Hailing from northern California, Yuna Itoh is a young woman of Japanese decent with a lifelong interest in the supernatural. This interest manifested primarily in her desire to explore supposedly haunted locations, hoping to capture undeniable proof of unearthly ephemera, alongside frequently consulting research materials relating to the subject. In recent years, however, the burden of finding proof has weighed heavily on her head; time and time again, trips out into the field have yielded no practical results, or proven the tales to be outright lies, and she has found her belief shaken. Upon discovering the tale of the Barnbellow Estate during one of her research sessions, and her obsession with it growing, she schedules a trip out to England to visit the estate personally to gather evidence of supernatural phenomena, seeing it as her make or break moment; either her belief is right, and she continues down the path she's chosen, or it is wrong, and she re-directs her life's course. Upon arriving at the estate, it doesn't take long for her to discover the truth; yes, supernatural beings exist, and they are far more terrifying and dangerous then she could ever have imagined. The goal of her trip is no longer a simple matter of finding out what happened at the titular estate to turn it into such a wretched place; she also has to survive the night and live to tell the tale.

Additional Facts:

• she's a big music fan, attending various concerts and shows (both major and indie) in her spare time, and collecting CDs, Vinyls, and Cassettes. She also curates her own mixtapes from time to time

• she's ambidextrous, and is able to cleanly write with both hands

• she's a Lesbian (currently single, but looking to mingle)

• her parents emigrated to Northern California from Japan before she was born; they met and fell in love with one another before they emigrated

• she lives in San Jose

• she's frequently been involved with the track teams both during her high school years, and since she began attending San Jose State University

• her favourite food is Shunkyo Daikon Radish, preferably pickled

• she loves Christmas, and one of her goals is to one day spend Christmas day in a place where it shows

• she's extremely good at racing games; her personal favourite is Relentless Riders
  

Barnbellow's Estate is a Survival Horror game, played in the third person- meaning Yuna's character model is in full view at all times. The camera is for the most part position placed in an isometric position a few meters above Yuna's head, allowing a decent field of view in front, behind, and above/below Yuna's position without being too zoomed out. The camera can be changed to be position to in front of, behind, or to either side of Yuna at the press of a button, allowing the player to take full stock of their surroundings- the camera is positioned to her side by default, however. During certain events- such as cutscenes, hauntings etc.- the camera will briefly adopt more cinematic angles to enhance the mood and tone of the moment, but this will never occur whilst the player has control of Yuna to avoid confusion.

This is the primary mode of play in Barnbellow's Estate. Yuna's initial reason for coming here was to procure hands-on research, artefacts, and possible sightings of supernatural ephemera for the purpose of documentation, and though that task is infinitely more dangerous then she expected, it is one she intends to fulfil. As you will soon discover, there are not only plenty of secrets hidden within the story everyone knows of the estate- the unfortunate tale of the Barnbellow family, whom incurred the loss of their youngest son and who's matriarch succumbed to murderous insanity in her grief- but entire tragedies who's details had been lost to time, bricked up and hidden away in layers that go deeper and deeper into the literal heart of the estate. Players will experience these through written records, the very environment itself, and numerous hauntings that play out in front of them; it is therefore your job to record as much as is possible through notes (the written records) or visual evidence (the environment and hauntings). Notes will be automatically taken by Yuna for everything she reads; however, players must use Yuna's digital camera manually to record the hauntings or physical evidence via photographs. Thankfully, Yuna has something of a sixth sense; though she cannot pinpoint exactly where a haunting is, she will know when she is in the general vicinity of one, and will comment on it.

Be warned, though; not all of these records and hauntings are benign, and may purely exist to frighten- or even harm- Yuna. Triggering hauntings without the camera active may also frighten Yuna, so remain observant. Hauntings and cursed notes are inactive when you are being chased by a pursuer, so you won't have to worry about them tripping you up in a life or death situation- though the stress they inflict will carry over if Yuna is not sufficiently calmed.

Yuna is not a well trained and heavily armed soldier; she is more or less an entirely average 22 year old woman. The abominable denizens of the estate completely outclass her in a fight, making an offensive approach ill advised at best, and outright impossible at worst. This means that when a pursuer has become active the only recourse available to you, as a player, is to run and hide from the threats accosting you. At the very least, Yuna does have some remarkably good stamina; she can sprint for longer durations and at higher speeds then many can, and mercifully, the estate is large and sprawling enough that crossing large distances to evade the pursuers is a viable option- it helps that most of them are slower then her when she is sprinting. However, Yuna is only human; she can't sprint endlessly. A meter in the UI will gradually deplete when she is actively sprinting, and it cannot be used until it is full again, returning Yuna to her usual jogging pace (which the pursuers can keep pace with). There are also a wealth of hiding spots that Yuna can make use of over the course of the night, though be warned; pursuers will not be fooled by the same hiding spot more then a couple of times. There are even a few that they will not be fooled by at all; you must be ready to make a hasty exit at all times.

Complicating matters is the fact that Yuna can only take so much without a brief reprieve; alongside a meter indicating her physical health, she also has a meter that indicates the level of stress and fear she is currently feeling. Being in closer proximity to the currently active pursuer will cause it to raise very gradually, and being caught off guard by less-than-benign hauntings and notes before a chase is initiated can cause it to raise more significantly. The higher the gauge gets, the more prone to making mistakes Yuna will be; she'll be far more likely to trip or stumble. Hiding is impacted by the stress meter as well; the higher it is, the more likely Yuna is to be discovered- and as hinted at above, some hiding spots are better then others, so this can be a real problem. There are items in the game that will allow Yuna to manage her stress, such as plentiful bundles of Lavender that can be foraged and that do not run out (a mild reduction of stress), and a personal cassette player featuring a mixtape she compiled that (should you find yourself in a quiet spot, and not currently in a chase) you can stop to have her listen to (a slightly more effective method). If Yuna successfully hides from a pursuer, the stress meter will deplete rapidly, resetting to nil within seconds, making it the most effective means of reducing stress overall, though it is not the most reliable and comes with the highest risk. Lavender cannot be foraged during a chase, so smart players will always have a stock on hand (there is no limit to how much you can carry, either). Likewise, the cassette player cannot be used whilst a chase is active.

If Yuna is cornered and can neither hide nor escape, she has one final trick up her sleeve; the same sixth sense that makes her extra sensitive to haunting can be channelled through her camera which, acting as a conduit, will “project” a kinetic force outward that will stagger any pursuer it is aimed at- and, if used enough, will eventually cause the pursuer to collapse or dissipate. As the camera is digital (and Yuna was smart enough to stock up on plenty of SD cards in advance- presumably, anyway), there isn't a limit on the amount of photos you can take, though there is a small delay between each shot. This is also a wholly temporary measure; any pursuer that is subdued will eventually get back up and begin stalking the estate again, and cannot be permanently neutralised. It is therefore not advised to rely on this defensive measure, and use it only when strictly necessary.

Being caught by a Pursuer does not immediately equal a game over; upon catching up to Yuna, the pursuer in question will initiate and attack of some kind that will drain Yuna's health meter. Some attacks are more damaging then others, of course, so it's wise to avoid the being caught as much as possible. If an attack connects and empties out the remainder of your life bar, your game will end and you will have to re-load a previous save file, or start from the beginning.

Saving your game can be done by accessing one of the hiding spots in the investigation phase, and consulting your notebook item.

Everyone knows the story of Mad Mary Barnbellow, and the tragedy that ultimately brought down the influential and affluent family. Old money and blue blood flowed like rivers through the Barnbellow family tree; such was their privilege that even as World War 2 raged on, the family continued to indulge in their various vices even as many of the inhabitants of the nearby town continued to endure rationing and poor living conditions. This opulence came to a screeching halt, however, in the early days of 1946; the youngest son of the family, Daniel Barnbellow, suddenly disappeared in the night whilst the family and their staff slept, seemingly spirited away from his bed. His body would turn up two days later on the outskirts of the town, badly mutilated and nearly unrecognisable. Though the whole family grieved, it was their matriarch, Mary Barnbellow, who seemed most deeply affected; she gradually withdrew from the public entirely, obsessing over every detail of the case as it came to light- even greasing the palms of the local constabulary and governing bodies to gain information she should not be privy to- and spending her remaining time enraptured by sorrow. It is said that she would weep and wail late into the night with enough frequency that she began sleeping apart from her husband, Gerald Barnbellow, and that her relationship with him and many of their previous associates grew further and further strained with each passing day. This came to a head at a private function a few months after Daniel's murder, where other members of the town's aristocracy and council were in attendance; Mary emerged from her room in a frenzied, furious state, screaming that she knew the truth behind what happened to her son, and that she would make those responsible pay. She proceeded to brutally murder Gerald in front of the guests, and would proceed to butcher the rest of them throughout the night, stalking them throughout the estate as they tried (and failed) to run and hide; only her other children and the staff were spared her wrath. Her brutal work complete, she simply disappeared into the heart of the estate and vanished, never to be seen again. The building was condemned and left to rot not long after, and wild tales of how Mary continued to stalk the halls, her fury burning ceaselessly and her form twisted by death into something barely human, murdering anyone foolish enough to set foot in the house.

Lady Barnbellow is the first Pursuer that Yuna encounters, and is the most persistent. She is fairly slow- largely due to the size of the blade she drags behind her and her elongated and awkward limbs- but she knows the estate better then the player ever will, circumventing her pace by taking shortcuts and secret passages to cut ahead of you. However, the weight of the blade will occasionally cause her to stagger on her own, and though it is fairly large she still needs to be close to Yuna to make much use of it, meaning that she is somewhat susceptible to the camera in a pinch. However, if she does hit you, she hits hard; four strikes is all it will take to put you in the ground.

The Church of England, much like many other Christian sects, have bodies that keep tabs on demonic or occult activity, and are granted permission to perform rites- including exorcisms and blessings- where they may be necessary. Father MacLachlan was one such vicar, having stepped into the role following a spate of possessions that swept through his old parish, or so records state. Described as a soft-spoken, quiet gentleman with a gentle heart, he was called upon to investigate- and hopefully cleanse- a peculiar location in the Midlands known to be a hotbed of unholy activity. As the full extent of his presence was to be kept a secret, a church was constructed around the ruins at the heart of this location, serving as a place of worship for the community as well as Father MacLachlan's base of operations. During his stay, MacLachlan bore witness to a number of disturbing events, both in the quiet of the evening and unto his parishioners but remained steadfast in his belief that he could “cure” the sickness that had infected the area. Perhaps too much so; he grew more and more obsessed with excising the evil presence, spending less and less time acting as leader of the parish and beginning to perform exorcisms without the authorisation of the Archbishop of Canterbury. He developed a pathological need to heal the very land itself, losing countless hours of sleep and slipping further and further into madness, screaming his prayers and blessings loudly into the night, believing he was the only one that could- that it was his duty under God to do so. In some sense, he achieved his goal- though demonic activity continued, it begun to centre- and thus victimise- only the Reverend himself. Eventually, all activity simply stopped; Father MacLachlan has disappeared entirely, and the church stood abandoned.

Father MacLachlan is the second pursuer encountered, and is the least openly hostile. Though he does give chase, his actions seem to indicate that he's still trying to cleanse the land (and upon discovering you, help you). Unfortunately, what should be a healing touch has long since been corrupted; if he catches up to you and lays a hand upon Yuna, her health will begin to slowly deplete until she can break free- how long that will take her is somewhat random. He is slightly faster then Lady Barnbellow is, seemingly gliding over the terrain as though levitating, and is fairly relentless in his pursuit; simply running away will not work. You will have to successfully hide from him to divert his attention elsewhere.

Once upon a time, there was a knight named Arthur.

He was strong, he was brave, and he was very loyal to his king.

He was beloved by all across the land.

So beloved and so trusted was he, that the King charged him with ridding one of his castles of horrible monsters, whom had claimed it as their own.

“Thine will be done, your Majesty!” said Arthur; “They will be easy prey for my mighty mace!”

And off Arthur rode, heading down into hell with a smile on his face.

They fell very quick, to be sure- but for every one slain, two took their place.

“No matter!” Arthur said, “I will smash and bash with all my might, until I can do so no longer!”

And on it went, for days, weeks, months, an endless cycle of death and despair with no end.

Sleep became a luxury, food and water as well, as Arthur doggedly soldiered on.

With each passing battle, his confidence faltered.

He was the king's greatest knight, known far and wide for his strength!

Surely he could not fail a direct order from his majesty?

And yet, there was no end to the fighting; the beasts endured, wave after wave, night after night.

Arthur grew furious.

“This will not stand!” he roared, “I will be victorious!”

His swings became frenzied, his appetite for blood dwarfing his need for wheat and water.

His throat grew hoarse from roaring, his muscles grew tired from swinging, his mind had snapped,

And then,

As if by magic,

Arthur was gone, never to be seen again.

And so ends the tale of the honourable Sir Greaves.

Sir Arthur Greaves is the third pursuer encountered by Yuna, and the most openly violent. The second he has the player in his sights, he will gun for you at a speed that's only slightly slower then Yuna's sprint, and faster then her normal jog; he wants her dead, in no uncertain terms. Complicating matters are the fact that his mace has a considerable amount of reach due to the extended chain- he can't quite hit you from the other side of the room, but he doesn't need to get right up close to hurt you either. The armour also offers him a greater resistance to the camera, though he will fall to it eventually. On the plus side, he is very easily fooled by hiding places; ducking into one, even a somewhat less reliable one, will likely have him off your tail.

Nomen ejus nescimus,

Natalem ejus nescimus,

Ejus propositum nescimus;

Novimus omnes,

Is mortem esurit.

The most mysterious of the Pursuers, with almost nothing to indicate it's identity or it's history, it's shadowy form constantly shifting between humanoid, bestial, and indeterminate mass; all that can be gleamed from the scant notes dotted around the dark caves it inhabits is that it moved across ancient Albion in the late Iron Age, not only killing a great many people, but disposing of their remains in ways that went against the burial rites of the tribes it attacked- inhumation where it should be cremation, cremation where it should be chariot burial, so on and so forth.

What is certain, is that it is the most patient Pursuer that Yuna encounters; rather then aggressively attacking, it follows her at a distance, actively trying to put space between it and Yuna but always with the aim to keep her in sight. But it's gaze in more then enough; if Quadringentis can see Yuna, her stress meter raises at a faster rate then proximity to other Pursuers. Once the stress meter is maxed out, it will begin to close in at a steady pace, attacking Yuna with it's nightmarishly warped body with incredible brutality. Thankfully, Quadringentis quite literally has to be able to see Yuna for this abillity to work; merely being in the same room as Quadringentis is not enough, so ducking around corners and using even standard, non-hiding place-architecture as sight blockers can dampen it's impact. Keeping out of said line of sight for long enough will throw it off your trail, sometimes before you find an actual hiding spot if you're lucky.

Fury. Terror. Despair. These are feelings and sensations that transcend sapience and higher brain function; they are something even the most basic forms of life can know and understand, intimately, even if they don't have the words for them that we do. And my, are they powerful emotions, so severe and savage that they can scar the very land itself with wounds that will never heal.

And It... well. It knows pain. It knows suffering. It knows agony. Some say that that is all It knows. It was not so much “born” as it was “formed”; spawned at the very beginning of this vast universe, billions of years before the Earth on which we live would come into being, in response to life's very first shed tear. And ever since, with each successive cry, it took greater form, forced to wallow and steep in an increasingly widening and deep pool of anguish. For longer then you or I can comprehend, this is how It lived.

It's no wonder that It would lash out in response. That It, too, would seek to hurt.

Without due cause.

Without an end goal.

Without any mercy.

Very few have encountered It directly. Fewer still have survived to tell It's story. Those that have know it y a single name; The Shape.

The Shape serves as the “final boss” of Barnbellow's Estate, an avatar of it's form resting in the deepest part of a nightmarish, fleshy cave at the centremost point of the titular estate. Every horrible thing that has happened here has, in some way, been it's fault- a direct consequence of it's unending desire to inflict as much pain on every living thing as possible. Depending on a variety of factors throughout the game- the most important being how much the player has discovered and learned of each successive tragedy- Yuna's response to The Shape will fall one of two ways:

1. Her horror and anger overwhelm her, forcing her into a defensive position as a direct fight- the only direct fight in the game- between her and The Shape unfolds. This is what The Shape knows, and what The Shape wants, as this is how it can maximize Yuna's pain for it's own satisfaction.

2. Her capacity for empathy is overwhelmed and, in spite of everything, she cries for The Shape; she feels genuine sorrow for it and it's plight. The Shape has no idea how to react to this, and it gains nothing from Yuna's pain, enraging it and beginning an extended chase sequence.
   

In the Fight path, The Shape's room expands into a larger, circular arena, in which it- via a humanoid form- can traverse effortlessly, attacking either directly with abilities of its own or summoning fleshy proxies of prior Pursuers to use their abilities instead. Yuna's stress meter doesn't just max out here- the actual stress meter in the HUD completely breaks, disappearing as she goes into a manic, catatonic state. However, Yuna doesn't stumble or trip here; if anything, her movement speed (which has defaulted to sprint) has increased, and she doesn't tire. Though it might not be noticable at first, when used on the proxies (which have the exact same stats as whatever Pursuer they've formed into), her cameras damage output has also shot way up in addition. All of this comes at the cost of Yuna's own durability taking a massive hit- anything that hits her does a considerable amount of damage, and the fight can end very quickly if the player isn't careful. They must make use of Yuna's massively boosted stats to play as carefully as possible to overcome the fight.

In the Escape path, The Shape's room- and, as you soon find, the estate as a whole- begins to warp and collapse, forcing Yuna to run. There are no hiding spots anymore- the very last one in the game, seemingly useless beyond it's capacity as a save point (and a space for Yuna to reflect on everything before the final encounter), was right outside The Shape's room. It is a straight shot from the belly of the beast to the entrance of the estate, in which Yuna has to traverse an extended, massively reshaped versions of every other location she's gone through in reverse, whilst The Shape gives chase in a much more horrific and form that fills the space of every room it moves through. You cannot stop this form from advancing- the camera does nothing against it, and it effectively swallows and consumes all of the space it traverses, meaning you cannot go back. Contact with The Shape is an instant game over, so you must keep space between you and it at all times during this sequence. Thankfully, it's movement speed is exactly on par with Yuna's standard speed, meaning that when you sprint, you can outpace it. Though your stamina meter does still deplete at the same rate, it recovers much more quickly then it did before, so you are able to use the sprint mechanic much more frequently. That is the key to surviving the chase; considered use of the sprint mechanic, and manouvering through the new layout of the rooms and corridors. There are several routes that one can take throughout said layout, with some being easier to move through then others- though there are no dead ends, and there are no obstacles that induce damage. And though Yuna can stumble, as her stress meter is permanently maxed out, she cannot outright trip; the only thing that will cause Yuna to stop is the player's own input.

As briefly mentioned above, many of your actions throughout the game will determine what ending you get once the game concludes. Here's how that would work, roughly;

Yuna's main goal is to survive the night, but your actions as a player can influence the degree to which that takes prescedence. If you, too, value escaping with your life, and thus play the game as a series of tense cat and mouse changes without doing much investigating, you will wind up with the most straightforward ending; Yuna fights The Shape, barely ekes out a win, and is forever haunted by what transpired in the estate. It is left ambiguous as to what, exactly, her life looked like afterwards, but it is at the very least made clear that she dropped out of her parapsychology program entirely and moved out-of-state, entirely uprooting her life and disappearing somewhere in the American Midwest to start anew, making no attempt to contact her family or anyone she knew back home ever again. Not the most rewarding of endings, but playing this way generally involves a higher degree of interaction with the various Pursuers throughout the game, as you're not taking detours to engage with anything else; to this end, the game itself becomes the reward, as the player takes repeated gambles on hiding from and escaping the Pursuers from start to finish and ends the adventure on an extremely tough boss fight that they can only just barely overcome.

However, Yuna may be terrified, but she is also curious; she has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge that persists even in life-or-death moments, and the players can lean into that. The Investigation Phase massively opens up to the player the more they choose to poke around in every nook and cranny, overturn as many stones as possible to find out what, exactly, happened in each layer of the estate- and indeed, there is much more to each Pursuer and their circumstances than is divulged above. The issue, of course, is parsing what information is useful, and what isn't, though there is at least one general rule the player can follow;

Maintain a healthy balance between Notes and Hauntings for the most “complete” outcome.

Barnbellow's Estate offers its players several extras to complement the experience, both in the form of cosmetic additions to entirely different modes of play.