Cowardice

Cowardice is a horror game in which you explore the protagonist's past through fragments of memory. The protagonist, called “cowardice” in the description, wakes in her own home, where familiar surroundings feel wrong. When an outside force opens the door, she realizes she is not safe. As frightening creatures pursue her, you explore her home, a hospital and a school, along with two map variants: ruins and a prison.

Chapters and maps

The game has five chapters, including four transitions, and three maps with different styles. The first three chapters balance horror with less frightening moments; the final two are more frightening. Each chapter after the first introduces something new, though its mechanisms are not the main focus. The story also includes simple puzzles, chase sequences and death scenes.

• Home: The protagonist wakes in a room that is familiar but subtly changed. As she approaches the exit, the thing she fears draws near; when it appears, you must run and hide.
• Hospital: She returns to a place she often had to visit and hated. A person with two faces left a deep trauma, despite their brief contact and the presence of doctors and security staff.
• School: The place where she spent most of her life is also where she endured the most pain. Amid thick smoke, the Queen’s followers pursue her, while other creatures play tricks. An unexpected figure—neither a thing of fear nor a stranger to her—appears and brings the story to a climax.
• Ruins: Malice erodes the surroundings, distorting memories and amplifying fear. You face two enhanced creatures at once.
• Prison: You must survive the darkest moment before dawn and face a final confrontation against three monsters, while watching for traps and sudden attacks.

Things of fear

The things of fear take shape from what the protagonist fears most, though the creatures in the main story seem to have been made by living people. The game features three of them, each with two stages:

• Tyranny: A red demon with a large belly and a bad temper.
• Joys and sorrows: A gray creature with two faces; beware of its smiling face.
• Smoker: A long-haired figure surrounded by thick smoke, with tubes wrapped around her neck and sharp-edged hands.

Between acts

Between acts are short transitions between chapters. They tell brief stories unrelated to the main plot and require little interaction. The game uses animations and on-screen prompts rather than text during play; the interface and menus contain text.