Themes Explored Through Horror in BrokenLore: Don’t Lie

Hello all at XBOX!

My name is Sebastiano Serafini, and I’m the CEO and Founder of Serafini Productions – the team behind the BrokenLore universe. Today, we are very excited to announce the release of the latest addition to the BrokenLore series, BrokenLore: Don’t Lie. As well as being a standalone title, Don’t Lie is part of a larger narrative thread that shines a light on different perspectives of certain social issues.

BrokenLore: Don’t Lie

BrokenLore: Don’t Lie is about a young hikikomori named Junko who must navigate her traumatic past before her reality slips from her grasp.  For those unfamiliar, hikikomori are reclusive individuals who withdraw from social life, seeking isolation for a variety of social or psychological reasons.

As the boundaries between memory and reality begin to fracture due to Junko’s withdrawal from the outside world, familiar places transform into reflections of her past. Gradually, she must confront the people, experiences, and emotions she has spent years suppressing before she loses herself.

How Does This Connect to BrokenLore: Don’t Watch?

Junko and Shinji (The protagonist of Don’t Watch) met in a rehabilitation centre in the year 2020. They were both undergoing treatment for their different psychiatric disorders, which in turn led them to become hikikomori. Don’t Watch covers Shinji’s story, and the origins surrounding his own isolation. 

Don’t Lie is Junko’s story.

Where Did the Idea for the BrokenLore Series Come From?

The idea behind BrokenLore came from our desire to create an interconnected narrative universe that could explore different social issues that feel relevant to us. 

I liked the idea of telling a fragmented story: each game can stand on its own and explore its own characters and themes, but players who are curious enough to look deeper can gradually connect those fragments.

From the beginning, we wanted BrokenLore to be more than just a series of horror games. Horror is the medium we use to tell these stories, but at the core of each game are very human experiences.

The topic of hikikomori was particularly interesting to me because I have lived in Japan for many years and have seen how social withdrawal is discussed and perceived here. Of course, isolation and social withdrawal are by no means exclusively Japanese issues, but Japan was the perspective through which I first became particularly interested in the subject.

The Next Chapter in The BrokenLore Universe

With this newest chapter, we are also exploring another phenomenon that we have increasingly seen around us: people’s relationships with AI companions. More and more people are turning to AI tools to not only to find information, but also to discuss personal problems or seek advice. That observation was part of the inspiration behind our character in Don’t Lie – Miki-chan.

What you have seen so far is really only the beginning. We have many more stories that we want to tell within this universe, which is why we are very happy to have partners such as Wired Productions and Shochiku supporting us on that journey. Hopefully these collaborations can continue as BrokenLore grows, because there are still many themes, characters and stories that we want to explore. Having the opportunity to tell them through video games—and potentially have those stories mean something to the people who play them—is one of the most satisfying parts of creating BrokenLore for me.

Thank you to all who have played BrokenLore: Don’t Watch, and I hope you enjoy BrokenLore: Don’t Lie. You can pick it up today on XBOX SERIES X|S and PC.

BrokenLore: DON'T LIE

Wired Productions

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$15.99 $14.39

Get it now

BrokenLore: DON'T LIE is a Japanese psychological horror game exploring trauma, isolation, and a fractured reality where perception becomes increasingly unreliable. Step into the life of Junko, a hikikomori whose carefully controlled world begins to unravel as the past resurfaces in ways she can no longer ignore. Raised by a father who was always present but never truly there, Junko learned early to retreat inward. When her few attempts at connection were met with rejection and humiliation, she shut herself away from the outside world. As the boundaries between memory and reality begin to fracture, familiar places transform into reflections of her past. Through exploration, unsettling encounters, and the gradual unravelling of Junko's story, she must confront the people, experiences, and emotions she has spent years trying to escape before she loses herself completely. Features Japanese First-person psychological horror: Explore, investigate, and survive within a grounded, slow-burn descent into paranoia and perception. Confined exploration: Search Junko’s apartment and surrounding distorted spaces through messages, files, and environmental clues to uncover hidden truths. Tension: Stay out of sight and move carefully as an unseen presence begins to track your behaviour. Fractured reality: Shift between familiar environments and warped liminal spaces shaped by Junko’s memories, where her memories and fears manifest. BrokenLore Series: DON'T LIE is part of the “BrokenLore” series of games that can be played and enjoyed as a standalone story. Wired Productions: Produced by psychological narrative specialists, WP, adding additional layers of narrative and depth, for a richer experience.