SHE WAS 98

Introduction

SHE WAS 98, released 14 January 2026 by developer N4bA and Notex, casts players as a young man returning to care for his elderly, dementia-afflicted grandmother in her decaying apartment, a setup that unravels into first-person psychological horror across a single, claustrophobic location. It sits Very Positive across a full multilingual sample of around 461 reviews, and reading widely through them shows a release that clearly delivers on its core promise for the overwhelming majority of players, with one serious, specific caveat this review treats seriously.

Sound design and atmosphere reviewers rate among the genre's best

The clearest, most consistent thread in this sample is how specifically and repeatedly reviewers praise the sound design. Multiple reviewers independently describe it as among the best they've experienced in indie horror, several noting how effectively it carries tension across a game set entirely within one grimy, deteriorating apartment. This review also found reviewers repeatedly and specifically crediting the developer's reputation, many naming earlier titles including From the Darkness, Welcome to Kowloon and 9 Childs Street as the reason they bought this game sight unseen, and reporting it lived up to that track record. That combination, specific praise for a technical craft element plus purchases driven by prior trust in the developer, reads as strong evidence this is a studio with a consistent, well-earned identity in the genre.

Jump scares reviewers describe as genuinely effective

Beyond atmosphere, this review found widespread, specific praise for the game's jump scares, many reviewers independently describing them as well-timed and genuinely unexpected rather than relying purely on volume or predictable staging. Several reviewers specifically credit the central grandmother character and her unsettling model as a genuinely memorable horror antagonist, distinct from more generic haunted-house tropes, and multiple reviewers separately praise a built-in notepad and objective system that keeps the short experience moving without the aimless wandering common to the walking-sim horror genre.

A specific, serious accessibility complaint

Set against that praise, this review found a complaint serious enough to weigh heavily despite the otherwise overwhelmingly positive reception: multiple reviewers independently report that the game's head-bob and swaying camera movement, present whenever the character walks or turns, causes severe motion sickness, several explicitly describing refunding the game within minutes as a direct result. This review found these reports consistently specific about the same underlying issue, not general discomfort but a described physical reaction strong enough to force players to stop playing, and multiple reviewers separately and specifically note there is no in-game option to disable or reduce the effect, several directly requesting the developer add one. This review reads the combination of severity, specificity and the total absence of a workaround as a genuine accessibility gap worth treating as a real purchase consideration rather than a minor complaint.

A short runtime, and mixed feelings about the price

This review also found a widely acknowledged, if less serious, complaint about the game's length. Most reviewers report finishing in 40 minutes to two hours depending on how thoroughly they explore, and while many describe that length as appropriate for a tightly paced horror experience, several specifically feel the current price would suit a discount better than a full-price purchase. Multiple reviewers also note the story is fully linear with a single ending and little backstory explaining the grandmother's condition, limiting replay value for players who complete it once.

Smaller complaints worth naming

This review also found a handful of smaller, more specific complaints beyond the accessibility gap above. Several reviewers separately criticise jump-scare audio levels as excessively loud relative to the rest of the mix, at least one describing a specific moment as physically uncomfortable rather than tense, distinct from the more common praise for well-timed scares elsewhere in this sample. A few reviewers also report performance struggles on capable hardware, one specifically citing an RTX 3090 needing manual driver-level tweaks before the game ran smoothly, though this review notes that complaint was far less widely corroborated than the accessibility issue above. Multiple reviewers separately note frequent darkness in some rooms makes navigation harder than necessary, a minor but repeated frustration distinct from the game's intentional atmosphere.

Why this review lands where it does

It's worth being direct about how this review weighs a genuinely excellent, widely praised horror experience against a specific, serious accessibility gap. The atmosphere and sound design here are real and clearly land for the overwhelming majority of this sample, and the developer's track record gives real weight to that praise. But an unremovable camera effect that multiple reviewers independently and specifically report as physically unplayable, with zero accessibility options to address it, is a real and serious limitation this review will not treat as a footnote. This review scores SHE WAS 98 as a genuinely well-crafted short horror experience for the audience that can tolerate it, with a real, current risk worth naming plainly for anyone with motion sensitivity.

Final Verdict

SHE WAS 98 delivers exactly the kind of tightly paced, atmosphere-driven horror that a large, enthusiastic sample of reviewers rate among the best in the genre, backed by a developer with a strong track record for sound design and effective scares. What holds this score down is a specific, serious and repeated accessibility complaint about an unremovable head-bob effect that multiple reviewers say made the game unplayable, alongside a short runtime some feel doesn't match the asking price. Recommended for horror fans without motion sensitivity; a real risk for anyone who has it.