Ao Oni: The Horror of Blueberry Onsen — Everything We Know

Big-budget production games don’t always offer the spookiest adventure. I might even contend that the lowest-quality horror games are the best. Consider the 2004 freeware survival horror game Ao Oni. Because of the rampant playthroughs and live streaming at the time, it became quite a global gaming sensation. And now, the series is making a comeback.

Thus far, the trailer stays true to the original game. From the gameplay to the graphics, it seems the new game aims to evoke nostalgia rather than to make significant leaps in innovation. In any case, you can expect a similar fun experience as before, taking in the hilarious exchanges between Takuro, Mika, Takeshi, and Hiroshi. 

As the release date draws closer, we’ve compiled everything we could find about Ao Oni: The Horror of Blueberry Onsen below.

What is Ao Oni: The Horror of Blueberry Onsen?

Ao Oni: The Horror of Blueberry Onsen is an upcoming puzzle-solving horror action-adventure game. The original Ao Oni was released in 2004. However, it was later ported to Nintendo Switch and Steam on July 26, 2024. While Ao Oni was a fascinating game that quickly became an internet sensation, Game Studio promises to deliver a “completely new version” of it.

Based on Steam’s description, you’ll be chased by “fear,” which is essentially blue demon variations from Ao Oni. The goal will be to navigate the different rooms of a haunted building looking for an escape. There’ll be puzzles to solve as well as dark mysteries to uncover to escape the monsters hot on your tail. 

Story

Ao Oni: The Horror of Blueberry Onsen will take place in a Hot Spring Inn called Blueberry Onsen. The building was once popular for having hot springs that can enhance beauty. However, a rumor began to spread about its halls being haunted. Since then, the building has been abandoned.

This sparks intrigue among the Hiroshi, Mika, Takeshi, and Takuro cast. They decide to explore the building and record their findings via Mika Channel. However, their expedition is soon cut short when they meet Ai from the original game as well as a mysterious man who gets in their way. 

A dark mystery awaits the main characters somewhere inside the building, and it’s up to you to discover what it is. It seems Ai's presence at the Inn will be a part of the mystery you’ll need to uncover. Ai is the protagonist of the original Ao Oni. But the over-arching mystery will be finding out what lies in the Blueberry Hot Spring inside the Inn.  On the whole, you’ll need to guide Hiroshi and the other characters to their escape. 

Gameplay

Ao Oni: The Horror of Blueberry Onsen is a puzzle horror action-adventure game. For the most part, the gameplay seems to be the same as the original Ao Oni game. However, Steam’s description affirms that the new game will bring “many new systems.” For instance, you’ll unravel the story through conversations between the characters. There’ll also be co-op play with friends as well as a chat function.

Furthermore, you can look forward to lots of new monster types of the blue demon species from the original Ao Oni game. There’ll even be a monster that looks like a humanoid dog. 

Meanwhile, you’ll be able to play the game in High-Speed mode. This can range between fast-forwarding 2x or 16x the normal pace. It’ll doubtlessly increase the difficulty of escaping the Ao Oni creatures chasing after you at such high speeds. But also add more chaos and fun. 

The new game will add an online ranking feature. This will rank your high scores against those of other online players every time you complete a game. Your score will be calculated based on how fast you can beat a game without making mistakes. Given the incentive to beat your own score and that of other players, Ao Oni: The Horror of Blueberry Onsen will potentially be highly replayable.

Overall, you can look forward to a terrifying survival horror experience of escaping the Oni and uncovering dark mysteries. You’ll solve challenging puzzles via retro-style visuals that enhance the game’s dark, eerie atmosphere. 

Development

LiTMUS, in collaboration with Game Studio, is working on Ao Oni: The Horror of Blueberry Onsen. Both LiTMUS and Game Studio operate from Tokyo. Game Studio describes itself as a “dynamic and innovative” development team that “creates captivating and immersive gaming experiences for players around the world.” They have developed multiple cutting-edge multiplayer games using the Unity engine. 

As LiTMUS and Game Studio continue working on the upcoming game, you can keep yourself in the loop by playing the Ao Oni version on the Crunchyroll Game Vault app. It features a haunted mansion where you try to escape relentless Oni monsters in a bone-chilling survival horror adventure. You’ll solve puzzles, uncover mysteries, and survive in a terrifying but thrilling retro-style gameplay system that mimics the upcoming game to a T.

Trailer

For a better picture of the story and gameplay to expect, you can check out Ao Oni: The Horror of Blueberry Onsen’s trailer in the video embedded above. Based on the gameplay, it appears the new game won’t be changing much from 2024’s Ao Oni Nintendo Switch and Steam port. In fact, you could argue the gameplay from the port and the upcoming game are nearly identical. 

You’ll still be exploring a haunted building, solving puzzles while unraveling an engaging story. From the trailer, you can see both old and new characters. The most unforgettable antagonist is Fuwatty, who is a light blue, rectangular-shaped monster with stubby arms and legs from the original Ao Oni game. Besides Fuwatty, there’ll be more variations of old monsters as well as new enemies, including a dog-like species. 

Release Date, Platforms, & Editions

Ao Oni: The Horror of Blueberry Onsen will launch sometime in Spring 2025. Further, you can expect the game on Nintendo Switch and PC platforms via Steam, where you can add it to your wishlist. Information on editions, if any, is unconfirmed at this time. Feel free, though, to keep track of any updates via the official social handle here.