HAUNT

HAUNT is a solo journaling game aiming to provide an impactful journey for the player. In HAUNT, the player takes on the role of a trapped ghost who aches to connect with the living. The ghost knows that their attempts to connect with the living may result in an exorcism, but they also know that failing to make a connection will cause them to wither away, unable to move on. HAUNT is built on the Wretched & Alone system, product of Chris Bissette and Loot The Room.

"This game is a moving and visceral exploration of what it’s like to touch the lives of others, but they fail to acknowledge you. Each prompt is carefully crafted to help the player explore a facet of loneliness, isolation, or yearning and to develop the character of the ghost and the world they exist inside. Through this game, Yubi asks tough—but necessary—questions to guide the player through an unforgettable story for our times. It was a joy to edit this game and I hope you love it as much as I do." - Sebastian Yūe, editor for HAUNT, content creator for Hit Point Press, and more.

What is HAUNT?

HAUNT is an experience where ‘winning’ is rare; instead the goals are to create a story, sit with the emotions your story inspires in you, and to reflect on isolation, fear, and disconnection.

HAUNT includes:

• 1 x Web Optimised PDF (with screen reader optimisation)
• 1 x Print Optimised A5 PDF (with screen reader optimisation to be released shortly)
• 1 x Accessible Version (dyslexia friendly, black and white, no images, printer friendly, image descriptions, reflow ready, screen reader optimised) PDF
• 1 x Accessible Version (dyslexia friendly, black and white, no images, printer friendly, image descriptions, reflow ready, screen reader optimised) ePUB

"HAUNT takes the compelling bleakness of the Wretched & Alone system but puts a fresh new spin on it. It's not about the survival of your corporeal form, it's about what happens after and trying to help memories of yourself survive." - Matt Sanders, developer of the Wretched & Alone SRD.

Safety

This game deals with a range of potentially triggering and upsetting content outlined below in the trigger warnings list.

If a particular prompt makes you uncomfortable, don’t use it. You can swap it for another one from the same theme, write your own prompt instead, or follow the action on the prompt without addressing it in detail.

You do not have to complete the game. Your well-being is the most important thing, and if HAUNT becomes overwhelming, you can take a break and come back to it, or stop playing altogether.

Trigger warnings include:

• Illness and death
• Ghosts and the undead
• Loneliness and isolation
• Disconnection and being ignored
• Amnesia and loss of time
• Emotional and physical turmoil
• Grief

Who Am I, when I play HAUNT?

You are dead. You are a ghost. You don’t remember your name and your age, what you looked like, and who you were. You wander the rooms of this house, desperately clinging to the shredding tatters of You.

You watch the family in their home.

You want to join them.

You can’t.

But if you don’t, you will continue to drift away until your soul becomes so fragmented that you can’t move on, and you—or what’s left of you—will remain here forever.

You have to reach out to the living, you have to make them see you, so you can remember who you are. 

So you can finally find peace.

You have to try.

HAUNT currently has an 'early bird' discount price set for the first 24 hours of release, and will then be available for $12 afterward.

I'd like to review HAUNT! How can I get a copy?

Send an email to yubi.coates@gmail.com with a brief introduction and a link to where you review games! If you charge for reviews, please let me know your rates in your initial email, as this project has a limited budget.

What about Community Copies?

For every $5 tipped over the asking price, I will be adding a Community Copy to the pool. These copies are for people who are unable to pay for the game. Please only claim a Community Copy if this applies to you.

Will HAUNT ever be available in print?

I would love to do a print run of HAUNT in the future. Anyone who purchases the digital version will be able to contact me for a discount on a printed version (details of which are to be worked out) when / if a printed version becomes available. While you may print the A5 version and assemble it in a book / zine format for your own use, please do not resell it in this format (or any version in any format).