Eye Can See You (Otome Jam 2022) Review

Eye Can See You is an indie otome horror game that follows a girl with psychic abilities that allows her to see spirits. As she enters a new school, she finds spirits residing in her school and makes it her goal to help them fulfill their deeds. But there is evil lurking in the shadows with its own agenda. This is the first project from indie studio Gongon Studios for Otome Jam 2022!

Game Details

Indie Otome | Fantasy | Horror
Price: Name Your Own Price
Where to Play: itch.io

Story

Reality is but one of the three planes of existence and the paranormal
turn out to be very real, residing in one of them.
“Eye Can See You” follows the story of Aiya Yoshida, a girl who possesses
a magic ancestral eye that allows her to see spirits.
She enters a new school and encounters spirits, who haunt Kyosei High on a daily basis.
But it turns out that not all of them have good intentions,
thus giving a new whole meaning to “surviving high school”.
Will Aiya be able to solve the mysterious deeds of her schoolmates?
Who knows, she might find things tied to her curse in more ways than she initially thought…
Official Synopsis

Characters

The Heroine

The Love Interests

Eye Can See You brings new meaning to “Surviving High School”

The game follows Aiya, a young girl who has the ability to see spirits and other unseen entities. Because of her unique ability, she finds it hard to fit in with her peers and as a result has had to change schools several times. In her latest move, she finds herself the new transfer student at Kyosei High. For once things seem to be turning up for Aiya, she’s made new friends and she’s even joined the manga club. As she acclimates to her new school, Aiya discovers that Kyosei High hides dark secrets. Soon she encounters the spirits (both malevolent and benevolent) that haunt it’s halls. What should have been the start of a normal school year quickly becomes a fight for survival for Aiya and the living and deceased at Kyosei High.

Don’t let the cute character designs fool you, Gongon Studios doesn’t pull it’s punches in this deceptively bright visual novel. Eye Can See You very much earns it’s “horror” tag. The game jam version covers the first chapter of the game (roughly 2-4 hours of gameplay) and let me tell you, it is a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Much of the horror is largely simmering under the surface, focusing on Aiya acclimating to her new school from making friends to joining a club to even catching the eye of a few cute boys. But, as the story progresses and more is revealed about Kyosei High and the students that reside there, many of the things you “think” you know are completely turned on their head.

I will readily admit that Gongon Studios impressed me with their mastery of suspense. There are not one, but several big twists that happen in the game that not only caught me off guard, but literally had me questioning everything up until that point. I CAN’T WAIT for the final release of this game, because I have some questions that NEED answers! Gongon Studios revealed that they plan for the game to have between 7 -10 chapters, three pursuable characters (and a secret character).

While the the mystery and suspense are most definitely at the forefront of Eye Can See You‘s story, this is an indie otome game, so there is a bit of romance~ When reading through the itch.io page for the game, it’s hard to miss the “Characters full of life (most of them)” comment under the Key Features section. So, I knew I was into some bittersweet feels in the romance department. Especially after seeing “He died many years ago” under Yoichi’s character bio and trust me when I say, I WAS NOT READY for this game.

Each of the LIs makes an appearance in the game jam version of the game and I love them ALL, not a bad apple in the bunch. Though melanin king, Haru absolutely caught my eye—Afro-Brazillian/Japanese, yes please! But, the real MVPs are the side hotties, Souta and Kenji (especially Kenji—KA-CHOW). There is no reason for two of my ideal character types to just be side characters, I demand a chance to date both of them 😂 please. I also love that Aiya does make a few gal pals; we need more besties in otome games in general. But, both Yoriko and Haruki are super fun characters.

As for Aiya, she is a bit on the reserved side because of how she was bullied in the past and her ability to see spirits really doesn’t do her social life any favors. But, even with that said, she’s a lot of fun. She really wants to fit in at her new school and she’s despite a few reservations, she does slowly open up to those around her. She’s never really had any friends in the past so she’s extremely loyal to Yoriko and Haruki, even going out of her way to stand up to a group of girls picking on Haruki. And in a moment of absolute badassery, she literally slaps the crap out of one of her would be bullies. And when faced with the malevolent forces at Kyosei High, she doesn’t back down and vows to use her powers to help those around her from the entity’s influence.

While the interactions between Aiya and the LIs are brief (she spends the most time with Haru and Yoichi in this build) they do hint at the potential for much deeper connections in later chapters; especially dead bae, Yoichi. I am curious to see what the devs do with the romance, for many reasons, but most prominently, Aiya specifically says she’s “not made for love”. IDK about Aiya, but I certainly am and my heart beats for Kenji and Shadow-kun, so I definitely want to see how those relationships develop in the final version of the game.

The Verdict – Is Eye Can See You Worth Playing?

So, the verdict: Romance, with a healthy helping of horror? Sign me up! Gongon Studios had my attention from the moment I picked up their debut title. With it’s unique blended horror/romance premise; cute, bright art style; and impressive storytelling—Eye Can See You is a must play from this year’s lineup. It’s a truly haunting (and at times terrifying) experience that you do not want to miss out on!

I did stream this game over on my Twitch channel and the VOD is available for the next 2 months! Check out the let’s play of Eye Can See You!

Find Gongon Studios

Gongon Studio is a game studio created in 2021, dedicated to bringing to players high-quality story-driven games with a focus on folklore and mythology.