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A jam submission

BathsView game page

While working at a centuries-old inn, the player discovers the terrible secret of a world-famous soup.
Submitted by buntan — 10 hours, 27 minutes before the deadline
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Baths's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Story#264.6674.667
Music#534.2674.267
Visuals#654.6004.600
Overall#833.9173.917
Voice Acting#1372.1332.133

Ranked from 15 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Content Warnings
blood, violence, strong language

Log Line
While working at a centuries-old inn, the player discovers the terrible secret of a world-famous soup.

Team Credits & Cast
Aidan: character art, backgrounds, GUI
Cody: writing, programming, music
Alex, Cody, Holly, Kathleen, Kyle: playtesting

Is your submission created with the Light.VN visual novel engine?

No

Does your submission contain Boy's Love content?

No

Does your submission contain voice acting?

No

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Comments

Submitted(+1)

There is a hair in my soup!

Oh gosh, I love the pixelated art style! The writing was top notch and made me really invested in story. The MC is so relatable with their struggles against poverty. The abuse from the boss felt so real. I love how you gave the characters some depth and backstory.

Thank you for making this game.

Developer

Thank you so much for your kind comments, and thank you for playing!

Submitted(+1)

I finally got all endings! I think the most enjoyable are story and art. The animations transitioning facial expressions were very good imho. The clunky metallic sound would be too much for me. My only real complain though would be that it can’t be played in browser. There are some great moments and visuals in the story. I love the scene portraying the bathtub filled with hair, a personal favourite among spooktober submissions.

Developer(+1)

Thank you so much for playing! For short story-based games like this, maybe a browser build is the way to go—I'll keep that in mind for future games.

Submitted (1 edit) (+1)

Oof I finished all the endings and just wanted more! Maybe another day or so passing where more strange things happen. I think for one of the playthroughs the MC's response to boss yelling felt a little abrupt, like I had maybe missed an earlier escalating encounter. There were many parts of the story I really like - the stories told by MC, the subtler references to eating and hair, the endings were great (I esp. like where the high trust one ends). This is such a great little horror VN! Someone mentioned vibes and yeah, the vibes are great. It strikes a really cool balance with different elements, and I wish there was a bit more I could ~eat~.

Developer

Thank you so much for the kind words! I'm so glad you liked the high trust ending—we ended up working on it until the last day. Thanks for the feedback, too. I'll have to go through the game again and see what you're talking about.

"I wish there was a bit more I could ~eat~."
It's soup all the way down haha

Submitted(+2)

My friends recommended me to play this game and it did not disappoint. The vibes were great and the upsetting parts got me really good bc of the nice atmosphere.  Its a short and sweet game with an interesting premise and even more interesting endings. 

That one bgm during the second choice will stay with me for a while--

Developer (1 edit) (+3)

Thank you so much for playing!

I made most of the music on a lapsteel guitar I made out of a 2x4. It makes me happy that you said it'd stick with you.

Submitted (1 edit) (+2)

I love this game. The vibes are so good and the violence is subtle and realistic horror of emotional abuse. I was thinking if he was based on some mythological figure or urban legend or a collection of them but there are some interesting things I noted out of him.

  • The baths are similar to Kamikakushi Onsens you typically read in Japanese horror. I can't remember which one specifically, because there's so many of them in Japanese media. But it definitely has the same vibe. 
  • Another thing that I found interesting is the owner and how he didn't want to be here but has accepted his role. He kinda reminds me of Tofu Boy. Mostly because in some variations of the legend, eating the tofu can get you covered in mold. The hair symbolism and the main character "Cradled like a baby" was something interesting. I don't know much about Japanese Yokai or mythology since there's so many of them so I wonder if that was part of it. I also feel like the statue is so familiar but I don't remember where I saw them. I'm so mad.
  • The last one being women making the soup so good is so folklore I love it.

Great job 10/10. 

Developer (1 edit) (+1)

Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for your kind and thorough comment.

More than folklore, I watched Thermae Romae a few years ago, and the premise kind of stuck with me, so that might have subconsciously inspired the feel of things to a certain extent.

I was going for an Oedipal kind of thing with the bath scene. Plus hair in soup is gross, and hair in general is just kind of scary for me (thanks, Ju-On).
The statue was just a tanuki statue haha

I'm so glad you enjoyed our game. You and the rest of your team made my day.

Submitted (3 edits) (+1)

Oh my goodness, I don't know where to start. The vibes of this game was perfect, and I got so upset at the places that I should've been upset at. You know when you're told a horrifying story and as the pieces slowly come together, the realization makes you sick and shocked and you're just standing there in stunned, awed silence?

that's me rn

this was incredible,  I loved it ;; w ;; I am now scared of soup

(and I was absolutely afraid when mr. tokuri yelled at us...  ;;;w;;; so afraid... in all seriousness, mr. tokuri's character is so interesting too, in a way where I'm afraid of not only what secrets he has, but him as a person... his kind smile makes me forget that he had called us abusive insults under a scary, jarring sound. @A@ there was an element of like... mythical horror, but also the horror that felt too real of scary people who can react like mr. tokuri. loved this story, it was such an experience)

Developer(+1)

Thank you so much! I'm happy that you found Mr. Tokuri interesting!

You're scared of soup now, and I'm scared of pasta—I think that's a fair trade haha

Submitted(+1)

The visual style is so cool and really fitting for the vibe of the story! I like that the creepy aspects of the story are left vague enough that it leaves you guessing, but not completely in the dark. Also, I love the UI design, it's simple but matches perfectly with the sprites and backgrounds. i love subtle/ambiguous horror games like this, great work!!

Developer

I'll tell Aidan you liked the visuals!
It was a challenge figuring out the right amount of subtlety to go with, so I'm glad you liked it!

Thank you for playing! 

Submitted(+1)

The visuals had a lowpoly/low resolution computer feel to it. This was weird (in a good way) and wayyyy too short. I NEED MORE LORE. I got all the endings and have so many questions I need answered. Where did the inn go? What exactly is in the fridge?  And does that woman's disappearance at the beginning of the game have anything to do with the soup's recipe??

Developer(+2)

Thank you so much for getting all of the endings! That means a lot!

Regarding your questions, I don't want to give too much away here. Maybe we'll post a devlog once the jam is over.