Is Evertale a Horror Game?

Evertale is not a horror game. It’s a turn-based monster-collecting JRPG with gacha mechanics, similar to Pokémon in gameplay and structure. The game takes place in a fantasy world where players capture and train creatures to battle against various enemies. Despite widespread horror-themed advertisements that began circulating in 2021, the actual game contains no horror elements, jumpscares, or psychological thriller content.

What Evertale Actually Is

Evertale functions as a traditional Japanese role-playing game with monster-catching mechanics. Players explore the world of Erden, a fantasy realm plagued by an event called the Pandemonium that occurs every century. The gameplay centers on capturing monsters from bushes and grass, forming teams, and engaging in strategic turn-based battles.

The combat system uses a Time Unit (TU) mechanic where each action costs different amounts of TU, affecting turn order. Players build teams of four active units with four reserves, utilizing an elemental weakness system spanning fire, water, wind, storm, light, and dark attributes. This creates a strategic layer requiring players to consider team composition and move selection carefully.

Released in March 2019 by ZigZaGame Inc., the game operates as a premium title (typically $0.99) while incorporating heavy gacha monetization. Players summon characters and monsters using Soul Stones, the game’s premium currency, with SSR (highest rarity) rates sitting around 1%. The game features both offline story content and online modes including PvP leagues, guild systems, and limited-time events.

The Advertising Controversy

The disconnect between Evertale’s marketing and its actual content represents one of mobile gaming’s most discussed cases of misleading advertising. Starting around 2021, ZigZaGame launched an advertising campaign featuring pixel-art horror content reminiscent of Pokémon creepypastas. These ads depicted grotesque imagery, psychological horror themes, and narrative elements that suggested a dark, twisted take on monster-catching games.

Game Theory, a popular YouTube channel, produced a video analyzing over 250 of these advertisements. The ads portrayed consistent characters and storylines involving trainers trapped in glitching simulations, consequences for their actions, and horror elements including gore and death. Some advertisements even borrowed aesthetic elements from actual psychological horror games like OMORI, creating further confusion about the game’s true nature.

The scale of this campaign was substantial. Players reported encountering these horror-themed ads across YouTube, social media platforms, and mobile ad networks for years. The ads used RPGMaker-style graphics and creepypasta storytelling techniques to build an elaborate false narrative that bore zero resemblance to the actual game. Multiple gaming communities and media outlets labeled this as false advertising, with some calling it a “scam” designed to trick players into purchasing a completely different product.

What Players Actually Experience

When players download Evertale expecting horror content, they encounter a bright, anime-styled RPG. The game’s protagonist, Finn, is a typical JRPG hero who teams up with companions to save the world. The narrative follows conventional fantasy RPG storytelling with heroic quests, monster battles, and world-saving missions.

The game’s visual presentation leans heavily into anime aesthetics with colorful environments and character designs. Female characters in particular feature revealing outfits and sexualized artwork, which dominates the gacha summoning interface. This represents the opposite end of the spectrum from the grim horror content shown in advertisements.

Combat encounters occur through random battles in grass and bushes, deliberate story battles, and structured challenges in modes like the Tower of Trials. The offline story campaign provides narrative progression without requiring constant internet connection, while online content demands energy called “mana” that regenerates over time. Players report the early game feeling accessible and Pokemon-like, though difficulty spikes significantly as they progress, often hitting walls that pressure them toward gacha spending.

The gacha system creates frustration for many players. With 1% SSR rates and no pity system guaranteeing a character after a certain number of pulls, players can spend extensively without obtaining desired units. Reviews consistently mention this as the game’s most problematic element, particularly since the game costs money upfront yet still employs aggressive free-to-play monetization tactics.

How This Happened

The motivation behind Evertale’s misleading advertising campaign remains somewhat unclear, though several factors likely contributed. The game launched in 2019 as a relatively straightforward monster-collecting RPG. By 2021, with the game several years old, download numbers may have plateaued. The horror advertising campaign appears to have been an attempt to generate renewed interest by tapping into the popularity of horror content and Pokémon creepypastas.

Horror-themed Pokémon content has significant online appeal. Fan-made ROM hacks, creepypastas like “Pokémon Black,” and psychological horror takes on the franchise generate substantial engagement. The success of games like OMORI demonstrated market appetite for RPGs that subvert cute aesthetics with dark themes. ZigZaGame seemingly attempted to capitalize on this interest without actually developing the advertised content.

The company had resources to create hundreds of unique horror-themed advertisements with consistent lore and storytelling, yet invested none of that creativity into the actual game. This suggests the campaign was purely exploitative marketing designed to convert curiosity into downloads and purchases before players realized the deception. The fact that the game’s App Store icon and description remained accurate while advertisements told a completely different story indicates awareness that this was misleading.

The Community Response

Player reactions to this advertising strategy have been overwhelmingly negative. App Store and Google Play reviews frequently mention feeling deceived by the horror ads. Many reviews specifically state “Horror is nowhere to be found” and express disappointment at the gap between marketing and reality.

Gaming media coverage has been similarly critical. Multiple outlets produced articles and videos documenting the false advertising, with some calling it one of mobile gaming’s biggest scams. The controversy damaged ZigZaGame’s reputation and created distrust toward their other titles. Players who might otherwise enjoy the actual game often approach it with negativity due to feeling tricked.

Interestingly, the fake horror ads inspired genuine creativity. Some game developers began working on actual horror-themed monster-catching games influenced by Evertale’s advertisements. Fan communities discuss wanting the game that was advertised to actually exist, with several independent projects attempting to create what the ads promised.

If You Want Actual Horror

For players who discovered Evertale through its horror advertisements and want that experience, several alternatives exist. OMORI delivers psychological horror within an RPG framework, exploring trauma and mental health through surreal, disturbing imagery. The game starts innocent but gradually reveals darker themes, providing the bait-and-switch experience Evertale’s ads suggested.

Pokémon ROM hacks offer horror takes on the monster-catching formula. Projects like “Pokémon Snakewood” feature zombie apocalypse scenarios, while various creepypasta-inspired hacks explore darker narrative territory. These fan-made games capture the “horror Pokémon” concept that Evertale advertised but never delivered.

For mobile gaming specifically, options remain limited. The false advertising campaign highlighted a gap in the market—many players clearly want a horror-themed monster-catching game on mobile platforms. Until developers create that experience authentically, players must either turn to PC/console options or accept that the advertised version of Evertale doesn’t exist.

The Actual Game’s Strengths

Despite the advertising controversy, Evertale does have legitimate strengths as a traditional monster-collecting RPG. The turn-based combat system with TU mechanics adds strategic depth beyond typical Pokemon-style battles. Planning which abilities to use based on their TU cost and managing team spirit (a shared resource pool) creates tactical considerations.

The game offers substantial content including an offline story campaign, online story chapters, PvP battles, guild features, and regular events. Players can spend significant time exploring Erden’s regions, capturing monsters, and building teams without constant internet requirements for the main campaign.

Visual presentation, while not horror-themed, demonstrates solid production values. Character artwork is detailed and environments show variety across different biomes. The pixel-art style evokes classic JRPGs while maintaining modern polish.

The Bottom Line

Evertale is definitively not a horror game. It’s a conventional monster-collecting JRPG with gacha monetization that happens to be infamous for false advertising. The horror content exists only in marketing materials, not in gameplay. Players seeking the dark, psychological experience shown in advertisements will find a standard anime-styled RPG instead.

The controversy serves as a cautionary tale about trusting mobile game advertising. Evertale’s actual genre, gameplay, and tone differ completely from its marketing, representing one of mobile gaming’s most egregious cases of misleading promotion. Whether the base game underneath has merit becomes secondary to the fundamental breach of trust.

For those genuinely interested in monster-collecting RPGs with strategic combat, Evertale might provide entertainment despite its flaws. But for anyone drawn by the horror advertisements—the game you’re looking for doesn’t exist, at least not in Evertale.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Evertale have any horror elements at all?

No. The actual game contains zero horror content, jumpscares, or dark themes. It’s a straightforward fantasy RPG with anime aesthetics and lighthearted storytelling focused on saving the world from a recurring disaster called the Pandemonium.

Why are the advertisements so different from the game?

The horror advertisements appear to be a marketing strategy to generate downloads by capitalizing on the popularity of horror content and Pokémon creepypastas. The campaign began around 2021, roughly two years after the game’s initial launch, possibly to revive interest in an aging title.

Is Evertale worth playing for the actual gameplay?

That depends on your tolerance for gacha mechanics and pay-to-win elements. The turn-based combat has strategic depth and the monster-collecting gameplay resembles Pokémon. However, SSR rates sit at approximately 1% with no pity system, and the game becomes increasingly difficult without strong gacha pulls, pushing players toward spending money.

What genre is Evertale actually?

Evertale is a turn-based JRPG with monster-catching mechanics and gacha elements. Think Pokémon meets Final Fantasy with mobile game monetization. Players explore an open world, capture creatures, engage in strategic battles, and collect characters through a gacha summoning system.