The Exit 8 is perhaps the most boring and terrifying video game I have ever played. As the film adaptation of the game, titled Exit 8, hits cinemas, I decided to experience the source material after watching the movie. The game begins without any fanfare or title screen. You find yourself in a first-person perspective inside a white-tiled passageway. On the left wall are six billboards, while three doors line the right side. A yellow dividing line runs along the floor. On the opposite side of this line, a man in a light blue shirt walks calmly toward you, carrying a briefcase. An overhead sign points the way: go straight ahead for Exit 8. The only sounds are footsteps and the faint buzz of electric lights.
You will quickly become intimately familiar with every detail of this location. The Exit 8 presents a well-rendered impression of the Tokyo subway system. It is primarily a walking simulator with basic controls: you can look around, walk, and run. After completing three laps of the same passageway, the real game begins. A new sign appears on the wall, dispensing advice: do not overlook any anomalies. If you find anomalies, turn back immediately. If you do not find anomalies, do not turn back. Further along, another sign reads Exit 0. Then you return to the same bland thoroughfare you have already traversed three times. From now on, you must spot differences. Is the walking man behaving exactly as before? Have the adverts for the dental clinic, dog salon, or photo exhibition changed in size or content? If you notice any difference anywhere along the passageway, you must turn back.
If you have been attentive and rigorously followed the guide's advice, the next time you see the Exit sign, the number on it will have increased. Overlook a change or anomaly, and the Exit sign resets to 0. Initially, starting over feels disappointing. However, as you ascend to higher numbers, seeing Exit 0 after what you thought was a lengthy period of careful observation proves heartbreaking. The Exit 8 messes with you in other ways. Because the gameplay is fundamentally dull—walking down the same passageway over and over again—you relax. You drop your guard. You wonder what the point is. There is no interaction, no stimulus apart from the soft buzz of electric lights and the tapping resonance of footsteps. But just when you are half bored to death and not entirely paying attention, an anomaly occurs.
Some deviations are fairly innocuous: a missing door handle, a weird smudge on the ceiling. Others are sinister and creepy, making you want to turn around and hit the run button. A nearby door might creak open on its own. The buzzing overhead lights could flicker and abruptly fail. Distant, indistinct figures appear, bringing real concerns. Are those onlookers ghosts? Can they hurt me? Every so often, The Exit 8 does its best to shock and disturb you. Every so often—that is the key phrase. Effective horror, in any game or film, needs moments of pause. You could argue that The Exit 8 has too many moments of pause, but the repetition and banality help intensify its scares. One anomaly in The Exit 8 scared me cold. A legitimate chill is the sort of payoff every horror fan hopes for. That said, this is also one of the dullest games I have ever played. The Exit 8 probably works because of this duality. The game acts like a harmless, dopey labrador that you have patted countless times. Then, without warning, that same labrador shows the whites of its eyes, bares its teeth, and growls.
The film Exit 8, directed by Genki Kawamura, adds an interesting narrative that the game lacks. I found the film engaging and well-directed, but more disturbing than scary. If you are interested in Japan and the horror genre, I recommend watching the film. The game is an acquired taste. I can imagine this nightmarish outing on the Tokyo subway has ticked off many people while intriguing others. At least the walking simulator is cheap and possibly worth a try if you fancy a gaming experience that is utterly different. Finally, to offer hope to anyone who has just rounded a corner only to find their Exit sign back on 0, the game is not an infinite loop or an exercise in sadism. The Exit 8 does have an ending, and if you watch out for those pesky anomalies, you might reach it.
