Maneki's Curse

Maneki's Curse

N.R. Burnette · October 26, 2016 · Free to Play, RPG, Indie

Maneki's Curse is free to play — no purchase needed. We track it so you know if that ever changes.

PC
Mixed63% · 40
This game is free to play. Get it on Steam →

Screenshots

Maneki's Curse price

Maneki's Curse is free to play — there is no purchase price, on Steam or anywhere else we track. We keep watching it, so if it ever stops being free the price history on this page will show when that happened and what it changed to.

About Maneki's Curse

✦ AI summary

Maneki's Curse is an old-school dungeon crawler where you guide the vengeful soul of a slain god of war through the inescapable Labyrinth of the Underworld, armed with timeless JRPG mechanics and a millennium of burning rage. This game expands N.R. Burnette's KENJI universe with a tale of divine vengeance told through classic turn-based combat and labyrinthine exploration.

Expanding author N.R. Burnette's story of the KENJI universe, MANEKI'S CURSE is an old-school dungeon crawler about the slain god of war, Maneki, trying to escape the Labyrinth of the Underworld.

In the realm of mortals, it is Gojun who reigns after killing the former god of war, Maneki. Now Maneki's soul is trapped in the Underworld--a rich labyrinth from which no soul can escape. But the former god of war's soul is unlike any other, and his vengeance has had a millennium to burn.

The game was designed by author N.R. Burnette, who's novels include the PAPHOS Books 1-5, CARGO LOCK 5, and KENJI. Music is composed and arranged by Forrest Clark, with original melodies from N.R. Burnette. This game is a dungeon crawler unlike any other utilizing timeless JRPG mechanics courtesy of RPG Maker VX-Ace.

Maneki's Curse — game info

Platforms
Windows
Player modes
Single-player
PC Game Pass
Not included

What Steam players say

Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.

✦ AI summary

Players have sharply divided opinions on Maneki's Curse. Some praise its atmospheric Japanese-style horror, engaging puzzle-solving, and psychological tension without excessive jump scares, though they note the game feels short. Others criticize the confusing labyrinth map design with unclear teleportation mechanics, the RPG Maker engine's technical limitations in fullscreen, and the overall presentation as a low-effort asset flip with generic anime fanfiction storytelling. The game is generally viewed as acceptable for a free title but not worth purchasing at a paid price point.

Recommended May 15, 2024
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2 found this helpful
Not recommended Nov 22, 2024
"Maneki's Curse" is one of hundreds of low effort retro-pixel RPG Maker asset/construction kit flips spamming the Steam catalog, made with the RPG Maker video game construction kit... in their own words, "Our easy to use tools are simple enough for a child." Like all RPG Maker "games", this is essentially a bunch of low quality/canned assets from RPG Maker coupled with a cringeworthy high school anime club fan fiction. The cringe here can't be overstated, it would be impossible... this fanfiction RPG Maker asset flip is based on other high school anime club dropout fanfictions from the "developer" who used Kadokawas childrens toy construction kit to make this. It's like weaponised cringe. As with all RPG Maker games, the poor quality engine displays badly in fullscreen and doesn't have full HD support or any graphics tweaking options, making this unacceptable for any dedicated modern PC gamer. The point can be made that the intention of RPG Maker is to make demos and small games to pass around friends, and shouldn't be used for "professional" game development. Like most RPG Maker shovelware and asset flips, the game features extremely low quality copy + pasted 2D retro pixel …
1 found this helpful
Not recommended Oct 6, 2026
Visually ugly, music is grating, sprite moves too slowly. Nothing is really appealing about this.
Recommended Oct 27, 2025
Игра "Maneki's Curse" - это атмосферное и жутковатое приключение в японском стиле. Сюжет цепляет с первых минут, погружая в историю о проклятии и поиске правды в старинном доме. Визуальное оформление выполнено превосходно, с вниманием к деталям и созданием тревожной атмосферы заброшенного особняка. Геймплей представляет собой смесь хоррора с элементами головоломок. Загадки интересно решать, они не слишком сложные, но требуют внимательности и логики. Скримеры хоть и присутствуют, но не злоупотребляют ими, больше упор делается на психологическое напряжение и чувство беспомощности. Единственный минус, пожалуй, – небольшая продолжительность игры. Хочется больше исследовать этот темный и загадочный мир. Но, несмотря на это, "Maneki's Curse" оставляет после себя сильное впечатление и рекомендуется всем любителям хорроров с интересной историей и аутентичной атмосферой. Определенно стоит потраченного времени!
Recommended Aug 9, 2025
[h1] …
Recommended Aug 23, 2024
It's decent, for a free game. It can get really frustrating at times, though, A lot of the labyrinth is just running around in circles trying to figure out which doors go where since they use weird teleportation rules similar to the teleport pad puzzles in some Pokemon games. The music is pretty chill, though. I wouldn't recommend it as a paid game, but as a free game, it's perfectly serviceable, and at the very least better than some non-free RPG maker games. Okay time waster, won't change your life or anything.

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