Yomawari: The Long Night Collection

Yomawari: The Long Night Collection brings together two Japanese survival horror games from Nippon Ichi Software: Yomawari: Night Alone and Yomawari: Midnight Shadows. Both are about girls who search for familiar people in a small town at night and encounter dangerous ghosts.

The stories use a drawn style with cute characters, but usually leave the player walking unprotected through dark streets and forest paths. Combat is not the focus.

The collection was released for Nintendo Switch in Europe on Oct 26, 2018. Since Nov 5, 2026, it is also available as a native PlayStation 5 version.

The two included stories originally come from different years. The PlayStation 5 version of the collection is a standalone product and not the PS5 backward compatibility of a single older Yomawari game.

Yomawari: The Long Night Collection was released natively for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5. On Nintendo Switch, both stories are available either on a shared game card or as a digital collection.

The individual games included also exist for other platforms. However, these separate releases are not the same as a native PC, PS4 or PS Vita version of the entire collection.

The two horror stories are played from a slanted top-down view. Characters search streets, paths and abandoned buildings for clues and items while ghosts cross their paths.

When you spot a creature, you often have to dodge, run away or find a hiding place. Items can help you distract a ghost or trigger new events.

In Yomawari: Night Alone, a little girl sets out at night to search for her missing sister. Familiar paths in a small Japanese town become dangerous places in the dark.

While searching, the girl explores streets and remote places, finds items and must survive encounters with ghosts. This story forms the first part of the collection.

Yomawari: Midnight Shadows tells the story of school friends Yui and Haru. After being separated at night, both try to find each other in a town roamed by ghosts.

The second part relies on the alternating perspectives of the two girls and expands the series with new eerie places and encounters.

The threats in both games are based on Japanese ghost stories and urban legends. Some creatures move slowly, while others react quickly once they spot your character.

Exploration is therefore less a fight against enemies than a question of when a path is safe enough and whether a sound is warning you of danger.

Your characters cannot defend themselves with an extensive weapon system. Hiding, careful movement and well-timed use of items are the most important ways to survive.

Some encounters can be avoided by distracting a ghost. Others require a quick retreat or a new route through the area.

The Nintendo Switch version supports English on-screen text and is designed for one player. Nintendo Germany lists an age rating from 12 and up and a download size of about 1.4 GB.

Both stories are designed for single player only. On Switch, they can be played in TV, tabletop and handheld modes.

Lost items and clues move the stories forward. If you examine the surroundings carefully, you find paths, solve minor puzzles and learn more about the supernatural events.

The exploration element gives both games a slower pace than classic action horror titles. The tension comes mainly from the next uncertain step.