These Filipino horror games come just in time for Halloween

MANILA, Philippines – Though Christmas decorations already light up the streets and malls play merry songs, another festive holiday is just around the corner: All Hallow’s Eve or Halloween, a holiday that, even if not as popular as Christmas for Filipinos, is still pretty much celebrated with costume parties and trick and treats within different neighborhoods across the country.

Besides the usual parties and knocking on doors for candies, a few Filipinos found another way to celebrate the spooky season: developing thrilling games that will surely have you at the edge of your seats.

Forgoing the usual Filipino folklore and scary stories of the Tikbalang or the Manananggal, developers of the games “Ligaw” and “St. Castro Plaza: Night Shift” decided on featuring real-life scary experiences of delivery riders and people working the night shift.

“We're all Filipinos, so we wanted to make a game that reflects our culture. While the Philippines has many scary stories involving creatures like tikbalang and tiktik, we wanted to do something different. We didn't use those supernatural beings as bad guys. Instead, we created a psychological horror story based on real-life experiences. It's about things or feeling threatened when nothing is really happening. This is something many delivery riders in the Philippines can relate to, especially during the pandemic.” John Rhys Pereyra of Raven Studios in told Philstar.com.

Raven Studios is the developer of “Ligaw”, a Filipino-horror game that lets players take on the role of a delivery rider as a client asks you to go inside their house to deliver a package. This while trying to make sense of strange images and weird noises while walking the games very Filipino depiction settings.

The game started as a thesis capstone project for Pereyra and his teammates John Kevin Fajemolin, Romel Nadong and Edrich Nambio for their degree in Entertainment & Multimedia Computing.

Similarly, the developers of horror-game St. Castro Plaza: Night Shift was also a school project, and the idea came from that experience of juggling school and work.

“We started with various ideas early in the development. Coincidentally, one of our team members was juggling work and studies simultaneously, and it was at this point that the concept of ‘Night Shift’ emerged. The game focused on overtime work in the Philippines, which was a topic that resonated on a personal level, while addressing the widespread issue of overworking,” developer Space Monke Games told Philstar.com.

“St. Castro Plaza: Night Shift” lets players take on the role of a roaming guard in charge of closing down a mall while menacing mannequins try to catch them. The eerie music combined with the sounds of someone following you and the limited lighting results a thrilling and immersive experience. The mall in the game is inspired by Harrison Plaza, a classic establishment that has since been demolished.

“During production, we found out that Harrison Plaza was planned for demolition. As college students, we had many memories in that area, so we decided to immortalize it in our game,” added the developer.

Both game developers had conducted interviews with those working as delivery riders, as well as those working night shifts and as roaming guards to be able to set a realistic atmosphere for their games.

“The game's scary situations are relatable to many. Our goal is to deliver a fresh and immersive horror experience, drawing inspiration from the Philippines' rich culture,” said Pereyra.

Ligaw and St. Castro Plaza: Night Shift are available to demo via their respective websites.