Hariti: A demo of Chinese folk horror arrives at Steam Next Fest

A mother searches for her missing daughter in the hallways of a deserted hospital — and finds out that something there never left.

Some horror relies on jump scares and forgets to haunt you. Hariti seems to take the opposite direction. The new game from Ghostcase is a first-person psychological horror that puts you in the shoes of a mother searching for her missing daughter inside an abandoned hospital — and with each corridor, it becomes clearer that the place isn't empty, just waiting.

The good news: the free demo is already available on Steam now, as part of the Steam Next Fest. But hurry, because the festival window is only until June 22. After that, there's the feeling of having played before everyone else.

A hospital that doesn't return those who enter

The premise of Hariti is easy to explain and uncomfortable to experience: your daughter vanished, and the only clue leads to a ruined Chinese-themed hospital. From there, the game swaps the map and goal for a question that won't leave you: what happened inside? The aim is for a realistic and atmospheric horror, one that builds tension in silence before any appearance — and when the appearance happens, the page itself warns: expect shocking scenes and sudden sound scares.

What sets Hariti apart from many horror "walking simulators" is a hint in the game's own materials: you'll need to wield the "right weapon" to move forward. In other words, it's not just about running and hiding — there's something to face, and how you face it matters.

The differential: fear stemming from culture, not cliché

What makes Hariti stand out is its origin. Instead of a generic Western hospital, the game dives into Chinese folktale horror, with environments the studio describes as authentic and a creature design born from ancient legends. It's a type of fear rarely explored around here — and precisely because of that, harder to predict.

It's worth even looking at the name. Hariti refers to a figure from Buddhist folklore: a goddess who, according to tradition, devoured children before becoming a protector of mothers and children. This duality between devouring and protecting is exactly the game's premise — a mother driven by love traversing a place that only offers loss. It's not a name chosen by accident, and the demo feels like just the tip of this story.

What to expect from the demo

The demo version serves as a showcase for the four pillars that Ghostcase aims to highlight:

• Cultural dread + psychological tension: fear built in the atmosphere, not in gratuitous jump scares.
• Chinese horror environments: rich ambiance and out of the ordinary.
• Folklore monster design: the creatures are the type that make for clips and nightmares.
• Layered storyline: a story where nothing is what it seems.

And for those worried about the machine: the demo has low requirements — Windows 10, Core i5, GTX 1060, and 6 GB of space. Oh, and the most important for Brazilian players: the game includes interface and subtitles in Brazilian Portuguese, so you can dive in without a language barrier.
 

[Optional — room for editorial impressions: if anyone from the team played the demo, this is the place for one or two paragraphs of "hands-on": what scared, what worked, overall feeling. Real impressions are worth more than any release.]

How to play (and why to add to the wishlist)
 

The demo is free and playable now, during the Next Fest. Downloading it is the best way to see if Hariti is your kind of nightmare — and adding the game to your wishlist ensures you'll get notified when the full version releases (scheduled for 2026).

• Play the free demo: store.steampowered.com/app/4212360/Hariti_Demo
• Add to wishlist (complete game): store.steampowered.com/app/4018740/Hariti

If you enjoy horror that bets on atmosphere and a fear with a unique cultural essence, it's worth spending a few minutes in Ghostcase's hospital — before the Next Fest closes its doors on the 22nd.

Technical sheet
 

• Title: Hariti
• Developer / Publisher: Ghostcase
• Genre: First-person psychological horror / survival horror
• Platform: PC (Steam)
• Languages: 12, including Brazilian Portuguese (interface and subtitles)
• Demo: free, available during Steam Next Fest until 06/22/2026
• Release: 2026 (to be confirmed)