, I have a feeling Urban Myth Dissolution Center might follow a similar path. That’s why I’m sounding the alarm now—so you can get this on your radar. If you’re a fan of visual novels packed with occult mysteries and beautiful pixel art, keep an eye out for its release later this year.

Urban Myth Dissolution Center is slated to launch later this year on PC and Nintendo Switch.