Renku Diary demo hits Steam, blending Lu Xun's literary style with Chinese horror

Dog Cat Mouse Studio recently released a free demo for Diary of a Human Den on Steam. This first-person Chinese horror game draws partial inspiration from Lu Xun's literary works, with the demo covering the game's first chapter.

A southern Chinese city around the turn of the millennium, dim hospital lighting, a girl keeping vigil alone by a sickbed—the opening evokes that drawn-out waiting many of us know. Diary of a Human Den grounds its story in a specific era and place: not some fictional mansion, not a legendary village, but N City, somewhere you or I might pass through. That familiarity makes the horror hit closer.

Merging Lu Xun's literature with horror gameplay is a bold move. The oppression, absurdity, and darkness in his writing provide natural material for horror narratives. Protagonist Hua Xiaoxiao hails from Ao Village—the character "㟖" itself, with its mountain radical, carries a sense of geographic isolation.

The visual atmosphere lands well. Flickering figures in dim corridors, oppressive red light in underground sections—all conjuring that damp, cold southern ghost energy. Beyond visuals, though, I'm more curious how the narrative unfolds. Chinese horror risks falling into tired "vengeful spirit" patterns. Hopefully Dog Cat Mouse Studio uses Lu Xun's lens to show that human hearts can be more terrifying than ghosts.

The demo is free, the first chapter sized right for testing the waters. If you still hold expectations for domestic horror games, or simply want to see how Lu Xun's literature translates into gameplay, this demo warrants a download. Attempts to marry literary classics with genre games are rare—the ambition alone deserves recognition.