Terminal 81

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A supermarket job in a São Paulo neighbourhood where women go missing.

Platforms: PC, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
Stores: Steam
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (97% of 288 reviews)
Length: 4 to 6 hours to see everything
Players: 1
Made by: David Pateti
Released: 2023

Get it on Steam PlayStation Store Xbox (Series X|S)Nintendo Switch

What frightens You take a supermarket job in Terminal 81, a run-down industrial neighbourhood of São Paulo in 2008, and between shifts you hear that young women are being kidnapped. Walking its dark, rainy streets at night and talking to its strange residents, you start to suspect a criminal organisation behind murders and trafficking, and that you could be next.
Content: violence, blood, kidnapping and human trafficking themes, sexual themes, strong language.

A retro-styled job sim and psychological horror game set in São Paulo in 2008. As Lorena you work shifts at a supermarket, explore a crime-ridden neighbourhood at night and dig into a string of kidnappings, with decisions that lead to different endings.

About Terminal 81

Terminal 81 is a job simulation, mystery and psychological horror game by the Brazilian solo developer David Pateti, released on Steam for Windows and Linux in July 2023. Sometimes You brought it to PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch in May 2024.

It is 2008, and the financial crisis has pushed Lorena to move to São Paulo to earn money for her family. She lands a job at a supermarket easily enough, but the neighbourhood is Terminal 81, an old industrial district of poverty, crime and dirt. Soon she learns that a group of young women has been kidnapped, and as she meets the locals she realises a mysterious criminal organisation runs the place.

Much of the game is ordinary routine: go to work, scan groceries at the till, restock and watch for shoplifters, then spend your wages in the shops, restaurants, nightclubs and fairs around a free-roam map. Between shifts you talk to people and follow the story of the kidnappings. Your decisions shape the outcome, and the maker says an ending can be reached in a little over an hour, with four to six hours to explore everything.

The fear comes from paranoia rather than monsters: dark rainy streets, odd strangers and the sense that the danger is closing in. Players compare it to Chilla's Art games and enjoy its atmosphere and humour, while some find the work routine repetitive and the game janky. It suits players who like slow-burn job-sim horror with a strong sense of place.

How to play Terminal 81

Buy it on Steam, the PlayStation Store, the Xbox store or the Nintendo eShop.
Go to your shifts at the supermarket and do the tasks: the till, restocking, watching for shoplifters.
Spend your wages around the neighbourhood and explore it freely, day and night.
Talk to the residents about the kidnappings and follow the leads.
Make your choices carefully; they decide which ending you reach.

Screenshots

A man in a white hat sitting in a dark car park, with dialogue choices asking about the kidnappings

The supermarket floor with fruit crates and shelves, seen from behind the till

A long, dark covered walkway beside a building at night

A customer at the supermarket till while the screen shows a total for instant soup

Tips

Talk to everyone; the story of the kidnappings comes out through conversations.
Explore beyond the supermarket, since the shops, clubs and parks hold story and side activities.
Keep an eye out for shoplifters during shifts.
Play again with different decisions to see the other endings.