Games Like 深夜閲覧 Midnight Reading：Showa Echoes

■ Overview

Midnight Reading is a short horror adventure set in a Japanese school during the Showa era.

You play as a member of the school library committee. After school, the librarian asks you to retrieve several overdue books, sending you through the school to find them.

However, when midnight arrives, the school begins to take on a different appearance from the one you knew during the day.

And when you open one of the books you find—

Something happens without the protagonist realizing it.

■ Story

Autumn, 1981 — A Japanese School

After school.

The protagonist, a member of the school library committee, is asked by the librarian to retrieve books that have not been returned by their due dates.

To find the overdue books, the protagonist heads to the places where they were last checked out.

A silent school.

Classrooms that should be empty.

Books left behind in the school at night.

And strange stories written inside them.

The protagonist searches for the books, reads them, and returns them one by one.

■ Gameplay

· A choice-based horror adventure centered around the school library

· Choose one of three overdue books at the beginning of each chapter

· Explore the school to search for the missing books

· Something happens as you search for the books

· Choose one of three actions during supernatural events

· Your story changes based on both your choice of book and your actions

· Hidden internal parameters change according to your choices, leading to different endings

· Three main routes: Truth, Supernatural, and Records

· A True Route unlocked after completing all three routes

· A compact structure consisting of multiple short horror scenarios

■ Features

· An eerie atmosphere set in a Showa-era Japanese school and library

· Retro horror presentation

· Horror built around the act of reading a book itself

· Psychological horror where strange events gradually spread through a silent school

· A slow-burning horror experience built on unease and mystery rather than relying solely on sudden scares

· Multiple endings determined by your book and action choices

· A gameplay system where the seemingly ordinary act of returning a book becomes a key part of the story

· A world inspired by the atmosphere of Japanese schools during the Showa era, based on the creator's own experience of attending a Japanese school during the later Showa period

■ Controls

· Confirm / Select

Simple controls make the game easy for anyone to play.

■ Playtime

Approximately 30–45 minutes per playthrough

Approximately 2 hours to complete all routes

Includes multiple endings.

Playtime may vary depending on play style.

■ Genre

Horror / Adventure / Short Story / Choice-Based Novel

■ Content Warning

This game contains psychological horror, supernatural elements, and scenes designed to create a sense of unease.

Players who are sensitive to quiet horror or unsettling atmospheres are advised to take care when playing.