Anime and horror don’t often mix well together, but when done right, the combination can be electrifying.
By properly blending the artistic flair and emotional depth of anime with the spine-chilling atmosphere of horror, the fusion often results in unique storytelling that ranges from psychological thrillers to supernatural terrors.
As a result, the product can be grotesque, bizarre, and otherworldly visuals.
The anime part in the horror is what enhances the unsettling scenes.
MiSide is one of that rare product, and on Steam, the mini-sensation has become one of the highest-rating games at the Valve's storefront, in just a couple weeks after its launch.
MiSide is a meta thriller from developer AIHASTO, which follows the story of a programmer who finds himself magically transported into the world of a cute, minigame-filled mobile sim that’s home to his virtual love interest, Mita.
The game is a mashup of an anime's visual appeal, storytelling, and sim elements that eventually goes to weird, unsettling, fourth wall-breaking horror.
At first, MiSide is presented itself like a cute anime dating sim.
Mita, portrayed as a young girl, is as cute as any other anime girls out there, with her large, expressive eyes, small nose and mouth, blush marks, and detailed hairstyles.
She's like the girlfriend of the game's protagonist, in which she can ask players to help her pick up her clothes and put them away, for example. Players can click and drag things. Mita can ask for other things, like asking players to get her ingredients to make a soup, or asking for a new television.
While it may seem like her love is encompassing, Mita is more than just the average "anime girl-next-door."
Throughout the game, Mita is like watching and following the protagonist, like a stalker she is.
Mita may look like a normal girl, until she is not.
MiSide is more or less, unsettling.
The game was launched without much fanfare.
It didn't make any commotion at first, whatsoever.
It went completely under-the-radar, before famous streamers began playing the game.
Markiplier streamed the game a couple of days after it came out and, weeks later, the VOD has accumulated over 3 million views. Special edd, xQc, and others have since reacted to the game as well.
It didn't take long until YouTube and TikTok are flooded with videos of players who played the game have uploaded and shared videos of their own playthroughs, as well as MiSide reaction videos, and Mita fan cams.
MiSide in short, is a unique blend of a psychological horror game with anime waifu, and an unsettling, creepypasta-infused, twist-filled story.
Anime, known for its stylized art allows for exaggerated expressions and surreal imagery. Not to mention that anime also excels at character development, making viewers more emotionally invested.
When combined with the horror gender, the product can heighten the tension and fear factor due to anime's inherited unrestricted imagination.
To many players who played and shared their own experience, MiSide nailed the genre.
And because of this, in just a week after the launch, the game has more than tens of thousands of reviews on Steam, receiving a positive rating that is just a fraction higher than Balatro, the 2024 poker-themed roguelike deck-building game developed by LocalThunk and published by Playstack.
What this means, MiSide is considered by the community as one of the highest-ranked games on Steam.
What's worth noting here is that, MiSide instantaneous fame didn't actually came out of nowhere.
First, the game was released after a very-well received demo, which managed to earn it quite a lot of fans.
"Before the game’s release, we never expected MiSide to be so popular," the game’s developers wrote on Steam, alongside an update adding a photo mode and other tweaks.
"We are very grateful to every player who supports us! In addition to continuing to polish the game and produce the planned content, we will also carefully consider future plans, which will cover all aspects of the game, both inside and outside the game. We will share new plans with everyone as soon as they are available!"
As a small team, the developer "never expected MiSide to be so popular."
