Have you heard of the viral horror game titled Hapunan?
This Filipino indie single-player horror game has gained traction from gamers across the globe. It is about a balut vendor and his unfortunate encounter, leading to an interesting storyline revolving around Filipino culture and jump-scare elements.
You’ll be playing Niko, a hardworking balut and chicharon vendor caught in a dangerous situation that starts from simple tasks like selling his balut and getting a barangay permit but suddenly escalates to something more sinister involving the barangay captain and those around him.
It features low-poly 3D rendering, which is similar to the old games of the 90s. However, don’t let the quality of the animation stop you from playing, as the other game elements more than make up for it.
The game blends elements of suspense, adventure, action, and a whole lot of Filipino cultural references, leading to an intense and emotional gaming experience. It’s also just a short 30 to 40-minute run game so that you can finish it quickly.
The game gained immense popularity after popular gaming streamers on Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, and other platforms started playing the game, including Murushii, CaseOh, PaylStation, Kristian PH, and Kubz Scouts. The game reached the top-sellers list in Itch IO with over 200,000 downloads.
What’s even more surprising about the game is it’s an indie game made by a solo developer, 21-year-old Josef Yenko, also known as Yikon Dev, in the gaming development scene. He said he spent two years developing the game and made about 95% of the game, including the character designs, storylines, animation, modeling, and coding.
If you’re already impressed by Josef’s dedication to his craft, you’ll even be more surprised to learn that he made the game using his entry-level “potato” computer setup using Unity Game Engine, causing regular crashes while developing the game. This is why he plans to buy a better computer setup to further improve his game development from the proceeds he’ll earn from the game.
Yikon is also fully supported by his family, including his father, who influenced him to play computer games and voice over some characters, and his older brother, who taught him how to develop games.
Hapunan is officially available through itch.io for $3.99 USD (~Php230), downloadable for Windows and Android. It will soon be available on Steam. Yikon iterated that the game is only available on the official channels and not on mobile devices, whether on Google Play, App Store, etc.
He also recognized that many Filipino gamers who want to download the game don’t have access to PayPal or credit cards, so he added a GCash payment option to improve accessibility.
Yikon added that he won’t stop making games and won’t rest on the laurels earned from the success of Hapunan. He plans to release a new game series called “Gabi ng Lagim” this year, which will feature other aspects of Filipino culture, such as superstitions and myths.