This year marks the 10th anniversary of Ib, an RPG Maker horror game about a little girl trapped in a haunted art gallery. It is generally considered a hidden gem with multiple endings depending on the player's choices and actions. It is the only project to be created by a developer who goes by the name "kouri," and is one of many Japanese RPG Maker horror titles translated into English by vgperson. The game has a large cult following for its characters, writing, music, and unique location.
On this anniversary, Kouri announced a remake of Ib, with the upcoming new version sitting on Steam and set to be released sometime this year. Its features will include updated graphics, improved screen resolution, new puzzles, a more robust conversation system, and different background music. The game's cult following is rejoicing in this, but the anniversary alone also opens a chance for plenty of new players to be introduced to Ib and its world of haunted paintings, creepy dolls, and memorable sidekicks.
What Made Ib Stand Out
What made Ib distinct from other, similar horror games was its atmosphere and characters. Players take the role of Ib, a little girl visiting an art gallery with her parents. She is a silent protagonist, but is mentioned to be very brave in comparison to some adults like Garry. The silent protagonist role works well for her, as it gives a lot of personality to the other characters who interact with the art gallery in very different ways.
Most players grow attached to Garry, the one adult who gets spirited away to the haunted gallery. While he can be protective of Ib, nurturing, and kind, he is also scared of everything. In Japanese he also uses feminine-coded linguistics, which has made many fans believe is an LGBT+ character. Ib creator kouri has mentioned that Garry likes to cross gender barriers, more or less confirmin this theory. Ib's other sidekick is girl around her age named Mary who is playful and innocent despite the horrors of the world around her.
The memorable atmosphere of the horror game is deeply connected to its monsters, music, and background lore elements. The art gallery itself was attributed to one man, Guertena Weiss, who believed that artists could put spirits into their creations. Weiss was apparently successful, but in a way that made a horrifying realm which spirits away people who visit the gallery. All the original music was composed by YASUpochi, and plenty of fan remixes can be found online.
Not every playthrough was the same, as a lot of the content changed based on player actions and choices. There are a lot of bad endings, but only one happy "true" ending. Certain interactions with characters can add up to whether they live or die at the end, but ultimately every ending is quite memorable, as the haunted gallery can be deceptive when the true nature of certain companions is revealed. These traits attracted players to Ib, leading to a small yet lively fandom.
What To Expect From The Ib Anniversary Remake
The remake of Ib is being put together by the original creator in conjunction with indie publisher Playism, which has worked with similar games like Subway Midnight, Homura Hime, and The Sealed Ampoule. The original pixel art game for English speakers is free to download on vgperson's website (with the permission of kouri), and that will always be there, but it's likely the new Steam version will have a price tag attached. The remake will only be in Japanese at launch, but English, Chinese, and Korean versions will be added later.
Ib is available now for PC.