Ju-On: The Grudge is based on the movie of the same name. The entire purpose of the game is to provide a constant stream of scares to players. Thus, it is probably best played in a dark room either alone or with friends watching.

In Ju-On: The Grudge, a family encounters a curse, which was generated by the death of a housewife. Like the movie, the game is made up of a set of related character vignettes. Players play as each character as they individually explore and try to escape dim and dank environments such as warehouses and hospitals fraught with grisly scenes and spooky spirits.

Ju-On only uses the Wii Remote to control the game. The game's characters move agonizingly slowly as players explore the game's dark levels. The Remote functions as a flashlight and the D-pad and B button are used to direct the characters. Objects can be manipulated when selected, but otherwise, the game almost feels like an interactive movie where you can influence the characters actions. Ju-On also includes a second-player addition, which allows friend to trigger scare events at-will.

Players must collect batteries throughout the game to power the flashlight. If it goes out, the game is over. As players explore the environments, a pervasive sense that something is not right abounds. For example, electronics may activate seemingly without reason, and images of people or more disturbing scenes appear. The game shows a heavy influence from Japanese horror and spirit beliefs. Players are attacked (often psychologically) by onryo, ghosts seeking vengeance. Sometimes they grab the player and must be shaken off by shaking the Wii Remote.

The game is meant to be experienced fully, so the game doesn't try very hard to kill you outright, just make you feel like you're on the edge of survival. At the end of each level, player's reaction times and resolve are calculated, based on movement of the Wii Remote recorded during the level.

I'm not one to get a much of a kick out of horror spooks, so to me the game was slow and without a lot of action, but I did see other players have a really good time demoing the game. The controls are well-suited for the game, shunning a traditional point-and-click adventure interface. The budget title is specifically designed for players to pick it up as a scary party game. No direct feed is available since showing any would remove the element of surprise from the game's scripted events.

Ju-On: The Grudge is distinctly different from the usual Resident Evil-style horror games, distilling out the horror such that the game feels more like an interactive movie even though all exploration is player-directed. It won't be appreciated by everyone, but with XSEED targeting Halloween, the game is positioned well for scary parties.