The spooky Shinonome: Rainy Night Manor is one of the best roguelikes I’ve ever played. Today, on March 25, an improved and expanded version of the game arrives: 深 四のの目 -陰陽の巫女 Shinonome Abyss: The Maiden Exorcist.

The original version of Shinonome (Rainy Night Manor) first launched on PC back in November 2022. So far, this roguelike with horror and survival elements has been criminally overlooked—the all-time peak on Steam, according to Steamcharts, is a miserable 13 concurrent players.

So what happened? Did Steam suddenly develop a fear of pixel art? Was the gameplay just a drag? Definitely not. Shinonome comes in part from Kenichi Iwao and Tatsuya Yoshikawa—names tied to classics like Resident Evil, Parasite Eve 2, and Devil May Cry. So the team at Wodan Inc. clearly knows its craft, and I’ve seen that for myself.

More likely, the real mistake was releasing Shinonome without a publisher. That’s now been corrected, with Kadokawa Corporation brought in as an experienced partner. The result is Shinonome Abyss: The Maiden Exorcist, launching today on PC—a meaningfully reworked version of the original game.

What’s new in Shinonome Abyss: The Maiden Exorcist?

If you already played the earlier vers... no, actually, let’s be real, you probably didn’t. 😉 But if you did know it, you’d feel at home in Shinonome Abyss right away. The core gameplay and existing levels are mostly untouched. However, the new version adds:

• More Mononoke (aka Yōkai or spirits)
• More traps and items
• More dungeons
• A new "mega-boss"
• Heroine Yono now has an alternate personality
• A general overhaul of the game based on player feedback

"More traps and items" obviously matters—and should make a great game even better, as the roughly 39 people who know this thing will surely agree. And given how inventive the enemy design was in the original, the new Mononoke should be interesting too. As for Yono’s "alternate personality," I don’t have any further details yet. I’ll update the article once I’ve plugged that particular knowledge gap.

Shinonome: What’s it about?

At heart, Shinonome is a strategic roguelike with a horror edge, backed by clever puzzle design and bursts of action. The setting—a shifting traditional Japanese haunted manor—is shown from a top-down perspective in gorgeous pixel art.

As Yono, a shrine maiden, follows the trail of her missing Onmyouji brother through the house, all kinds of Mononoke are hunting her down. That plays out across 3 game modes:

• Harai: Fixed maps with a puzzle focus
• Misogi: Randomly generated maps for a more accessible feel
• Gyou: Tougher randomly generated runs with a strong survival focus

What really makes Shinonome Abyss: The Maiden Exorcist stand out is how often Yono relies on items and traps to get rid of her enemies. One example: she can make noise in a room full of spikes to lure Mononoke in. Since some of these things aren’t exactly blessed with brains, they might throw the door open and charge straight into the spikes like complete idiots.

Sound plays a huge role in Wodan’s game. Yono can listen at doors, for example, and use footsteps or other noises to work out exactly where an enemy is waiting. If they sound close, she can fire an old-fashioned gun straight through the door and send the spirits behind it right back to hell. Environmental objects like fire pits or fragile floors can also be used to your advantage.

Coming to console for the first time

Unlike its predecessor, Shinonome Abyss: The Maiden Exorcist is also heading to console—well, one console, at least: Nintendo’s Switch. The release there comes a day later than on PC, on March 26. Personally, I’m hoping Wodan fares a lot better with this second shot. Right now, at least, there’s some encouraging activity on the Steam forum for Shinonome. On the other hand, my press inbox is still a Shinonome-free zone.