White Day: A Labyrinth Named School Review: Class Is In Session

Survival horror might just be my favorite genre. Nothing quite compares to the atmosphere that settling into a good horror game, with the lights out and curtains drawn, is capable of providing. With that in mind, I was hugely excited when the code for White Day: A Labyrinth Named School landed in my inbox. Somewhat a cult classic, White Day: A Labyrinth Named School was initially released in 2001 for PC, solely in Korea, before launching for last-gen systems in 2017, when it was finally released to a Western audience. Having missed both those releases and knowing that this is a game that enjoyed an almost legendary status due to it being confined to Korea for well over a decade, I couldn’t wait to jump in and finally experience White Day: A Labyrinth Named School for myself.

And I Thought My School Was Bad!

White Day starts off with a simple set-up. Players join the main protagonist Lee Hui-Min as he journeys to his high-school one evening. See, it’s White Day, a gift-giving holiday in Korea, and Lee is determined to sneak into the school to plant a gift for his crush to find the next day. Unfortunately, it becomes immediately clear that there is more to this school than meets the eye. Ghosts are roaming the halls, strange occult symbols are appearing on the ground, and there is a baseball bat-wielding, murderous janitor on the loose who wants to crush any students who may have found their way into the school after dark. Add onto that the school’s horrifying history and the fact that the doors are locked, and you better believe Lee is in for a stressful night as he tries to uncover what’s going on whilst trying to escape the doomed building alive.

Narrative and atmosphere are probably White Day’s biggest strengths. From the moment you step into the school as Lee, a sense of unease constantly lingers, with that feeling only becoming more suffocating as the intensity of the story increases and the school’s history starts to clear. In true survival horror fashion, prepare to read if you want to get the full context behind what’s going on, as White Day leans heavily into the trope of having notes scattered everywhere that have to be read if you want to fully keep up.

In a nice touch, White Day is also a game that promotes replayability. The narrative branches quite frequently, and certain puzzles, optional jump scares, and plot beats are hidden behind dialogue choices that crop up from time to time. It’s absolutely not possible to fully grasp the narrative behind White Day after one playthrough, a fact that will either frustrate or delight depending on your tolerance for a survival horror experience that is firmly rooted in the past.

A Survival Horror Time Capsule

Being a game released in 2001, jumping into White Day, even in its remade form, is very much like stepping back in time. Despite the new coat of paint, it’s clear that the developers wanted to remain as true to their original vision as possible.

Whether or not that appeals to you will all come down to your appetite for the obtuse puzzles and item gathering that were particularly prevalent in the genre’s early years.  Personally, I appreciate that the genre has moved with the times somewhat, with Capcom’s recent Resident Evil entries streamlining the puzzle-solving side of things to the degree that the puzzles rarely frustrate whilst still remaining a rewarding core pillar of the gameplay. White Day, on the other hand, is chock full of doors, safes, and inaccessible areas that can only be accessed by piecing together seemingly disparate pieces of information and items in a way that fails to make any logical sense. Some die-hard fans may lap this up, but more often than not, I found the often-obtuse nature of White Day’s puzzles prevented me from progressing the narrative, which I was wholly invested in, at a consistent pace.

When you aren’t solving puzzles, chances are you’ll be running and hiding from the janitor who roams the halls of Lee’s school. Featuring as somewhat of a Mr. X-type presence, the janitor will stalk the corridors and wipe you out in an instant if he gets his hands on you. In a move I thoroughly appreciate, White Day contains no combat whatsoever, so during these encounters with the janitor, you’re forced to engage in a deadly game of hide and seek until he gives up his chase. Much like Mr. X did for Resident Evil 2, the janitor acts as a genuinely terrifying presence designed to keep the player from settling into a routine, and not since the original Outlast has a game made me feel constantly vulnerable. After the first few hours, the illusion breaks somewhat, as you get more proficient at hiding and realize that the janitor’s AI, as you would expect coming out of 2001, can be manipulated quite easily. Having said that, I’d be lying if I said he didn’t provide me with frequent jump scares right up until the end of my playthrough.

Dated Scare Tactics

Speaking of scares, White Day isn’t a game I would say has aged too well in the fright department. Largely reliant on jump scares through the optional ghosts you can encounter. White Day is something I would have found terrifying years ago. But in this day and age, where I’ve become somewhat desensitized to jump scares and their predictable nature, I found myself laughing rather than cowering behind my hands. That isn’t to say that the game lacks atmosphere – the creepy school halls, the threat of the janitor, and the history of the building all contribute to a constantly oppressive nature. However, if you’re looking to find yourself terrified rather than uncomfortable, White Day probably won’t tick that box.

A Slight But Effective Visual Upgrade

Being a port of a PS4 title, which itself was a remake of a 2001 game, White Day isn’t a stunner by any stretch of the imagination. It does, however, use a minimalist, anime art style that works extremely well when it comes to the characters you encounter especially. The glossy, animated nature of Lee and the other students he comes across adds to the otherworldly nature, and well-placed facial expressions help elevate the sense of dread even further. Audio is also handled well, though, as with the jump scares, it is largely reliant on sudden bangs and creaks, a trope that feels somewhat worn out. Still, I challenge the hairs on the back of your neck to not stand up when you can hear the janitor stalking around in the darkness as he hunts you down.

Conclusion

White Day: A Labyrinth Named School is a somewhat uneven package, arguably held back by how dated the jump scares and obtuse nature of the puzzles feel. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth experiencing, though – if you value an uncomfortable, oppressive atmosphere in your survival horror, along with a haunting and compelling story, then White Day: A Labyrinth Named School is definitely worthy of your time.

Final Verdict: 3.5/5

Available On: PS5 (reviewed), PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, Switch, PC; Publisher: PQube; Developer: SONNORI Corp; Released; September 8, 2022; Players: 1; MSRP: $29.99