This is, by far, the worst game Chillas Art has ever created. Umigari was simulation slop, but at least it had a cool creative direction. Cursed Digicam was actually pretty good, do you know what it didn't have? Simulation slop. When I start a horror game, I want horror, not to spend three hours straight shoveling snow.
The story is typical Chillas Art, which isn't the main problem, but it feels very shallow and doesn't dig deep enough into its mysteries to be compelling. From what I gathered, it's about an isolated mountain town with strict patriarchal traditions. A man kills his daughter, but instead of being punished, his wife who accused him is forbidden from leaving the town or speaking ill of him. There's also something about a pregnant outsider receiving no help, though it's possible she was the same woman. Eventually, a woman (presumably the wife) burns the entire town down in revenge. I only half-listened to the radio and read the articles, so the lore is easy to miss. In the present day, Miyuki goes mountain climbing with her friends Kai and Toshi. They argue about the worsening weather, and Miyuki is sent to an abandoned restaurant to wait while they settle their dispute. Oddly, Kai is already at the restaurant before Miyuki even arrives. [spoiler] The narrative is incredibly predictable; within the first minute, it's obvious Kai tried to kill Toshi, and after two or three days of gameplay, you'll easily figure out it's because he's in love with Miyuki. [/spoiler]
The gameplay consists of trying to reach a tower on the other side of the map by plowing through the snow. That’s it. You are literally shoveling away your problems. You have a stamina meter that must be refilled by eating found items or sitting at campfires (which you have to reignite every time for faster regeneration). The map is inaccurate regarding building placements, and the binoculars are only useful until you reach the bus stop. Along the way, you collect scraps to upgrade your stamina, shovel, and backpack size, plus there's a gacha machine for random upgrades. All these mechanics are completely shallow and feel tacked on just for the sake of having them.
It gets worse. The map has points of interest like random houses, a pachinko parlor, and bathhouses. The first two are guarded by a wolf that patrols and kills you in two hits. There is zero atmosphere; if chased, you just run back to the entrance and the wolf magically stops following you. If it catches you, there is no penalty, no jumpscare, and no scary chase music, the screen just fades out, and you respawn outside. I ended up just running through and using the wolves as convenient fast-travel systems. The snow mechanic is equally broken: step onto the deep snow and you die almost instantly, respawning at the restaurant. This became another handy teleport to avoid walking back.
As for the atmosphere, the buildings are occasionally spooky. They feature bassy soundtracks that loop inconsistently and cut out abruptly. Usually, if nothing is patrolling, you quickly realize there's no danger and can just sprint through. In the entire game, there is exactly one good scare involving the ghost/demon. Otherwise, there is nothing. Chillas Art usually excels at their final chase scenes, but this one is a massive failure. [spoiler] You just get chased by Toshi, who wants to kill you because he killed Kai, even though it was obvious Kai tried to kill him first, making Toshi's sudden madness baffling. You just run to the tower while a madman chases you: [/spoiler] no music, no tension, just you bunny-hopping with your snow shovel. It's funny how badly they fumbled this.
[spoiler] At the end, there are two endings. The first is the obvious bad ending where you die. Then the game gives you a hint to get the second, "true" ending, which is the only one that triggers the credits (meaning Ending A isn't really an ending at all). For the true ending, you just collect four flowers for four family graves, and the demon spares and helps you. [/spoiler]
After playing, I noticed the game was made with AI. The disclaimer says it was used to speed up development, but I can clearly see the slop. Don't get me wrong, I can understand when developers try to complete tasks faster and more efficiently with AI, but you can clearly see that this was rushed and just thrown out for the sake of it. This is a horrible, lazy, uninspired mess that even free itch.io games can top. It is not worth a single cent, especially not €8. It's crazy to me that their earlier games are miles better than this. I am more disappointed than ever; the games aren't even fun anymore. I wish I had refunded it, but I forced myself to finish it. Unless Chillas Art returns to making real horror, I will not buy their next game, especially if it includes simulation elements. A pure waste of money.
