Kodoku

Kodoku is a single-player survival horror game in which you explore an otherworld inside a jar, collect souls and evade monsters. You play as Urohoshi, a university professor of folklore who travels deep into the mountains to find a friend who vanished without a trace, drawn there by a grotesque statue of Kannon. After jumping into a massive jar at the site, Urohoshi wakes in a realm ruled by monsters and meets a solitary young girl who asks him to gather souls for her. He must survive and find a way back to the world of the living.

The otherworld

The jar-bound realm is filled with someone’s regrets and trauma. Its landscapes include blazing wastelands, bottomless ravines and temples steeped in hollow splendor. Among its grotesque inhabitants are a man whose head is fused with a jar and a skeleton dragging an enormous ox cart.

Gather souls

You explore each stage to collect glowing souls scattered through the environment. Once you have gathered the required number, you can escape through a torii gate.

Evade the monsters

You cannot defeat the creatures that hunt you, but you can slow them as you press on through the darkness. The jar you carry can be thrown after you have collected enough souls, allowing you to divert enemy attention or activate switches for overhead doors.