[Chilla's Art] The Kidnap | 誘拐事件

About [Chilla's Art] The Kidnap | 誘拐事件

The Kidnap (誘拐事件, "Kidnapping Incident") is a horror game by Chilla's Art, the Japanese studio behind The Closing Shift and Parasocial, released on Steam at the end of October 2023. The makers call it a Japanese psychological horror game about a kidnapping, with a third-grade elementary school boy as its main character, and a story inspired by Japanese films.

You start in the boy's everyday life in the countryside: a classroom where you can talk to your classmates, cleaning chores after school, the walk home past a phone booth and a park where friends play hide and seek. Home is a cluttered house of rubbish bags, and the store warns of child neglect. From there the story turns into the kidnapping of its title.

It is a walking and story game more than an action one, with a section where you search and hide. The picture runs through a VHS filter that can be turned off, the game autosaves at each chapter, and the store warns of violence and some grotesque scenes.

The story takes around two hours, and there are several endings depending on what you do, so it rewards a second play. It suits players who like grounded, human horror and the everyday Japan of Chilla's Art games, and who are ready for themes of child neglect.

How to play [Chilla's Art] The Kidnap | 誘拐事件

1. Buy it on Steam for Windows and start the boy's school day.
2. Talk to your classmates and finish your cleaning chores at school.
3. Walk home through the town and follow the story into the kidnapping.
4. Make your choices near the end to reach one of the endings, then play again for others.

Tips

• Talk to every classmate before you do your cleaning chore; some go home once it is done.
• Turn the VHS filter off in the options if the noise makes it hard to see.
• Read the content warnings first: violence, gore and child neglect.

Questions