Hundred Nights: DIFU casts players as the CEO of the underworld, tasked with processing souls before their rebirth into the earth realm. This management simulator, inspired by games like Two Point Hospital, puts a unique spin on Chinese mythology, allowing players to construct and manage their own personal hellscape.
In the opening stages of the game, players are guided by an underworld assistant named Ox Head. The core gameplay loop involves constructing facilities to judge incoming souls. These facilities, such as a judge's desk for a Soulkeeper and a "zen pad" for souls, are built using the primary currency, D-Cash. Once a soul is judged, players can engage in punishments, like pinning souls to a "copper slapper" – a totem pole where souls are subjected to a form of cleansing. After their penance, souls drink Meng Po's soup to forget their past lives before being reborn, facilitated by a soup stand and a rebirth station that sends them off in a beam of light.
The game's progression is tied to successfully processing souls, which increases the player's management rank and unlocks more facilities. However, managing the underworld comes with challenges. Agitated souls can develop grudges and attack facilities, necessitating the hiring of staff like soul tamers to calm them and handymen for repairs. This staffing adds to operational costs, as does the need to improve the environment. Decorating the underworld, similar to improving aesthetics in reality TV shows, can increase the prestige of facilities and boost the D-Cash earned per soul, as seen with stone lamps and rock statues.
A secondary currency, incense, is earned from successfully rebirthing souls and can be used to expand the playable area using a terraforming tool. This tool allows for the manipulation of islands, which can be anchored together to create larger, more varied hellscapes filled with torture devices. By the end of a preview session, additional facilities like a "cold claw" for karma cleansing and a "soulstaraunt" were added, demonstrating the expanding management options.
PixelsCove Games, the developer, has indicated plans to broaden the game's appeal beyond Chinese mythology. While the primary focus will be on the Eastern concept of the afterlife, future downloadable content may introduce interpretations of hell from other cultures. Recognizable characters from Chinese mythology, such as Wukong from Journey to the West, are also planned for the full release.
Further features in development include more varied soul animations, a roguelike minigame inspired by Dave the Diver's fishing levels for artifact hunting, and customizable staff with unique skills. The terraforming tool is also slated for further development, aiming for procedural generation of more detailed environmental flourishes, akin to the PC diorama builder Tiny Glade.
Hundred Nights: DIFU is currently in development for both PC and consoles, promising a potentially deep and engaging management simulation experience. The preview suggests a cozy yet complex take on the afterlife, offering a unique management challenge.