Have you ever wanted to be trapped in a dingy, poorly constructed concrete jungle in the 90s? If your incomprehensible answer is yes, then Welcome to Kowloon could be the game for you.
Developed by four independent developers and brought to modern consoles by Axyos Games Entertainment LLC—whose roster includes titles such as Anime vs. Evil: Apocalypse, Neko Hacker+, and the hauntingly named Don’t Mess with Bober—comes this newish intellectual property named Welcome to Kowloon. Branded as a ‘story-focused horror journey in the walking simulator genre,’ let’s see what this title has in store…
Welcome to Kowloon takes place in the notorious and poverty-stricken Kowloon Walled City, which is located a stone’s throw away from the bustling heart of Hong Kong, China—a far cry from the cramped, cell-like city where your journey begins. Playing as a brassic student who is down on his luck, you try to hunt down accommodation that your shallow pockets can barely afford. Unfortunately, you have to settle for a rundown room in a dingy block of flats. When you arrive, as you can imagine, something feels very wrong—but luckily for you, this is where your odyssey begins.
Trying to locate your lacklustre rented room, you traverse through badly lit, claustrophobic corridors and tightly packed passages. These tight spaces instantly create a feeling of unease, making the player constantly look over their shoulder while jumping at shadows. It feels as if you’ve been up four days straight on pharmaceutical uppers while mixing a cocktail of bad decisions—decisions that, in due time, you will grow to regret, and I’m definitely not talking from past experience here.
Now, right from the start, I’m not going to lie: I perceived this game to be straight-up shovelware with cheap thrills and even cheaper textures, although I wasn’t far off; this title does actually bring something to the table. And what is that, you ask? Well, my only answer is pure, adrenaline-induced fear. Sure, a lot of polishing needs to be done before this game gets spoken about by true gaming connoisseurs. You could even argue the developers should have included more buttons; if you are on PS5, you literally only use L2 to run, the right analogue stick to move, and X to pick up items. Because it’s a walking simulator, there is no combat—but these basic mechanics actually add to the tension. They create a deep level of helplessness that breeds panic as you slowly try to make your way out of this man-made maze.
While I’m mentioning the negatives, let’s talk about the graphics: they are rustic at best, with many items looking as unappealing as week-old soggy bread abandoned in a sink. If I’m being completely truthful, the gameplay really isn’t great; I noticed a few framerate issues, and the character’s running speed isn’t much faster than their walking speed. The entire time, you feel like a Vauxhall Corsa that is stuck in reverse.
With all that said, you are probably under the impression that I didn’t enjoy my time with Welcome to Kowloon. Honestly, that couldn’t be further from the truth—I had an amazing time playing this game. It had me screaming at the TV and kept me terrified the whole time. Admittedly, that time isn’t very long, as you can beat the title in the same amount of time it would take you to plait your hair while listening to a Sam Smith album.
With frequent jump scares to keep you on edge and a creepy narrative unravelling through lost notes left by previous tenants, the game creates pure restlessness and unease. The only thing I can equate it to is when you see a big, hairy-legged house spider run under your bed. You have to try and be a man while locating it by moving dusty books and four-year-old crisp packets you didn’t even know were down there. With every single item you move, your heart rate spikes—and that is exactly what Welcome to Kowloon feels like.
Overall, if you like horror games or cheap thrills and can look past the unsightly textures and occasional gameplay hiccups, this title is well worth a go. Coming in at £7.99, it’s as cheap as a bottle of Tesco-branded imperial vodka. While the crystal-clear Russian champagne will last you longer, you’re definitely not going to have as much fun—and you won’t be singing to the porcelain gods the next morning. Taking everything into account, I give Welcome to Kowloon a 6.5 out of 10.
+ scary
+ affordable
+ simple gameplay
-Frame rate issues
-very short
6.5
Reviewed on PS5
