Dancing with Ghosts follows the story of Mai, a 15-year-old Thai girl who is dealing with heavy emotions after the death of her parents. Through the grief, she finds it hard to find the joy in life until she learns to love it again from a surprising source.
Mai meets Pim on the bank of the Thai River, and not only can she see the 11-year-old ghost, but she can communicate with her as well. Pim has a vibrant outlook on life despite the fact that she can’t remember who she is at first. The girls go on a journey together, helping each other. For Pim, it’s learning more about herself, while Mai slowly learns to find the joy in life again.
You’ll get to play the part of both girls. As Mai, you’ll be able to run around the village playing mini-games like delivering packages in her boat, dancing at school, or helping others with their life tasks. As Pim, you’ll be able to possess the villagers and become privy to their inner thoughts. She’ll be able to help dispel troubling thoughts by delivering “heart-light,” which creates positive energy. To do that, she’ll have to dodge dark spirits that feed on negative energy.
Watch the trailer for Dancing with Ghosts!
In some cases, the girls will be able to work together! Pim can find villagers who wish for something and report to Mai about those inner desires. Mai can then use the money she’s earned to deliver their wishes to them. In doing so, they’re not only helping each other, but they’re uplifting the entire village as a whole.
Dancing with Ghosts is a heartfelt story that covers self-forgiveness, empathy, and acceptance. You can expect to enjoy 10-12 hours of gameplay, with most of it being an interactive story. It should be noted that this deals with heavy themes of grief and suicidal ideation. While the story starts from a dark place, the game is meant to be a celebration of life and finding joy in living it.
The village is made up of 25 characters, all with a sprawling backstory and family of their own, so the village itself should feel immersive and lived in. They represent a diverse cast of Thai people with varying backgrounds and of mixed descent.
The game boasts voice acting, amazing singers, adorable cartoony art, and is led by Sirena and Greg Johnson. You may already be familiar with Greg’s work on games such as ToeJam & Earl or the Doki-Doki Universe.
If you’d like to learn more about Dancing with Ghosts, a demo is available for you to try. While you’re there, go ahead and wishlist the game, as that will help them out. Another way you can lend your aid is by visiting the Kickstarter set up to fund Dancing with Ghosts.
The team is asking for a modest $35,000, and as of the time of writing, has nearly hit $20,000 with 18 days to go. The campaign ends on November 6th, so if you’re considering contributing, that’s the deadline to do so.
$35,000 ensures funding, but by going above and beyond, you’ll help ensure the game has more room for refinements. Stretch goals include translations into Thai, upgrading nearly all NPCs to have helper tasks, a Rotii mini-game, a new song, and, at $70,000, employing an all-Thai audio option.
