Yuuyami Doori Tankentai is an adventure game that plays similarly to the Twilight Syndrome series. The game is set in the late 1990s in the fictional Hirumi City, a stereotypical Japanese neighborhood with shopping districts, hospitals, construction sites, and parks. Although never stated, it is implied the city was born out of Japan's economic boom during the 1980s and has since fallen into disrepair. The story follows three junior high school students exploring urban legends in their city, typically with a paranormal theme. The students are a boy named Nao and his dog Meros, as well as two girls, Kurumi and Sango.
Each chapter consists of two phases, first collecting rumors at the school and then later investigating them in the city. The player can choose one of the three characters to play as when starting each chapter, a choice which will affect how the story proceeds. The player is allotted five minutes to listen in on rumors at school. Each character has different friends, so may hear different rumors. There are 44 total rumors in the game. After this, the player has ten minutes to investigate any rumors by exploring the city, searching suspicious places, objects, and people. The player can consult the other characters at any time, and view information on rumors they have collected in their journal. They can also browse an in-game map of the city to aid in exploring, or use a physical map that came packaged with the game. The dog, Meros, will typically explore the city with the characters and will stop in his tracks if he senses anything strange. In some situations, the game switches to a 360-degree panorama mode, where the player can look around freely.
