Urban Myth Dissolution Center is one of the Best Visual Novels

Urban Myth Dissolution Center is an episodic adventure game. It plays like a mix of a Visual Novel and a point-and-click adventure game. The graphics are similar to a PS game from the late 1980s but with modern pixel art.

The game isn’t all that scary. It tries to be, but it is more comedic than anything else. There are moments where it tries to create some tension, but they don’t last long. Most of the scary parts have to do with the imagery.

The game uses several urban myths from different countries. Some are well-known myths if you’ve been on the internet for a while or grew up in the 1980s and 90s. One of them stretches the definition of an “urban myth” and is more of a folktale.

This is a very fun game. I love how the main story is told across the six episodes that make up the game. The characters are great, and I enjoyed most of the subplots.

TLDR: A Wonderful Horror Visual Novel based on Urban Myths and Folklore.

Narrative

The story is kind of fun. It does feel like many of the anime I’ve watched before, which isn’t a bad thing. Urban Myth Dissolution Center is six episodes long, each revolving around an urban myth (duh). Here are the myths in the game:

• Man Under the Bed
• Bloody Mary
• Netherworld – Despite the attempted explanation, I don’t think this one fits into the whole Urban Myth theme.
• Kotori-bako
• Doppelganger
• The Samejima Incident

Some of these are new to me, and others are from old children’s games. I remember playing Bloody Mary quite a few times when I was younger. In the game, there is a logical explanation for the myths that you investigate.

The main character is tricked into joining the center. She sits in a “cursed chair,” and while investigating it, she destroys it. The director tells her she will have to pay for the chair and starts working for the center to pay off the debt.

There is more going on that we know right away. We learn what is happening alongside the main character and during cutscenes at the end of each episode. It is a very cool setup.

Social media plays a big part in the game. You use it to research the myths, you talk with content creators and influencers, and the Director turns the investigations into YouTube videos, known as BooTube, in the game. This is one of the most unique parts of the game and something I really liked.

As the story unfolds, the player runs into several mysterious groups. The SAMEZIMA Admin is trying to bring about the Great Reset, and the C.U.T.U is trying to stop them. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so I’ll let you find out what happens across the six episodes.

I like the story a lot. It takes some well-known urban myths and adds in a few obscure ones. They are treated seriously, but there is a logical explanation for them as the investigations continue. We also know that there are people with powers in the game’s world, along with magical objects.

I have to mention the ending really quick! It is fantastic! The final episode ties everything together and gives the player a wonderful twist ending. I was able to figure out what was going on before it was over, and then the game kept going, and the final reveal is amazing. I’m not going to spoil it, play the game for yourself.

Gameplay

The gameplay is fairly simple. The player isn’t asked to do much aside from solving puzzles and picking dialogue options. While you can brute force your way through most of the puzzles, they aren’t too hard, as the developers seem to want the player to stay focused on the story.

The game has three main characters and a few side characters that drive the plot in each episode. Here are the main characters:

• Meguriya – Director of the Center and has the power of Vision. He seemingly knows everything that is going to happen.
• Azami – A young girl who is tricked into joining the Urban Myth Dissolution Center. She has the power of Clairvoyance and is controlled by the player.
• Yasumi, also known as Jasmine – She drives Azami around and seemingly works for a mysterious third party. We see evidence of this in the first episode when an unnamed guy is watching them.

Each mission is divided into phases. Some are repeated during the episode, but they end the same way. Here are the phases:

• Social Media Research
• Location Investigation
• Myth Identification
• Dissolution

It is very cool that the developers had you investigate the myth on social media and then talk to people. It makes for a fun detective story. Not every mission deals with an Urban Myth that I’m aware of. I had fun looking into them, and it is cool that they try to ground these stories in the real world.

Most of the gameplay has you talking with people, exploring the environment, and using some Clairvoyance glasses to find clues. This leads you to solve some fairly simple puzzles that mostly consist of answering questions and filling in the blanks on a few sentences. It isn’t anything too difficult.

I like the gameplay. It is different from the other visual novels and adventure games I’ve been playing. This isn’t a difficult game, but it might take you some time to finish.

Visuals

Urban Myth Dissolution Center is a beautiful game. The pixel art is wonderful, and I love the cutscenes. I prefer this art style to the more realistic graphics of AAA games.

The color pallet is mostly made up of blues and greys. Red, yellow, and purple are used sparingly, making things pop off the screen. The source of the myths and the characters are mostly red. It looks awesome!

The cutscenes are wonderful! They do their best to be scary, and while I wasn’t scared by them, I think they look amazing. These cutscenes add quite a bit to the story.

The graphics look simpler on the “adventure” stages where your character investigates urban myths. The character sprites are in red and white, and they look good for the story they are in. There are little things about them that are unnatural but still fit the style of the game.

Then you switch from the “normal” world to the “clairvoyance” world; the game looks very creepy. The music adds a lot to this as you get a visual and auditory shift. You also see a bunch of after images of what happened in the past, and those images look creepy at times. I also like the game’s explanation for why images of people can be morphed into monsters.

It is a great looking game. It looks like someone animated a manga. The characters, cutscenes, and levels look great! The music works well with the graphics to create a creepy atmosphere.

8/5/10. Urban Myth Dissolution Center has great graphics, good gameplay, and a spectacular story. It is a wonderful visual novel.

Pros

• Great Graphics
• Spectacular Story
• Good Gameplay

Cons

• Easy Puzzles
• Very Linear
• Maybe too Easy

Conclusion

I had a lot of fun playing this game. The graphics and gameplay are great, and the story is wonderful. Urban Myth Dissolution Center is an excellent game.

The pixel art in this game is beautiful, and the developers got the most out of a simple color pallet. I loved the two-world concept where you switch between the normal world and a clairvoyant one. It makes the game a little creepier at times.

The story is excellent! It is told in six episodes with parts of an overarching plot across the episodes. It felt like watching a cartoon where there is an event of the week and then bits of a story at the beginning and end of the episode.

If you like horror movies, anime, or detective games, then this is perfect for you. This is one of the better games I’ve played this year. Currently, this is my game of the year for 2025. I know it is still early, but it will be hard for anything to beat Urban Myth Dissolution Center.

If you liked this post, please check out my reviews of other visual novels, such as The Letter and Grizzly Man.