We're huge fans of both Overcooked and Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away here at Nintendo Life, so we've bagged an exclusive look at a brand new game called Onsen Master! Taking place on the fantasy island of Izajima, you'll be playing as Mu, an apprentice to the Onsen Master who must satisfy a wide range of customers looking to relax and cure their ailments in hot springs.
Featuring both single player and two player co-op, you'll ned to manage multiple customers at once, combine ingredients to make your hot springs even more potent, and make sure your facilities are in consistent tip-top shape, all while fending off dastardly yokai roaming about the place.
Derrick Fields, founder of developer Waking Oni Games, came up with the concept back in 2015 after multiple rewatches of Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away, forming the basis of both the core gameplay and the Japanese setting. Here's what he had to say regarding the studio's partnership with publisher Whitethorn Games:
“Our studio prioritizes lifting up underrepresented voices, and one of the ways we do that is by working with developers of color. It was great to find a publisher that has the same core beliefs that we do, and it helped reaffirm our mission of representation and cultural intersection.”
Here's a list of features from Whitethorn Games:
- Spring Fling: Experience a short and sweet story for up to twoplayers, 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 fairytail, composed by Dorrell Ettienne.
This is definitely one to keep an eye on in the coming days and weeks; hopefully we won't have to wait much longer for its release!
What do you make of Onsen Master? Share your thoughts and whether you plan to buy it in the comments below!
Comments 7
Seems like everything is a mix of spirited away and something lately.
@LittleGhost what else is like Spirited Away recently? I genuinely can’t recall any (but not saying you’re wrong).
@4RT_D3CO Probably Spirittea which has basically the same premise but more Stardew Valley like gameplay (and IMO a much better visual style).
@4RT_D3CO Spirit Tea, Spiritfarer, a few others. I don't really note them as much as i notice the 5th or 6th game in a small capsule of time being compared that way.
Anything Stardew Valley ish usually gets that label from journos.
this looks interesting!
I am so hyped for this game.
I don't know why, but I read the title as "a potent combination of Spiritfairer and Spirited Away," which would be a pretty interesting premise as long as the game could pull off the emotional storytelling.
So, now I'm a bit disappointed because I wasn't a huge fan of Overcooked's gameplay.
Thankfully I reread the title before I left a comment that made me seem like a complete idiot.
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