彼岸画廊/Nether Gallery

Nether Gallery, also known as 彼岸画廊, developed and published by HongShou Studio, is a dark, atmospheric 2D horror adventure that delves into the blurred boundaries between dream and reality, life and death, memory and oblivion. The game follows Wu Bai, a weary office worker whose mundane existence is suddenly interrupted by an inexplicable descent into a surreal world known as the “gallery.” Within this eerie realm, fragments of his memories, regrets, and anxieties take physical form, transforming familiar places into twisted representations of his psyche. What begins as a story about an ordinary man struggling with the pressures of modern life slowly unfolds into a nightmarish journey through guilt, disconnection, and the fragile line separating the living from the dead. It’s a quiet, introspective kind of horror—one that creeps under your skin not through jump scares, but through its uncanny atmosphere and emotional resonance. At its core, Nether Gallery uses its horror elements not simply to frighten, but to comment on the suffocating monotony of working life and the emotional decay that can come from it. Wu Bai’s story is steeped in the culture of overwork and alienation; his existence as a faceless employee in a gray corporate world becomes the foundation for the game’s descent into madness. The gallery itself serves as a metaphorical mirror, reflecting his memories and inner turmoil. As he wanders through corridors filled with distorted art, strange creatures, and forgotten relics of his life, the player begins to piece together fragments of a life slowly eroded by exhaustion and detachment. Each puzzle solved and each discovery made feels like peeling away another layer of his repressed emotion. The horror in Nether Gallery is deeply psychological, built on the fear of losing oneself amid the repetitive grind of existence and the haunting realization that some parts of the soul may never return once lost. The game’s visual presentation plays a central role in delivering its sense of unease. HongShou Studio has crafted a world that feels both hauntingly familiar and disturbingly alien. The hand-drawn art style evokes the atmosphere of a decaying painting—dim colors, muted lighting, and unsettling compositions that distort everyday objects into grotesque shapes. The environments transition seamlessly from realistic office spaces and suburban apartments to otherworldly galleries, where perspectives bend and objects defy logic. The use of light and shadow is particularly effective, making even small rooms feel oppressive and disorienting. The subtle animations and fine details in the background—the flicker of fluorescent lights, the echo of footsteps, the faint hum of machines—enhance the suffocating tension. Combined with the subdued, ambient sound design, the result is an immersive experience that keeps the player on edge even during moments of stillness. Gameplay in Nether Gallery follows the familiar framework of side-scrolling horror adventures, with an emphasis on exploration and puzzle-solving. Players guide Wu Bai through interconnected environments, collecting key items, deciphering cryptic clues, and interacting with strange objects that trigger fragments of his lost memories. The puzzles are mostly logic-based and intuitive, relying on environmental storytelling rather than arbitrary difficulty. Progress is measured less by conquering obstacles and more by uncovering pieces of a fractured narrative. Each success feels like reclaiming a portion of Wu Bai’s humanity, even as the world around him grows increasingly distorted. However, the pacing is deliberately slow, encouraging reflection over adrenaline. Those expecting high-tension chases or quick scares may find the gameplay subdued, but the slower rhythm fits the tone of the story—one that builds dread through quiet revelations rather than loud confrontations. The narrative structure of Nether Gallery is intentionally fragmented, forcing players to recons…

Most of the way through this and I liked it way more than I thought I would. The writing is pretty good. The puzzles are logical no real moon logic. You end up feeling pretty sympathetic to the main character, even though he's sort of an idiot who is late to work because he was buying a light bulb and he had to go through trash looking for receipts before the clerk would open the store when he could have just come back after work.

I have bought this game since the english patch was out (2 years ago or so). The game has never worked, like everyone else the begenning is glitched and we can't see the main character... The devs haven't fixed it yet even if we reported this a long time ago. They don't care about their game so don't bother buying it if you don't speak chinese!