The Bathhouse | 地獄銭湯 Restored Edition

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A bathhouse job, a free apartment, and a landlord who is too kind.

Platforms: PC
Stores: Steam
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (90% of 1,369 reviews); Destructoid gave it 40 out of 100
Length: about three and a half hours
Players: 1
Controls: WASD to move, left-click to interact, right-click to throw an object, Tab for the inventory, R to rotate an object, Esc for options
Made by: Chilla's Art
Released: 2024

What frightens A young woman takes a job at a countryside public bathhouse that comes with a free apartment, and as she serves the patrons and cleans the saunas at night, the landlord and a long-haired spirit in the building turn the place into a nightmare.
Content: killing, immolation, violence, blood, nudity, strong language.

The Bathhouse: Restored Edition (地獄銭湯) is a first-person Japanese horror game by Chilla's Art, a rebuilt version of its 2022 game. You work at a public bathhouse in the countryside, checking in patrons, heating the water and cleaning the saunas, while something in the building and the man who runs it close in.

About The Bathhouse | 地獄銭湯 Restored Edition

The Bathhouse (地獄銭湯, roughly 'hell bathhouse') is a horror game by Chilla's Art, the Japanese studio behind The Convenience Store and The Closing Shift. The first version came out in 2022 and was taken off Steam after a game-breaking bug; this Restored Edition, released in August 2024, rebuilds it with better graphics and character models, a new storyline, new mechanics and new characters.

You play Maina, a young woman offered a job at a sento, a public bathhouse, in a country village, with a rent-free room in an apartment block nearby. The landlord, who also runs the bathhouse, trains you himself. Then the work begins: check customers in at the front booth, keep the boilers at the right heat, sell drinks, clean the baths and the saunas after closing. Over the days, the residents and patrons grow stranger, and the building holds a long-haired spirit.

It keeps the studio's usual close, everyday Japanese settings, here a steamy tiled bathhouse, a cluttered little shop and foggy back streets. There is an inventory, and you can pick up and throw objects. The game autosaves at each chapter and has multiple endings.

Players on Steam rate it highly. Destructoid was much harsher, liking the setup but finding the three and a half hours padded with throwaway characters and familiar scares. The store's content notes include killing, immolation, blood and nudity.

How to play The Bathhouse | 地獄銭湯 Restored Edition

Buy it on Steam and start it on Windows.
Learn the job from the landlord: check patrons in, heat the water and sell drinks.
Clean the baths and saunas after closing and explore the bathhouse and the village.
Use the inventory (Tab) and throw objects (right-click) when you need to; the game saves at each chapter.
Play on through the days to one of the endings.

Screenshots

A foggy narrow village street at night lit by a streetlight, with the bathhouse curtain on the right

The smiling old landlord in the changing room by the shoe lockers, telling you to clean the sauna today

A long-haired woman in white stands by the steaming bath in the tiled bathhouse

A cluttered little shop in warm light, shelves of snacks, dolls on a high shelf and a woman behind the counter

Tips

Read the store's content notes first: killing, immolation, blood and nudity.
The game autosaves only at each chapter, so finish a chapter before you stop.
If customers complain about the water, the boilers are where to go.

Questions

What is the difference between The Bathhouse and the Restored Edition?

The original 2022 game was withdrawn after a game-breaking bug; the Restored Edition is a rebuild with better graphics, a new storyline, new mechanics and new characters.

How long is The Bathhouse: Restored Edition?

Destructoid's reviewer took about three and a half hours.

Does it have multiple endings?

Yes, the store says there are multiple endings.