World of Horror 1.2 Adds New Old Gods, Scenario Mode and Mod Tools in a Free PC Update
By CriticalPixel ·
World of Horror has dragged players back to Shiokawa with a free update that sounds considerably bigger than a routine patch. Version 1.2, called As Below So Above, is out now on PC and adds new characters, Old Gods, a scenario mode and expanded mod support. The publisher says the update increases the game's content by 20%, and Nintendo Everything calls it the game's largest update yet. That is a chunky excuse to return to a town where every choice feels like a bad one.
What arrives on PC today
The Steam announcement says existing owners can get the update on Steam, GOG and itch.io, with Windows and macOS supported. It is free in all the base game's languages. Console players have a longer wait: the publisher puts the console update in 2027, while Nintendo Everything specifically confirms that timing for Switch. There is no more precise console date in either announcement, so don't plan a return around a particular month yet.
Two new manifestations of the Old Gods change the trouble waiting over Shiokawa. IKT-YOSIS, the First Nightmare, sleeps beneath the mountains and gradually reshapes the world above through strange weather and its consequences. The War for Shiokawa takes a different approach: four cults summon four eldritch masters at once. One looming disaster is apparently no longer enough for this town.
Three playable characters join the roster, including Kiriko, a tarotist, and Satoshi, a hiker familiar with the mountains. The announcement does not name the third newcomer in its recap, so there is room for players to discover more without treating a guess as a reveal. The update also adds events, enemies, items, spells, curses and injuries, alongside balance changes, quality-of-life features and fixes. More pieces in the pool should make another run feel less predictable, though the size of the change will depend on how those pieces play together.
A new way to tell a horror story
Scenario Mode is the addition that has my attention. Its self-contained stories take place before the main game, giving the developers a way to explore the setting without asking every tale to fit the same run. The first, Forest of Fear / Tapes of Tragedy, follows Makoto, a school AV club member making a documentary about an old forest legend. It connects to the Freaky Feature of Found Footage mystery, according to the publisher's recap.
That framing is a good fit for a game built around piecing together unsettling incidents. A focused story can put characters and their choices in the foreground, while the larger run keeps its appetite for random encounters. The distinction matters: this is a new mode, not a promise that the entire game has become a linear campaign. How much replay value the scenario has is something players will have to judge after spending time with it.
Modders get more room to work
The update also expands Steam Workshop support. Players can make their own enemies, events and mysteries, with additional tools for custom interfaces and flags. That is a useful set of building blocks for a game whose tension comes from discovering what awful thing appears next. A bigger official content pool is welcome, but giving creators better tools could keep the surprises coming long after the initial update rush.
There is a practical boundary here: the publisher specifically describes the enhanced Workshop support on Steam. The free update itself is also available through GOG and itch.io, but that announcement does not make the same Workshop claim for those stores. If custom content is your main reason to jump in, check the tools available on your platform before assuming every storefront works the same way. The publisher's post on X also highlights the mode, characters and mod support as central additions.
A good time to revisit Shiokawa
World of Horror is a turn-based cosmic horror roguelite from developer panstasz, published by Ysbryd Games and PLAYISM. Its Steam store page describes randomized mysteries, multiple endings and stark 1-bit art drawn in MS Paint. The original release date listed there is October 19, 2023. The presentation is a big part of the appeal: the limited palette leaves plenty of room for the game's grotesque illustrations to do the work.
There is also a sale running on Steam. Wario64 flags the deal, and the Steam store page shows a 25% discount through November 2 in the Brazilian storefront. Prices can differ by region, so check your own store before buying. The important part for existing owners is simpler: the update does not require buying a separate expansion.
Early reaction is limited. The replies visible under Ysbryd's announcement include excitement and a complaint about Xbox availability, but that small sample cannot establish a community verdict. The console wait is the obvious frustration: PC owners can play now, while Switch players have a 2027 window. A specific date would make that wait easier to plan around, and the publisher has not supplied one in the announcement.
The CriticalPixel take
Free updates are easy to praise when they add a new outfit and call it a day. This one has a more convincing pitch: new threats for regular runs, a separate story format and tools that let the community build its own horrors. The 20% figure tells us the intended scale, but it cannot tell us whether each addition lands. The real test is whether the new encounters make Shiokawa feel dangerous again rather than merely larger.
For returning PC players, that is a low-risk test because the update is already included with the game. For console owners, the news is more complicated: the same additions are promised, but the wait stretches into next year. Either way, a horror game getting a substantial free expansion just before Halloween is a pretty fitting invitation. Grab your nerves, pick a character and see what the town has cooked up this time.
Sources
Ysbryd Games update announcement