Rubbings

Rubbings follows Bian Chenglin, an editor at a folklore magazine who receives four mysterious rubbings. Clues in poems on them lead him to Lengzheng Village, hidden deep in the mountains. His journey draws him into several murders from decades earlier, and the rubbings also conceal a secret about himself. As he investigates, the truth gradually emerges.

The village and its stories

After settling in the village, you find The Village Chronicle of Lost Souls, a book of strange tales about man-eating rats, a paper bride and a blood-red village. These stories may be tied to secrets buried there for years. The village’s Zhenling Day is approaching, and the atmosphere grows increasingly uneasy. The villagers seem friendly, but may be hiding something or making plans, leaving you unsure whom to trust.

Investigate both worlds

You experience the ghost stories from a first-person perspective, then return to the present as Bian Chenglin to gather clues around the village. By piecing together evidence from the stories and from the villagers’ concealments, you work to uncover what really happened. A deduction notebook helps you organize clues from both sides, and you can use your phone to contact colleagues at the magazine for more information and to improve how accurately you reconstruct the stories.

Unsettling visuals and puzzles

The game uses several visual styles, including dark, rough-line illustrations, distorted environments and unusual colors. Each ghost story has an art style as strange as its subject, creating an atmosphere of mystery and unease. Puzzles within the ghost stories are closely connected to exploration in the real world.