The Bathhouse | 地獄銭湯 Remake is a Japanese horror game that revolves around working at a bathhouse. A complete revamp of the original bathhouse.
The game casts players in the role of a new bathhouse employee, tasking them with overseeing the day-to-day operations. This includes cleaning the facilities, regulating the water temperature, and interacting with the bathhouse's eccentric patrons. Many reviewers praised how these simulation-style mechanics immersed them in the unsettling atmosphere. Effectively managing the bathhouse proved challenging, as failing to properly attend to tasks like maintaining the water temperature or ejecting disruptive customers could lead to negative consequences. The repetitive nature of these duties helped build tension, as players constantly waited for the next paranormal disruption. Reviewers found the bathhouse management mechanics striking a good balance between accessibility and meaningful player agency, allowing them to feel invested in the bathhouse's fate while still being subjected to the game's supernatural elements.
In addition to the core bathhouse simulation, the game encourages players to extensively explore the environment and engage with objects and characters to uncover the building's dark secrets. Reviewers highlighted how this exploratory component complemented the simulation-based gameplay, enabling them to piece together the overarching narrative through environmental storytelling and character interactions. The ability to observe and interact with the eccentric bathhouse patrons was particularly praised, as these encounters often revealed unsettling or humorous details that further enriched the game's atmosphere. The inclusion of multiple endings that gradually unlock through successive playthroughs was noted as an effective way to incentivize exploration and encourage players to uncover all of the game's narrative threads.
Reviewers commented on the game's strong pacing and progression, noting how the experience gradually ramps up in intensity and complexity. The game starts with a relatively calm and mundane routine of managing the bathhouse, allowing players to acclimate to the core mechanics before introducing more unsettling and supernatural elements. As each in-game day passes, the environment becomes increasingly unsettling, with players encountering more frequent paranormal disruptions and disturbing revelations about the bathhouse's history. The sequential unlocking of multiple endings was cited as an effective way to pace the player's progression, as it encouraged repeated playthroughs to uncover the full scope of the narrative and prevented the game from feeling too repetitive, with each new ending providing fresh perspectives and new gameplay challenges.
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