Kumarn: The Wandering Spirit is an upcoming Thai horror adventure game developed by WereBuff Studio. It centres on Kumarn, a childlike spirit once worshipped at a village shrine. After being torn from his sacred home, he finds himself in a surreal, haunted world filled with cursed places and vengeful ghosts. His only companion is a loyal zebra spirit steed, and together they journey through eerie temples, forgotten graveyards, and spectral villages in search of belonging.
I was lucky enough to play through the first 20 minutes of the game and chat a little with the team about the inspirations behind Kumarn, and bringing a slice of Thai horror to the indie gaming scene.
Gameplay Preview
The Kumarn: The Wandering Spirit gameplay demo shown at Gamescom gave a proper taste of its eerie, folklore-driven world. It focused on stealth and environmental puzzle-solving, with Kumarn navigating cursed temples and haunted villages while avoiding hostile spirits. Rather than relying on combat, players had to use timing, hiding spots, and clever thinking to survive.
The developers have cited Little Nightmares as an influence, and it really shines through in the gameplay. Kumarn starts off fleeing his home and shortly after picking up a lantern, you enter into your first chase with a host of incredibly creepy mannequin-esque monsters juddering after you through a ruined temple, jumping over and sliding under obstacles to escape.
Shortly after in a small ravaged village, you’ll encounter a little ray of sunshine for your quest. A small Zebra companion (also the game’s mascot) is cowering in the corner can be coaxed out to help you on your way. He’s just as adorable as he sounds, which put me more on edge as what could potentially happen to him as I ventured further into the darkness.
After breaking through a small wall, you’re introduced to the limited combat of the game. Occasionally you can pick up items like sticks to beat back smaller monsters – in the case of the demo slick black snakes with glowing red eyes. Best not to rely on this option though, you’ll quickly be overwhelmed. As the number of snakes starts to grow behind you, your little zebra friend will help you escape – for the time being.
Although the developer told me he’s not a big fan of jumpscares, there’s a very effective one in the next area – with a the bottom half of a hanging body swinging into the foreground as you squint at a barely there horror in the background. Moving towards a river the camera does a great job of rotating to above you character so you can platform over a river with the slither of a gigantic serpent just below the surface.
If you’re familiar with Thai folklore, you might have a inkling of where all these snake references are leading. Moving through the village, you’ll need to hide behind crates and sneak under floors to avoid the gaze of the giant Naga spirit that has killed and strung up bodies from the trees and rafters. She’s got a bit of a medusa look to her – something that came from the developers wanting to make the game more familiar to audiences outside of Thailand, and she’s absoluting horrifying. Unfortunately no amount of sneaking will be enough to fully escape her in the demo – but it was more than enough to leave me very excited for the full experience later.
Developer Chat
Before and after my time with the game I got to have a little mini interview with the one of the game developers about the inspiration behind the game.
WereBuff Studio are a 9 person team that have been working on Kumarn for ~ 1 year; targeting a late 2026 release date. As mentioned above a big inspiration was Little Nightmares. They did this for a few reasons. One, the studio director isn’t a huge fan of traditional horror games as (like me) they find them a bit too scary! Second was the ability to use the style to capture the more fantastical elements of the Thai folklore setting while maintaining an eerie vibe. You can really see this throughout the game, with monsters being horrifying yet still looking plucked from a fairytale.
Thailand has a huge horror scene, and the studio wanted to showcase that to the widest possible audience. Leaning more into the traditional western portrayal of a snake haired woman makes it more familiar to western audiences, but still captures the essence of a Naga. They also spoke to me about spirits that appear later with somewhat clown like masks. Thai audiences should recognise them immediately, but the team went out of their way to have them move and behave in a distorted mockery of a circus clown keeping the horror going no matter what the source of your discomfort.
Final Thoughts
While it was a relatively short demo, Kumarn: The Wandering Spirit stands out as a compelling blend of Thai folklore, atmospheric horror, and inventive adventure gameplay. By emphasising stealth, environmental puzzles, and a haunting narrative, the game offers a fresh perspective in the indie horror genre. The developers' creative use of cultural influences and their dedication to crafting an eerie yet emotionally resonant world is evident throughout the experience. With its late 2026 release on the horizon, Kumarn promises to enchant and unsettle players, bringing a distinct Southeast Asian voice to the global gaming stage.
