It is difficult for me to define a clear genre for UN:Me.
However, this is not because its themes or gameplay are particularly innovative—quite the opposite. The game is filled with familiar narrative techniques and game elements: an unarmed high school girl wanders through a strange, surreal-themed maze populated by uncanny, humanoid monsters. The protagonist's goal is to solve puzzles or find corresponding mechanisms to escape as quickly as possible.
Clichéd concepts give UN:Me a facade resembling traditional horror and escape room games. For an indie title, this combination of elements often implies a cheap, monotonous, and overused experience—relying on weak character abilities and overwhelming enemies to create psychological pressure, while forcing players to piece together the story from scattered fragments.
However, in UN:Me, these elements are rearranged in a new way—or rather, they were never intended to be the core or sole gameplay focus from the start.
This was my most direct and genuine impression during this demo playthrough.
It is worth noting that before playing this demo of UN:Me, I did no preparatory research. Although we saw the initial trailer late last year, its abstract lines and scene montages made it difficult to grasp the game's core. Coupled with the recently announced delay, the game has acquired an additional layer of mystery in every aspect.
The demo we experienced presents the gameplay and thematic intentions of UN:Me in a concrete manner, providing a tangible summary of its previously cryptic content and allowing me to finally see the outline of the entire game. Of course, since the game is still in development, these details may differ from the final release.
The objective of UN:Me is to find the "soul that truly belongs to this body" for the girl.
This is not an abstract or philosophical proposition, but a literal one: the protagonist of UN:Me houses four distinctly different souls. The player's goal is to converse with each soul, collect clues related to their identities, expel the excess souls, and ultimately identify the true owner of the body. The maze in the game seems more like a process of information gathering, projecting elements related to the souls and unfolding as information accumulates. Some of these projections come from memories the girl has forgotten, while others stem from things they wish to forget.
This leads to the clichéd horror game loop mentioned at the beginning of the demo: players control the girl, dodging eerie non-human entities while finding clues in the maze that trigger keywords, thereby unlocking paths forward.
But as I have repeatedly mentioned, this is not the core experience of UN:Me. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that the "four souls" are not merely a background setting, but rather a switch connecting lore and gameplay, plunging players into a highly "unstable" gaming experience.
This "instability" stems from the four souls residing within the girl's body—they constantly vie for control of the same vessel, causing the character you control to potentially switch souls at any moment during maze exploration.
These souls, having successfully taken over the body, are like different people wearing the same face—each possessing distinct personalities, mannerisms, life experiences, and psychological traumas. Naturally, their perceptions of the world differ: what seems ordinary to one soul may appear dim and eerie to another, and specific threats formed by certain traumas will only target particular souls.
Thus, UN:Me creates a gaming experience that closely resembles traditional horror games but feels slightly "displaced" in certain aspects.
In fact, the rules of traditional exploration and survival horror games are largely built upon a static identity relationship—players must constantly strategize against environmental obstacles and threats, either by fleeing or using limited resources to contend with enemies. However, UN:Me offers a simpler approach: switching the protagonist's identity within the current scene.
To clearly depict the possession of the body, the game uses Roman numerals "I to IV" to distinguish each soul. Here, we will also use this naming convention to refer to them individually.
In this demo, the game showcases three of the girl's souls:
Among them, "I" seems to be the closest to a "normal person." She reacts to the eerie world with typical human sensibility and answers player questions relatively honestly. Her trauma appears to stem from a half-bodied woman covered in blood, crawling forward on her hands.
In contrast, "III" appears world-weary and indifferent, often showing disdain for the player's questions. Yet, she is deeply insecure, finding comfort only when clutching a folding knife. Her trauma manifests as a middle-aged man with a chubby build and lecherous expression, who suddenly appears from behind changing room curtains, sliding doors about to open, or even gaps under sofas, harassing the protagonist with jump scares.
Meanwhile, "IV" resembles a delinquent girl gone astray. Not only are her speech and manners rough, and her responses to player inquiries impatient, but she also fears the "Nurses" who wander the maze with exaggerated, eerie smiles.
Consequently, the shift in bodily dominance becomes an interesting narrative and mechanical trigger: when a soul feels threatened, she may retreat into the depths of consciousness, changing the girl's identity in the current scene. For instance, "III" and "IV" do not encounter the terrifying half-body woman, while "I" and "III" are not pursued by the "Nurse."
As stated before: each soul is more like an independent character who just happens to be stuffed into the same body.
Thus, in the game, this mechanism of shifting dominance not only triggers different scare elements but also serves as a controllable means for souls to evade threats—if you are being chased by something, "switching accounts" is the most effective way to resolve the situation.
Due to the limited scope of this demo, the specific triggers for soul switching remain unclear. In the game, the protagonist often experiences a sudden headache before being possessed by another soul. Although players can actively change the currently controlled soul, this fully autonomous switch seems to be a limited resource that cannot be replenished once used—at least, I'm not sure how to restore it.
What is certain is that this mechanism plays a crucial role in the game. It affects not only the relationship between the protagonist and enemies but also the player's exploration experience within the maze.
One segment in this demo illustrates this: when faced with a "No Entry" sign in the corridor, both "I" and "III" are stopped, but the more aggressive "IV" simply kicks it over. This action not only highlights the differing personalities of each soul but also opens up new paths for exploration, expanding the player's range of free movement.
The game does not set this process as a fixed, inevitable event; it only occurs when conditions are met. When the body is dominated by the other two souls, taking a slight detour can also solve the problem. This raises curiosity: what other variables might these personality differences introduce to exploration?
Finally, another aspect that distinguishes UN:Me from traditional horror games is that "exploration" and "escape" appear to be the core gameplay, but they are merely the "process" by which players achieve their goals.
The true purpose of "exploration" is to allow players to understand the personalities and experiences of each soul—who they are, where they come from, and why they are fighting for control of the girl's body. Only by clarifying these points can players identify the true owner of the body.
Honestly, I am unsure what role the "player" assumes in the game, nor does the game seem inclined to reveal it. This "half-hidden, half-revealed" approach initially reminded me of the "psychological counseling" segments in Silent Hill: Shattered Memories or Until Dawn, where first-person dialogue is designed as part of a narrative trick. However, UN:Me is the opposite, suggesting that the player is the one hiding secrets.
During these dialogue segments, you face the girl in a setting resembling a "consultation room," gradually reconstructing the profiles of each soul by choosing topics. In this demo, whenever the girl discovers a key item related to a soul in the maze, a new topic is unlocked for use in conversation.
In scenes where you converse with the girl, Roman numerals on the background walls indicate the soul's identity. However, once you become familiar with each soul's personality, you can distinguish them through more direct means. Although they share the same face, their word choices, habitual actions, and facial expressions always exhibit significant differences.
This was the most surprising aspect of the demo: for a work so heavily marked by "indie game" attributes in both gameplay and theme, its technical execution exceeded my expectations.
Clearly, to make the characters' movements and expressions realistic and vivid, UN:Me utilizes motion capture and facial capture technology. In face-to-face conversations, this technology becomes an integral part of character塑造 and gameplay interaction.
The dialogue mechanics in UN:Me are simple: you pose questions, and each soul responds according to their personality and experiences. Through repeated inquiry, more information is gradually revealed.
The problem is, not everyone is willing to cooperate with your questioning. Sometimes, you may touch upon secrets they wish to keep hidden; other times, you might trigger memories of past traumas.
To accurately portray emotional shifts, the game employs detailed body language and micro-expressions, which also serve as clues in dialogue. Players can gain more effective information by empathizing with, affirming, or even provoking the characters.
In fact, this gameplay feels more akin to an "interrogation" between a detective and a suspect. Although the two differ greatly in type and scale, the interactive concepts based on motion capture and character expressions share many similarities.
In today's indie game market, the concept and experience of this gameplay are nearly unique.
Unfortunately, like many superficial demo experiences, the dialogue in this demo merely serves to "reveal information." Player interaction options are very limited, and the previously mentioned concept that "souls' emotions will alter the maze" is entirely absent. But this is understandable; as a narrative-focused game, every piece of information in UN:Me may be directly linked to the main storyline.
Instead, this complete gameplay loop helped me understand the real reason for UN:Me's delay—some aspects are genuinely difficult to implement. Otherwise, the realistic interrogation mechanics seen in L.A. Noire would not have remained unmatched for so long.
Even from this perspective, UN:Me is quite unique.