chilla's art finds supernatural horror in the most mundane of every day tasks. maybe over half of their games deal with something terrible happening to the protagonist while they're on the clock: the closing shift, the convenience store, the caregiver, night delivery-- and many more, but each of these titles takes place in some form of workplace environment, or leads you somewhere because of work that turns out to be dangerous. the aforementioned titles are also some of chilla's arts best; being forced into situations because of work, i guess, is it's own kind of horror.
the bathhouse is no different. the protagonist character finds herself in the epicenter of a haunting when she stumbles upon an ad for a job: live in an apartment in the country-side, rent free, as long as you work at the local bathhouse. craving freedom from the current state of her life, she jumps onto it, not realizing that the tiny village is a spiritual vortex that plans to swallow her whole. on paper, it's got all the markings of a chilla's art game that should succeed: atmosphere, fun characters, cheeky scares, interesting visuals, and a gooey, ghoulish center.
in execution, the game flounders on more than one level. the most egregious is performance, which also affects how the game looks; the eerie trademark character models look wonky in a way that doesn't feel intentional, but rather like a mistake. more often than not, it's hard to really tell what you're looking at, as the game feels like a blob of neutral tones. it stutters, crashes, fails to keep itself together. i'm not tech-y enough to guess why this is the case, but it's a shame: the lighting system this time around looks very refined, and like they're trying something new.
maybe if the game were functioning, it would be something you could lose yourself to, but the atmosphere never clicked for me. i didn't care for the storyline as much as i tried, and i found that what was conveyed about the story was done so in a way that left me confused. it isn't particularly hard to follow, but maybe the speed and progression is to blame here; the game runs for around two and a half hours if you decide to go back in for both endings, and with the job simulator portions feeling both too fast and too slow. the simplicity of it perhaps is to blame: the closing shift had you memorizing and checking how to make certain drinks, but there's nothing here but clicking and running back and forth. it's monotonous.
every once in a while, usually after dropping a Big title, chilla's art will drop another game that reminds me of the end of the week dinner you make to stretch your grocery run. it tosses in all your favorites with a few extra seasonings for flavor, but the mish-mash of them never quite harmonizes. this is that game. maybe it'll work more for you, than me, though.
the bathhouse is no different. the protagonist character finds herself in the epicenter of a haunting when she stumbles upon an ad for a job: live in an apartment in the country-side, rent free, as long as you work at the local bathhouse. craving freedom from the current state of her life, she jumps onto it, not realizing that the tiny village is a spiritual vortex that plans to swallow her whole. on paper, it's got all the markings of a chilla's art game that should succeed: atmosphere, fun characters, cheeky scares, interesting visuals, and a gooey, ghoulish center.
in execution, the game flounders on more than one level. the most egregious is performance, which also affects how the game looks; the eerie trademark character models look wonky in a way that doesn't feel intentional, but rather like a mistake. more often than not, it's hard to really tell what you're looking at, as the game feels like a blob of neutral tones. it stutters, crashes, fails to keep itself together. i'm not tech-y enough to guess why this is the case, but it's a shame: the lighting system this time around looks very refined, and like they're trying something new.
maybe if the game were functioning, it would be something you could lose yourself to, but the atmosphere never clicked for me. i didn't care for the storyline as much as i tried, and i found that what was conveyed about the story was done so in a way that left me confused. it isn't particularly hard to follow, but maybe the speed and progression is to blame here; the game runs for around two and a half hours if you decide to go back in for both endings, and with the job simulator portions feeling both too fast and too slow. the simplicity of it perhaps is to blame: the closing shift had you memorizing and checking how to make certain drinks, but there's nothing here but clicking and running back and forth. it's monotonous.
every once in a while, usually after dropping a Big title, chilla's art will drop another game that reminds me of the end of the week dinner you make to stretch your grocery run. it tosses in all your favorites with a few extra seasonings for flavor, but the mish-mash of them never quite harmonizes. this is that game. maybe it'll work more for you, than me, though.