Editorials
[The Terrors of itch.io] Discover the Junji Ito-Inspired Visual Novel ‘Grotesque Beauty’
The Terrors of itch.io is a new monthly series for Bloody Disgusting dedicated to highlighting some of the most noteworthy – popular or under the radar – horror games to grace the ever-expanding site of itch.io, one of the internet’s leading sources for small and independent games. Horror has consistently thrived under the video game art form, allowing for creators to tap into their morbid creativity and itch.io provides video game horror at its rawest form without filter. See the likes of Paratopic, September 1999, and the works of Puppet Combo as great examples of this in recent times.
A common trait to be found in many games on itch.io is a sense of homeliness, meaning that the usual amount of pandering and studio-based decisions are much harder to come by. Itch.io is home to some of the most passionate, talented, and occasionally hopeless, creators throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks, which makes for a lot of rough and unpolished titles to wade through. You could use this to describe Steam or other gaming sites, but it feels most appropriate with itch.io and its focus on shoestring budget gaming.
As a result, it’s both a huge relief and heartwarming to see a hidden gem pop out from the sea of DIY horror games on the site and Grotesque Beauty, from Digital Bento aka freelance artist Ben Ho, is the first that I’d like to talk about in this new series. Released in late 2019, Grotesque Beauty has made its way onto both itch.io and Steam, advertising itself as a multi-branched visual novel with elements of Junji Ito-inspired horror and around 30 different endings to choose from.
Visual novels sometimes get a bad reputation thanks to a perceived lack of experimentation with the style. Doki Doki Literature Club and The Letter aside, horror visual novels don’t dominate the horror game market the way that first-person chillers tend to do, which opens up the opportunity for creators to test out their writing skills and potentially gruesome ideas in a sub-genre that’s a bit more open to creative storytelling. Nothing against other areas of horror games, but with a visual novel, there’s almost a laser-like focus on the storytelling itself over atmosphere and gore.
Grotesque Beauty, as its name suggests, contains plenty for gore aficionados to latch onto with its unnerving story that quickly turns grim with each new path you take. But above all else, Ben Ho’s short, but sweet tale is one that relies on a healthy mixture of story and atmosphere, focusing on two main characters: Anita, our vessel for this story, has a troubled past, and has been experiencing nightmares more frequently than normal lately, and Rachel, her best friend who offers Anita to stay over at her place one night to calm her nerves from the nightmares.
The story’s set-up is clear, effective, and easy to follow as the night begins to plunge into insanity at a brisk, yet perfectly measured pace. Though it’s a fairly short game on the first playthrough, the revelation of the game having 30 different endings allows for longevity and an incentive to explore the game’s surprisingly detailed word and characters. Longevity also allows for the game’s horrific secrets to be unearthed in an appropriately grotesque manner.
Without spoiling too much of what this game has to offer (I myself have not yet played through all of the endings), Grotesque Beauty rides the line between rational and surreal, introducing situations that stretch human logic past its limits, similar to a Junji Ito tale, though still unique enough to be its own thing. From the threat of another force possibly being present in Rachel’s house to an odd living room decoration that may be more than meets the eye, nothing is truly right in this game, refusing to give the player a moment of ease.
Even calmer moments between Anita and Rachel are often rooted in something darker and unsaid, hinting at something fractured at the core, which develops over the course of the night as the horrors become clearer. Best of all, it’s not overly long a la Doki Doki, so the story can be replayed over and over without the feeling of having to slog through something again. Each new playthrough opens the possibilities for how differently the night can go, making it something that could go over particularly well for Let’s Plays on YouTube.
Grotesque Beauty has been out for a little bit now and it’s had some minor traction from what I’ve seen, but for what it’s going for and the creative ways the storytelling evolves, I think Ben Ho has struck something valuable here for horror. Though it can be classified as a small game of sorts, its scope reaches far and wide beyond its budget and length and it can serve as a rewarding experience for players eager to try out this choose-your-own-adventure title.
As of this writing, the game is still for sale on itch.io and Steam, but it’s a small price to pay for a worthwhile experience and that’s a theme I hope to tackle with each new game for each month. Because a low bank account shouldn’t have to prevent us from enjoying the world of video games, right?
Grotesque Beauty is out now on PC via itch.io and Steam.
No conversation about cartoons based on live-action movies is ever complete without mentioning The Real Ghostbusters.
This animated continuation is, warts and all, a notable example of turning a hit movie into a hit series. And although the new target demographic skewed a little younger, even kids-at-heart could partake in the further adventures of Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore and Egon Spengler.
For a good part of its run, the show required fans to wait at least a week for more Ghostbustin’. That’s torture for a kiddo. Luckily, though, the entire series, or at least most of it, is now available for streaming.
So, as you revisit The Real Ghostbusters on Tubi—for now it’s just the first five seasons there—use this guide to help prioritize some must-see episodes.
The Boogieman Cometh
“The Boogieman Cometh” (Season 1)
Season One’s “The Boogieman Cometh” is a classic episode featuring one of the show’s more iconic villains. It’s hard to forget the unique character design used for the Boogieman (whose creepy voice was provided by Ray and Slimer’s actor, Frank Welker). In this story, Egon is reunited with that bump-in-the-night entity who haunted his own childhood, all while trying to keep him away from his latest targets: the brother and sister claiming to have the Boogieman in their closet. Although the Ghostbusters do save the day here, the Boogieman eventually returns (“The Bogeyman Is Back“). That same episode also features the love-’em-or-hate-’em Junior Ghostbusters.
Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream
“Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream” (Season 1)
You could say the namesake of “Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream” had good intentions for putting mankind to sleep for the next few centuries—he wanted to end war and keep everyone dreaming. Sounds nice until you remember that whole free will business. But when it seems like the Ghostbusters have lost to their latest foe, the last one standing, Winston, gains a sudden ally. Janine’s dream of becoming a Ghostbuster is manifested, and she helps put this rogue spirit to bed.
When Halloween Was Forever
“When Halloween Was Forever” (Season 1)
Before the show’s execs capitalized on Slimer’s popularity by making him the focus of later episodes, early stories like “When Halloween Was Forever” better utilized that gooey ghost. Here, the spirit of Halloween itself, Samhain, hopes to make the holiday a permanent thing by stopping time. And who does the embodiment of All Hallows’ Eve use in his nefarious plot? Slimer, of course. Thankfully, the lil’ green bud knows where he really belongs, and Samhain is banished (at least until Season 3’s “Halloween II 1/2“).
Night Game
“Night Game” (Season 2)
Because Season Two was rather long, in comparison to other seasons, it accumulated quite a few solid episodes. One of the most beloved, though, is that ultimate good-versus-evil story, “Night Game“. Winston gets to shine here as he participates in a battle that was 500 years in the making. Except this time, the fighting is done on the baseball field. The other-dimensional settings in The Real Ghostbusters are always great, but the one here is particularly memorable.
Drool, the Dog-Faced Goblin
“Drool, the Dog-Faced Goblin” (Season 2)
Not all ghosts and whatnot were bad in The Real Ghostbusters. As “Drool, the Dog-Faced Goblin” showed, some were actually benevolent. Sadly, it took a lot of convincing, and one very heroic act, for Peter and the others to see past this goblin’s grotesque appearance. The heroes find more than one shapeshifter at a sideshow carnival in the Poconos; a sinister Class-4er called the Metamorph does a swell job of menacing the Ghostbusters before they finally realize Drool’s not their culprit. The good guys indeed win here, but that victory is a bittersweet one.
The Collect Call of Cathulhu
“The Collect Call of Cathulhu” (Season 2)
While “The Collect Call of Cathulhu” does misspell “Cthulhu” in the title (probably to avoid legal issues), it is clearly the Old One in this Lovecraft-inspired episode. The story kicks off with the Necronomicon being stolen by the deity’s modern-day cult, who then raise their ancient god at Coney Island. From there, the Ghostbusters’ typical methods don’t work on the big guy, so they seek advice from an old issue of Weird Tales (or “Wierd Tales”, as it’s spelled on screen). That build-up to the finale comes with a decent amount of dread before the Ghostbusters, as well as a scholar named Alice, face off with one of the show’s most powerful entities.
Knock, Knock
“Knock, Knock” (Season 2)
A number of Real Ghostbusters episodes could be reworked into big-screen features, but perhaps “Knock, Knock” is the most hopeful. It helps that this story feels in step with the first two movies. Here, some ignorant construction workers accidentally uncover and open an ancient door in the subway. What’s behind said door is none other than those unspeakable evils that only the Ghostbusters can quell. A good deal of the imagery here is prime for adaptation.
The Grundel
“The Grundel” (Season 3)
One of the darker episodes, which was written by the prominent J. Michael Straczynski, is “The Grundel“. Here, a boy is being influenced by the titular entity, a type of ghost who ultimately turns his targets into new Grundels. The episode does have something of an after-school special quality to it, but that doesn’t take away from the eerier moments. For more Grundel lore, be sure to check out the episode “Grundelesque” from the sequel series, Extreme Ghostbusters.
Standing Room Only
“Standing Room Only” (Season 4)
It’s no secret that The Real Ghostbusters experienced multiple changes after the second season. Out of all of them, though, retooling the show so that Slimer would get more of the spotlight is maybe the most egregious. Thankfully, Season Four (the first to be called Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters) didn’t completely obey that new directive; episodes like “Standing Room Only” felt more like the old days. The focus here was on the well-being of the city and its people, rather than on the series’ green mascot (or the Junior Ghostbusters). In the episode, Peter’s new ghost attractor isn’t to blame for the ensuing chaos; the ghost-eating Mee-Krah is what’s really imperiling everyone. And the Ghostbusters must dish out everything they have to avoid a doomsday situation.
The Halloween Door
“The Halloween Door” (Season 5)
While many fans will skip the later seasons in their rewatches, episodes like “The Halloween Door” are still worth checking out. This colorful helping of Halloween pandemonium premiered on primetime, so the animation is better than usual. And save for a random musical moment, it’s an enjoyable event. Here, a group of anti-Halloweeners tries to cancel the holiday, but they only end up making things worse by unleashing a baddie named Boogaloo.
The first five seasons of The Real Ghostbusters are available on Tubi, starting on July 15.
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