Becomes The Onsen Master And Run Your Own Bathhouse

Ever since obsessing over Spirited Away, I’ve always been a fan of the onsen, but despite living in Japan, I never went to one. I’m shy. Perhaps I can experience the calmness of bathhouses in Onsen Master, now on PC and consoles.

From Whitehorn Games (Lake) and developed by Waking Oni Games, this is an arcade management game where you cater to your customers by adding the right ingredients to the baths to cure their ailments, all the while dealing with yokai. You’ll note the Spirited Away reference.

Even though the onsen is supposed to help you unwind, Onsen Master does look hectic. As Mu, an apprentice to the great master who’s disappeared, you can call upon a friend in co-op to bail you out.

Key features include:

• Spring Fling: Experience a short and sweet story for up to two players, and unveil the island of Izajima in a visual novel style narrative with a cute anime aesthetic.
• The Customer is Always Right: Skip the story and dive right in with Arcade Mode! Choose one of the 6 hot spring levels to put your customer service skills to the test.
• The Heat is On: Take on others in a competitive couch multiplayer mode where players must each work to manage their customers within the same hot spring.
• Spa Music: An original soundtrack full of tunes akin to a Feudal fairy tale, composed by Dorrell Ettienne.

Here’s the game in action:

Onsen Master is available now on PC, Nintendo Switch and the Xbox Series X/S.