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Bathhouse management in Onsen Master is fun, but needs more radish demonsAbsolutely on one
Absolutely on one
Featured as part of theGame Devs of Color Expoand itsGradient Convergenceshowcase on Steam,Onsen Master’s Ghibli aesthetics caught my eye immediately. It’s a “hot spring customer management” game where you ditch the whole ‘service with a smile’ schtick and drag your customers with speed and aggression into hot spring baths you’ve prepared especially for them.
Other duties include making sure they’re cleaned between uses, that you’ve mixed the right ingredients, and you’re keeping spillages to a minimum. It’s a tough gig! And the more I ran my onsen in the demo build, the more I felt a seldom used part of my brain expanding. Is this - am I multitasking?
If you, like me, are distinctly average at rubbing your belly while patting your head,Onsen Master’s pace will hit you like a bullet train. Although, if you’ve played plenty of time management games before, you’ll probably cope with the pressure just fine. It’s not really an innovative addition to the genre. We’re talking more of a fun take on things with a lovely Spirited Away inspired lick of paint. And what’s wrong with that?
Watch on YouTube
Watch on YouTube
Onsen Master presents a fairly decent challenge while still keeping it accessible for a younger audience. If you’re aiming to nail down those shiny ‘S’ ranks, it’s still vital you plan ahead and refine your responses to the game’s simplistic rhythm. You’ll notice some customers are a bit speedier than others when pulled along, so it may be worth prioritising nimbler folk if time’s running short. You can drop ingredients near your mixing stand to avoid a second, costly trip. Perhaps wiping down a dirty bath a little earlier will save you time in the long run?
As you’d expect, not all customers are patient. Some stench-ridden folks will rudely burst into your onsen, missile lock onto a hot spring and leave it horrible and muddy (cheers). But, perhaps unexpectedly, others aren’t even human. There are these turtle yokai which just potter around and leave puddles of water everywhere (shakes fist).
Unfortunately, the demo build didn’t offer as much in the way of customer variety as I would’ve liked, with the majority of my patrons being either ‘old man’ or ‘young woman’. Weirder, and more inhuman customers would be the most obvious way to lean into Onsen Master’s setting, and make it stand out. I was hoping for plenty of radish demons. Happily, though, I have been told that Izajima’s supernatural population will see a boost on full release, and that each stage will be home to their own unique yokai.
The devs are planning on adding other extra stuff you can interact with on certain stages, too, so come the full release you might stumble into a mysterious “enchantment box” or some other fantastical things. I have faith this will spice up what’s otherwise a fairly vanilla set of tasks, which, admittedly, did get repetitive quite quickly.
Of course, you absolutely don’t need to be like this (why am I like this), as, first and foremost, it’s an approachable, family friendly game. It’s fun. Ed, it is meant to be fun.
If you, like me, would like to grow an extra lobe in your brain, Onsen Master is due to release this Fall onSteam.
