I bought this on the recommendation of PC Gamer as it sounded like it was up my street--a relatively short, cheap foray into J-Horror with effective atmosphere. The state of horror gaming is an interesting one; I can't think of any big budget titles recently with the same vibe as Fatal Frame or Siren, and so it's left to small independent developers to take up the mantle.

You can play through The Convenience Store in about an hour, and replay it if you want to see the alternative ending to the one you choose. What I loved about it was the palpable feeling of unease, particularly as I was walking to work, the VHS aesthetic and the repetitive nature of the gameplay; the tedium of stacking shelves and the bright lights of the store itself lull you into a false sense of security. Unfortunately, some of the scares are of the jump variety and the general story falls back on tired tropes that will be familiar to anyone who has seen Ring or The Grudge. The game's short length doesn't lend itself to developing the story and, in any case, one of the endings goes into greater detail which ends up robbing it of its impact.

That isn't to say that this game doesn't sing at times, though. What it represents for me is a very promising indication that Chilla's Art understand pacing and atmosphere and that there's a lot of potential for future games. I'm looking forward to playing them.