World of Horror: 20% More Content in the Free Update

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents World of Horror: 20% More Content in the Free Update.

Nearly 20% more content – and two new deities threatening the city of Shiokawa right from the start: This is more than a classic bug-fix update. Polish developer panstasz has released version 1.2 of World of Horror, titled “As Below So Above”.

The update has appeared for PC on Steam, GOG and itch.io and was distributed for free. Anyone who already owns the game on one of these three PC providers therefore receives the expansion without additional payment. The full console launch, by contrast, is not until 2027.

Two Old Gods Increase the Pressure on Shiokawa

The new opponents

The key new content consists of two old deities who have control over the inhabitants of Shiokawa. The first is called Ikt-Yosis and lies beneath the mountains. It manipulates the weather and thereby causes unpredictable climatic effects. This changes the conditions under which you have previously played the roguelite: Not only do enemies and decisions determine your run, but the environment itself does as well.

The second deity is named “The War for Shiokawa”. It manifests as a cult war in which four occult masters are summoned simultaneously. This multiplies the threat to the city. Gamekult describes both additions as a tribute to the work of Junji Ito and H. P. Lovecraft.

The update therefore does more than introduce individual new enemies or items. It changes the nature of the game: Ikt-Yosis intervenes through the weather, while “The War for Shiokawa” brings multiple occult masters onto the scene simultaneously. It is precisely this combination of new threats and an additional 20% total content that makes Update 1.2 relevant to existing players.

Three New Figures Expand Your Options

The characters

The patch adds three new playable characters to World of Horror. The report describes two of them in greater detail: Kiriko is a mysterious card player whose tarot cards can influence the fate of the region. This gives the deck mechanic a considerably more personal role, because you no longer use only a fixed deck of cards; through Kiriko, you can influence the development of the environment.

The second character named is Satoshi, a young wanderer who specializes in mountain exploration. This places a different focus than Kiriko's tarot-based role: Satoshi is the right figure if you want to make contact with mountainous regions and new routes through the terrain.

The expansion of the cast fits the larger update. Alongside the characters come new random events, objects, spells, curses and new injuries. There are also balance corrections. Gamekult does not state the precise breakdown of the additional content totaling around 20 percent; however, the mix of deities, characters, scenarios and system additions shows that this is not merely a streamlined balancing update.

The Scenario Mode Tells Stories Before the Campaign

Self-contained stories

There is also a new mode called “Scénario”. It plays self-contained stories set before the events of the main campaign. This gives you a different perspective on the world of World of Horror: The campaign remains the central narrative, but the scenario mode provides additional, self-contained adventures.

The first available scenario title is “Forest of Fear / Tapes of Tragedy”. In it, you take on the role of Makoto, a member of the high school's audiovisual club who wants to shoot a found-footage documentary about the oldest legend of the local forest. According to the report, this is naturally a very bad idea – and, of course, it goes horribly wrong.

It is precisely this mix of a high-school club, found footage and local folklore that fits the game: Scénario uses the existing horror atmosphere to put a small, concrete story in the foreground. You do not simply experience another random battle; instead, you play a self-contained case with its own premise.

Steam Workshop Opens the Workshop for Custom Content

Modding on PC

For PC players, the Steam Workshop may be the underestimated part of Update 1.2, because the update explicitly expands support for it. You can now create your own monsters, individual events and personalized investigations. The interface elements and markers used in the process can be edited directly.

This shifts the possible range beyond the official content: The game not only provides new deities and characters, but also opens up the workshop for custom scenarios. For PC players, this creates another level on which the additional 20% of content can be used in custom variations rather than merely experienced passively.

PS4 and Switch Will Receive the Complete Edition in 2027

The console release date

Following the PC launch, the console announcement is clearer than initially assumed: World of Horror is due to appear in its complete edition for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch sometime in 2027. This gives console players a concrete timeframe, even though Gamekult does not name an exact day.

The game has been in Steam Early Access since 2020. The current PC patch shows that development is continuing despite the already long Early Access period. The scope of “As Below So Above,” released three years after the official release, focuses on more than new cards and tougher enemies: The game receives new deities, character classes, stories, system content and open tools for modding.

Another project also lies in the future: The company Lost in Cult had already announced the production of a board game adaptation of the roguelite/horror game. This point rounds off the picture: Update 1.2 not only strengthens the current PC build but also belongs to a phase in which the world of Shiokawa continues to be developed for other formats and platforms.