Misty Onsen

Misty Onsen is a first-person psychological horror game about managing a hot spring at an abandoned facility deep in the mountains. The company still oversees the site, and your job is to carry out daily inspections. As you work, you uncover the mountain’s secrets and face an approaching horror.

The mountain

The area is private company property. Along with bears and hydrogen sulfide gas, you may encounter armed strangers, people lost while gathering mountain herbs, people who intend to end their lives there, and criminals targeting women after hearing female voices. These are all human dangers; the handbook warns of other things that cannot be explained. Several Shinto shrines have performed purification rituals for the company, but none have worked. The previous manager disappeared after an encounter, and no body was found.

Voices in the mountains can be misleading. A bear may mimic a call, and small animals’ cries can sound like women screaming; hikers who mistake them for cries for help have left the path and never returned. A voice calling your name may come from nowhere, and a strange smell could be hydrogen sulfide, a bear or wild boar, or a corpse.

Follow the rules

Your inspections are governed by rules: wear highly visible clothing, stay on the designated route, and leave the area immediately if you smell something unusual. If you hear a call, do not look back or respond. The handbook also warns that there will be no women on the mountain, and that the air in a forbidden area is toxic and even birds will not land there.

Choices and escape

The game focuses on isolation, atmosphere and the unknown, drawing on mysterious online legends, realistic work environments and Japanese mountain taboos. Sudden events can occur, but there is no combat: you make choices and try to escape. Following the rules is the only way to survive.