Ghost Road

Ghost Road is the first game in a trilogy about ancient Chinese underworld mythology. It tells three stories inspired by Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, with three female leads, more than ten non-player characters, multiple storylines and multiple endings.

Three underworld tales

• Liaozhai Strange Tale One: On the River of Forgetting, a cage of resentment floats while a singing girl carries a deep longing. The tragic story follows the love and hatred between Republic of China singer Su Mei and Lu Xiaojia, Jin Dashai and Ah Hua.
• Liaozhai Strange Tale 2: Memories are sealed in the Three Lives Stone as demons cause trouble during the Daduan Dynasty. The story asks whether the princess’s choice is driven by desire or love.
• Liaozhai Strange Tale 3: On Qingqiu Mountain, a nine-tailed fox spirit comes down to the mortal world. After thousands of years of cultivation and solitude, the spirit has transformed into a beautiful girl and waits for sincere affection.

A journey through the underworld

The game draws on ancient accounts of the underworld and its eighteen levels of hell. Its settings range from Fengdu Ghost City and Luocha Ghost City to Guimenguan, Huangquan Road, Naihe Bridge and the River of Forgetting. The scenes present a panoramic view of the underworld, with each reflecting the eerie, strange atmosphere of hell.

The visual design combines the forms of ancient Chinese Taoist water-and-land paintings with modern anime styling. Some props in the environments take inspiration from Chinese cultural relics.

Music and voices

The original soundtrack uses traditional Chinese instruments, including the suona, erhu, guzheng, xiao, flute and Chinese drums. Its music draws mainly on ancient Chinese melodies and pentatonic scales, including Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zheng and Yu. The background score also incorporates environmental sounds, such as flowing water around the River of Forgetting and Naihe Bridge, and ghostly howls in Fengdu Ghost City and Luocha Ghost City.