The Witch's House was the first RPGMAKER horror game I ever played, when I was in eighth grade. I became obsessed with it for months in the summer; I watched every YouTube playthrough I could, and made all of my friends play it with me. It's become a bit of a joke in my friend circles--if I make a new friend, the first time we hang out one-on-one, I always make them play this game. No exceptions, even to this day.
I'm not entirely sure why I was so taken with this game. Perhaps because it was the first of its kind that I'd experienced--small-scale, indie Japanese games with intriguing settings and storylines made only out of pixels. The aesthetic is awesome, to be sure, and really sets the tone of the story right out the gate; it's mastery of the jumpscare, something which I abhor, surprised me, because every time one happened it genuinely felt deserved. The puzzles are also fascinating and function as an exceptional foray into environmental storytelling.
This game also, I should note, has a twist ending. There are different endings you can get--good, bad, and neutral, if memory serves. It is one of very few cases that I've felt that the twist ending was deserved, that it was actually a payoff of moments I hadn't noticed until discovering the secret, a surprisingly effective use of Chekhov's gun. At the risk of sounding juvenile--or, worse, a supporter of gamer YouTubers--I remember watching user Markiplier play this game, and he had this to say after finishing it:
"This was an amazing game, you know, I said at the beginning of this Let's Play that I felt bad that I kinda havne't played these RPG Horror games in a while because I didn't think they'd be scary, but man I was wrong! That was probably one of the best horror experiences that I've had in a long time. Because the jumpscares were nice, the atmosphere was perfect, and once you get into it... You kinda have to play it for yourself. I would recommend--if anyone is still skeptical about these games, like I understand, I was too! But give it a try! Play it for yourself!"
I completely agree.
