Summary
Nintendojust released a new teaser trailer for a horror game and left fans utterly baffled. The footage features a figure in a trench coat with a paper bag on their head and a smiley face drawn across the unusual mask.Nintendooffered no explanation for the video, but the character seems to be named Emio, judging by the ominous hashtag accompanying the upload.
Japanese text closes out the short clip, which roughly translates to “Emio” —meaning “smiling man.“The video has sparked discussion about Nintendo’s future plans, as the Japan-based company has earned itselfa reputation for publishing family-friendly content. But now, Nintendo seems to be developing a horror game for mature audiences, certainly not for the same demographic as theSuper Mariosaga.
Nintendo fans took to social media to immediately comment on the video, which features a Nintendo Switch logo at the beginning, the Nintendo company logo at the end, and even an M-rating. The brief, 15-second teaser opens with a grainy spotlight against a plain background, then some clever editing simulates a glitch effect to put “Emio” into the frame. Emio appears to be a fully-grown adult, presumably male, and can best be described as a mix between the Man in the Mask fromThe Strangersfranchise and Six’s friend Mono from thehorror puzzle-platformerLittle Nightmares 2. “This is the most cryptic thing Nintendo has ever done. Holy cow,” one YouTube comment said.
What Does Emio Mean?
This wouldn’t be the first time Nintendo has published a horror game. In fact, one of the company’s biggest horror games isEternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem, a psychological horror game released for the GameCube which — by the way — is renowned for having some ofthe best jump scares in horror video game history. The game takes place across several time periods and follows different characters in four locations on Earth as they combat an evil entity seeking to enslave humanity.Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiemis considered to be one of the best horror games ever made, so this Emio project certainly has big shoes to fill.
Nintendo has also published some of the latest games in theFatal Framefranchise, so while the company isn’t exactly known for horror, it’s been known to dabble in the genre from time to time. Hopefully more information about this mysterious Nintendo horror project comes to light sooner rather than later.
