[Platform No. 8]The long-awaited “sequel” to the world-famous horror walking simulator is now available

“No. 8 Platform” is a new PC game developed and published by “Kotake Create” that has been officially distributed on the PC game portal site “Steam” store since May 31, 2024. It is the latest in the long-awaited series of must-see indie horror walking simulators in which you aim to escape while dodging abnormalities inside a train that continues to run forever.

The main features include realistic game graphics reminiscent of real trains, a first-person view that maximizes the sense of immersion, a game system that is different from the previous game “Exit 8'' in which you sense abnormalities and move forward while dealing with them, and the presence of the old man character who continues to appear in the previous game.

A new horror action game recommended for fans of the unprecedented blockbuster title “8th Exit'' that sparked a global “8th Like'' boom after its appearance on the Steam store, for those who like playing sequel games that take on new frontiers without simply imitating the previous game's system, and for those who like to play while streaming videos of themselves playing live on YouTube etc.

The long-awaited sequel to the “No. 8” series has arrived

“No. 8 Station”, which is currently being distributed on the PC game portal site “Steam” store, is a recommended new PC game that is the long-awaited sequel to the worldwide hit horror walking simulator “No. 8 Exit” series. The author is “KOTAKE CREATE'', the same individual indie game developer as the previous work.

Players will start playing from inside a train that continues to run forever, and will aim to escape while avoiding various abnormalities that occur. It is a work that provides a highly immersive feeling with realistic graphics and a first-person view, and you will be completely absorbed in the play element where you carefully observe your surroundings and detect abnormalities.

After its release, the work has received 601 user reviews at the time of writing, and it has gotten off to a good start, with the content being “very well received.'' The title has been a hot topic on social media even before it was released, as it is the long-awaited sequel to the worldwide hit game, and the day has finally arrived where you can play the latest installment in the series.

Generally, among the horror games distributed on the Steam store, there are quite a few age-restricted titles that involve very grotesque depictions, but in the case of this work, since it is produced with the theme of “psychological horror'', it has the advantage that even people who are not good at gore and cruel depictions can play it with confidence. This is a new horror game that is recommended to a wide range of people.

About the previous work “Exit 8”

For those who don't know about “Exit 8,'' this game is set in a subway station corridor that loops forever, and the player walks towards the final goal, “Exit 8.'' A unique feature of this rule is that the situation inside the premises changes randomly, and if you detect something unusual, you turn back, and if there is nothing unusual, you continue on your way.

This simple and clear in-game play rule has been cited as one of the reasons why the game became a worldwide hit, and it was received with high praise from many players regardless of nationality, age, gender, etc. After that, games with similar content and rules appeared one after another from all over the world, and the Steam store area experienced an unprecedented “8th Like” boom.

The contents of the abnormalities vary, and there are small changes that cannot be noticed unless you pay close attention, and large-scale changes that are obvious at first glance.The frequency of occurrence is also completely random, making the structure highly replayable. This work is perfect for live streaming of games, and many video streamers have used it as a great material to play.

The factors that made “Exit 8” such a hit have been discussed in various places, but I think the most likely factor is the aforementioned “universal rule setting,” followed by “randomness.” The biggest appeal of the game is that it is not a one-way, routine game, but instead creates a feeling of excitement that “you never know what will happen'' every time.

This randomness has caused a great reaction among live video streamers, and videos that successfully display randomness have become a buzz. There are quite a few strategy videos that aim to “clear the game the fastest” or “cover all the anomalies,” but there is no doubt that the game's system design has made a major contribution to why videos of other people playing the game are so entertaining.

Game features

Due to the nature of the work, the game description posted on the Steam store is quite concise, but the main points of this work, “Number 8'' are “Aiming for escape'' and “Dealing with different incidents each time'', and the total play time is about 15 minutes at the shortest and about 1 hour at the longest. This is a recommended new horror game that can be played compactly.

The game uses elaborate 3D modeling to recreate the interiors of Japanese subway cars, so it's also recommended for train buffs. And, as those who played the previous game will know, “Uncle'', who suddenly became a household name, continues to appear in this game. The author says that you can enjoy this game even more if you have played the previous game. I would also like you to play the previous game “Exit 8''.

By the way, I will discuss this later, but the rules for behavior when something unusual is detected are completely different between “Exit 8'' and this work. If you play the game thinking it's the previous game, you'll encounter scenes that make you think, “That's it!'', so it's best to purchase it with the understanding that it's a different game, even though it's part of the series. The biggest feature is that the game system has evolved.

In addition, the various “advertisements” that players see in the game are advertisements about real places, products, and content, and are real and used by the creator “Kotake Create” with permission from the rights holder. Some readers may remember that we previously solicited advertisements on SNS (Official X), and the advertisements collected there are used in this work.

Kotake Create has openly stated on the Steam store that this work is inspired by internet memes such as “Liminal Space'' and “Backroom,'' and if you like these creepy memes, you'll love this work. It's a horror game title with a worldview that combines foreign horrors with a Japanese twist.

New games available for one coin price

The selling price on the Steam store is 470 yen, the same as the previous work “Exit 8”. It is a work that stands out for its easy pricing that allows you to get it for just one coin, and it is very wallet-friendly. It can be said that this is a horror game suitable for people who like collecting inexpensive indie games and aiming to clear them one after another, or people who want to purchase a large number of games without making an initial investment.

The work is equipped with a Japanese interface as standard. Since the game was created by an author residing in Japan, there are no problems such as translation discrepancies. This game fully supports operation with an Xbox controller, so even those who usually play games using a controller can feel at ease. It's a PC game title that can be recommended to a wide range of people.

By the way, compatibility with Valve's portable game console “Steam Deck” has not yet been determined. The previous game, “Exit 8,'' has not been able to achieve full compatibility due to minor graphical display issues, but it has been deemed “playable.'' This game will also be reviewed by Valve soon, and the results will be displayed on the store.

The number of Steam achievements that can be unlocked is 3 types in total, which seems a little small, but there are a lot of games on the Steam store that don't have any Steam achievements at all, so it's actually great that they're fully loaded with achievements at this price. The strange collection is the most interesting work, so it shouldn't bother you that much.

About video distribution guidelines

Kotake Create, the creator of this series, has set “Video Distribution Guidelines'' on the Steam store. Basically, this work can be distributed without permission by individuals or corporations, but if you are thinking of actually uploading play images from this work, please carefully read the “Requests and Notes from the Author'' below beforehand.

System requirements

The system requirements for “Platform 8'' are relatively low. Only the minimum operating environment is posted in the store, but the minimum operating environment confirmed model of the graphic board is NVIDIA's GTX 970 class parts. At the time of its release, it was a middle-class part, but now its performance is somewhere between low-end and middle-class, so the barrier to entry should be low.

There is no description of the minimum amount of main memory installed, and the minimum operating model of the CPU is Intel's i7-4770 class processor. If you want to enjoy smooth gameplay in a full HD environment, a current low-end gaming PC is sufficient. However, this does not apply when you want to perform live video distribution.

Generally, when the resolution of a PC monitor becomes WQHD or 4K, which is higher than Full HD, the load on the graphics board tends to increase depending on the native resolution. Major suppliers NVIDIA and AMD have released their own programs to reduce this load, but this is something to keep in mind if you want to play smoothly while achieving high fps.

Also, if you want to stream videos at the same time as playing, you can rest assured by installing a processor with higher performance than the minimum operating model. There is no established standard PC parts configuration for live broadcasting anywhere in the world, but check out various sites and consider your own environment to see if you have the appropriate PC parts configured.

In the case of PC games released by major companies, an easy-to-understand list of system requirements is published according to the in-game image quality settings, such as “With this configuration, you can achieve 60fps in full HD'', but those who are producing and publishing indie games individually do not have such descriptions because they do not have the time or money to try out various PC parts configurations.

There are so many combinations of PC parts that it is almost impossible to test them all in a gameplay environment. Therefore, users considering purchasing should check the system requirements as a kind of guideline, but as mentioned above, indie game developers are often located further away from the testing environment and tend to lack information.

As far as this game is concerned, it should run smoothly on all but very old gaming PCs, so it can be said that the ground is in place for more PC gamers to get involved. However, the lack of information creates anxiety among users, so it is hoped that services that can easily test system requirements will appear in the future. It would be perfect if there were public benchmark software available.

The much-talked-about work “No. 8 No. 2'', which was released as a sequel to the previous work that became a worldwide hit and sparked the “No. 8 Like'' boom that has spawned many similar works since then, is currently being distributed on the Steam store. This is a horror game title that can definitely be recommended not only to fans who enjoyed the previous work, but also to those who are interested in Japanese indie games that are attracting attention from around the world.

If you are interested, please visit the store now and check detailed game information.

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Gameplay flow

As mentioned above, the play perspective of “Bustle 8” is a first-person view. Moving the camera with the mouse or keypad will directly change the viewpoint, but this operation style and camera sensitivity can be adjusted at any time from the settings screen. If you are likely to get “camera sickness” from violently shaking your camera from side to side, make adjustments in advance.

While the previous game's rule was “If you sense something unusual, turn back, and if there is nothing unusual, proceed as is,'' the key point in this game is that the countermeasures and methods of dealing with it vary depending on the variation of the “something unusual.” Even if a clear abnormality occurs in front of the player, the player is forced to move forward, so the player must instantly turn his head at full speed and aim to escape from the abnormality.

The fact that there are different ways to deal with each incident means that you can end up getting addicted to it by repeating the wrong response. Since you can't move forward unless you come up with a correct way to break through, you may end up in a “stuck situation” that is different from the 8th-like work. This part will test the player's inspiration and ability, so let's do our best to completely conquer it.

“Ojisan”, who was familiar to many players in the previous game and has become more well-known, also makes a solid appearance in this game. There are strange changes in the old man himself, and there are some jump-scare elements, so in this respect it can be said that this work has a higher sense of fear than “Exit 8''. When you let your guard down, there are some strange incidents where they will approach you from behind at full speed, making it very exciting.

If you successfully clear the game while successfully passing through various abnormalities, you will be led to the ending screen that will make anyone who played the previous game grin. In that sense, it would be more impressive to play “Exit 8'' first and then play this work. It's a must-see indie game that has all the points you'd expect from a series.

Overall review: The key is whether you can adapt to change.

There are quite a few objections regarding “No. 8 Platform'' from users who have already played the previous game. To summarize the content roughly, I was disappointed that the “clear rules'' that “Exit 8'' had, such as “if you detect something unusual, turn back, and if there is nothing unusual, continue as you go'' were no longer present in this work. The sequel's curveballs have divided reviews.

Sequels to entertainment works in general, not just games, have a history of being called “demon gates''. The author will be presented with the choice of whether to build on the previous work for the fans who enjoyed the previous work, or take a completely different route and provide fans with a new horizon, and the choice they make will determine the success or failure of the sequel.

History of sequels in video works

In terms of video works, James Cameron's breakthrough film “The Terminator'' became a huge hit despite its origins as a low-budget B-grade science fiction film.In order to fully realize his own vision, director Cameron poured the profits into “Terminator 2'' and created an even bigger hit. And the director threw a “curve ball'' into the sequel.

The major changes in the setting of “Terminator 2'' are that the T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger), who was a terrifying hitman in the first film, has undergone a 180-degree change to the role of a “guardian angel'' who protects his target John Connor, and that the T-1000 (Robert Patrick), whose performance surpasses that of the T-800, has appeared, creating a big surprise for the audience.

Terminator 2 was a film that simply surpassed the first film in terms of VFX, special technology, and scaled-up explosion scenes, but I think director Cameron, who also wrote the screenplay, made changes to the setting that made it a blockbuster movie that was classic but also had some curveballs. At the time, there was no one who objected to the fact that the T-800 had become an “ally of humanity.''

Examples of success without breaking balls

What about the “Back to the Future'' series, which had a trilogy based on the theme of time slipping? This work was originally conceived as a trilogy, so it became a blockbuster movie that led the way. The cleverness of the plot, which takes the second film to the future and the third to the Wild West era, also shines through.

The above movie is an easy-to-understand “success example,” but there are very few sequels to successful entertainment works in the world. So why do so many entertainment works end up being branded as “failures'' when it comes to sequels? The reason for this has a lot to do with the fact that it became a hit that the producers did not expect.

The tragedy of a sequel created by success

In the world of movies, especially in Hollywood, there is a tendency for companies to demand a “sequel'' if the work becomes a hit, regardless of the original author's intentions. In the case of the “Terminator'' series, director Cameron wanted to end the movie with “2,'' but the production company forced him to make a sequel, leading to a lawsuit over ownership.

In other words, when a work becomes a huge hit that exceeds the expectations of the creator of the original work, the distribution company continues to put pressure on the original work, which can lead to a situation where the work has to start production on a sequel that they did not want to make, resulting in great disappointment for the fans. There are no shortage of examples where creators and commercialism don't mesh well.

Moving on to the world of games, there are many small indie game studios that produce sequels one after another that no one expected, but game studios that have generated sales that are a social phenomenon tend to be implicitly expected to achieve “further success” by publishers and related companies, and tend to lack motivation and release disappointing sequels that fail.

To summarize, in order for a sequel to be successful, there are two points that will determine its success or failure: “Has the production been envisioned and planned in advance?'' “Has the producer maintained motivation?'' If production proceeds with uncertainty in this area, a disastrous future awaits in which the sequel will be criticized harshly by fans of the first movie and will not lead to sales. This is a tragedy for the industry.

Even if the creators were motivated, there have been cases where the sponsors didn't like the curve ball the developer had envisioned and the direction changed. This problem is related to the failure of a dysfunctional research department and a lack of understanding, but the general public's mindset, which often dislikes big changes, cannot be excluded. It can be said that the hurdles for success with breaking balls are extremely high.

If you try to make a sequel to an entertainment work by simply prioritizing profits, you will end up losing the “light'' that the work had, but in the capitalist world, “the one who makes the most money wins'', so the delicate wishes of the creator tend to be ignored. This can be said to be a major reason why sequels are said to be a curse in the entertainment industry.

So what about the creator of this work, the indie game developer Kotake Create? The author is an individual developer and publisher of games, and it is up to him to decide whether to create a sequel or not. There is no “third party'' opinion urging a sequel, and if there is, it is only requests from fans for a sequel to be developed.

Therefore, “Number 8'' is a sequel in which the author threw a curve ball at his own will, and there is a sense of pride in that as a pure developer. The fact that the title “No. 8” is written over and over again shows pride in being an “original”, and it is also likely that they wanted to make a big deal of the fact that it was a new work aimed at fans who had played the previous work.

Now that the game has been released, some users who have played it are confused by the game system that “Exit 8'' did not have, and have not given it a clear high rating. They're right that the rules, which were once simple and clear, have become so complicated that it's no longer fun to play, and they're right. However, on the other hand, there are also high ratings.

Users who gave it high ratings said, “I enjoyed it as a game in a different genre,'' and they seem to be taking the author's curveballs seriously. These “differences in evaluations'' probably come down to whether or not the content was what I expected in advance, and whether I was able to fully appreciate and enjoy the unexpected elements.

The trend of low ratings because it is different from “Exit 8'' has a lot to do with how the game is perceived, and it reveals the difficulty of “purchased users'' who contributed to the success of the previous game to continue playing this game. If you had played this game first, or if you didn't even know the rules for “Exit 8,'' your evaluation of the game would probably be different.

Did the proliferation of similar works inspire the author?

I think the author was probably well aware that there would be a lot of controversy over the sequel. So why did they adopt the “risky method'' that created “different rules'' and produced works that were even praised as being in a different genre? This may be due to the existence of similar works like No. 8 that have appeared on the Steam store like bamboo shoots after the rain since the huge success of Exit No. 8.

As you know, “Exit 8'' became a kind of culture shock and became popular among horror game fans all over the world. Immediately thereafter, individual indie game developers proceeded with the development of “No. 8-like'' games, and in no time a boom of No. 8-like games began. There were a lot of inferior games that looked like copies.

As the original author, Kotake Create, I was happy about this situation, but at the same time I think it was also quite frustrating. This would be forgivable if it were a game he respected, but since there were a lot of “second-order'' games that easily imitated the game system and worldview, it is possible that he was thinking of changing the game rules he had established for his next work.

The golden rule of “proceed if nothing goes wrong, but turn back if something goes wrong'' is a very attractive system, and must have been an important element that people of all nationalities, genders, and ages can get used to. Abandoning that golden rule, Kotake Create created his own different rules and made them the core of the sequel. I can't help but feel that this is a strong statement of intent as the original author.

The system design of this game, which silently says, “If you like the rules of “Exit 8,'' please play “Exit 8,'' has the potential to continue to cause a huge stir. However, if this rule becomes widely accepted by the general public, there is a possibility that “Noriba-like” games will appear one after another on the Steam store in the future.

The author's intention in trying to break through the “demon gate'' that awaits sequels with a “curve ball'' is admirable, and you can also see the strong belief that as the original author, he wanted to avoid “second-handing'' himself at all costs. I just hope that more users will take advantage of this curveball and enjoy the game, but it's an interesting game in terms of content, so there's no need to worry too much.

Even in action games, the “two sides'' may have stages with completely different designs, which stimulates the player's desire to take on the challenge. In terms of this series, if you clear the first level with easy-to-understand rules in “Exit 8,'' and are willing to play the second level, which has a more advanced design, you are sure to enjoy the charm of this work.

“Number 8'', the authentic sequel to the hit anomaly-detecting horror walking simulator, is currently being distributed on the Steam store. With its inexpensive pricing and twists and curveballs, this is a PC game that you can enjoy playing while feeling a sense of surprise that wasn't there in the previous game. If you are interested, please visit the store now and check detailed game information.

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