This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Clock Tower game franchise, and Hifumi Kono, the creator of the largely successful horror series, has decided to team up with famed horror director Takashi Shimizu (known for the Ju-on—or The Grudge—film series) to create a spiritual successor of the Clock Tower games. The initial targets are iOS, Android and mobile platforms, but there is promise of porting to consoles later on.

Working under a limited budget, Kono and his newly formed studio, Nude Maker Inc., are taking on the project with a liberated indie spirit. Cryptically entitled Project Scissors and set for release in 2015, players will find themselves cast as a character taking passage aboard a cruise ship, where a spate of gruesome murders begins to take place. Eventually, the ship becomes immobilized and adrift in the ocean, leaving the player tasked with investigating the murders while protecting the remaining “innocents” who have survived.

Shimizu is slated to take the role of creative producer, and is also tasked with directing a live-action teaser for the venture. Masahiko Ito, creature designer for the venerated Silent Hill franchise, has also signed on, and other gaming industry partnerships are set to be announced as things further develop.

With the recent announcement that Guillermo del Toro and Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima will be working together to revitalize Silent Hill, Kono and Shimizu have taken similar steps to let fans know that Japanese horror—and more importantly, the indie spirit of gaming—are still alive and well.