Chilla’s Art is well known in the indie horror scene for their Japanese-styled urban horror. They’ve amassed quite the catalog of bite-sized games which run the gambit of themes and scares. Since many of these are brief affairs and all range under the $10 mark, they’re all worth experiencing. But if you’re only looking to sample the best, I’d like to pick out a few of their games that represent the most terrifying experiences Chilla’s Art has to offer.

5. Night Security

Their most recent game released this year and one we took a look at here, Night Security offers a brief journey through the eyes of a night security guard at an office building.

The scope is simple; It’s closing time, and your job is to drill down a list of closing duties. You go floor-to-floor in a muted, dimly lit office, checking emergency lights and locking up conference rooms. You encounter various haggard workers and send them home, then move on to the next floor. It’s mechanically light and the closest thing to a walking sim on this list.

As you progress, the atmosphere changes and each floor begins to feel increasingly hostile and unkempt. This game feels more like a ride through a haunted house as each floor is structurally the same as the last, with only minor changes and scares happening here and there to keep it fresh. Still, it’s easy to get absorbed in the atmosphere and the tension has a hard upswing towards the end of the game.

You can grab Night Security on Steam

4. The Karaoke

The Karaoke sees you and a friend meeting up at, you guessed it, a Karaoke. Another brief experience, you spend some time at school and traveling through town before arriving at the Karaoke where the game concludes. The intro feels a little longer than Night Security, which is nice, and the trip through the town is a spooky treat.

You spend most of your time here playing an admittedly fun Karaoke minigame. Still, Chilla’s Art establishes a sense of dread as you get the feeling someone else at the Karaoke is following you. The building itself is designed in such a way to clip lines of sight, and makes for some tense navigation as you move about, and eventually have to sneak around.

This is a fun ride for the minigame and for the stealth segments, but feels like a short story that could have been given more time to breathe. That being said, there’s an excellent jumpscare on the way to the Karaoke that needs mentioning.

You can grab The Karaoke on Steam 

3. Missing Children

Missing Children sees you taking on the role of the “Bully Detective” as you investigate a string of disappearances of local children.

This one is much more of a slow burn than the others on the list. It’s Missing Children’s greatest strength as outside of a couple of items puzzles, there isn’t much in the way of mechanics to engage with. You spend most of the game going to-and-from various neighborhoods and homes as you talk with people and piece together the mystery.

It’s low on scares but where Missing Children shines is in its atmosphere. You really get to sink into the dark, eerie streets and forests you explore, steeped in that retro feel and Japanese style. You’re given a lot of time to ease into the environment, which does wonders for establishing a sense of dread. The investigative approach and creepy environments make Missing Children worth a playthrough.

You can grab Missing Children on Steam 

2. The Convenience Store

This is where drilling down the list of best Chilla’s Art game gets tough.  The Convenience Store tasks you with working the evening shift of a Japanese convenience store, as you might have guessed. Chilla’s Art is at their best when you’re given time to soak in the environment, and as you monitor security cameras and sweep the aisles of your store, it really sinks its teeth into you.

Now obviously this might sound tedious upon first read, but there’s a sense of isolation as your coworker leaves you alone for your shift. You drill down your list of chores like taking out the trash and receiving deliveries, and that lulls you into a malaise of minimum-wage labor before the scares ramp up.

Some nice interludes in the city streets and back at your apartment give a breather from the tension of being at the convivence store. Ultimately, it’s being stuck there that makes the experience so gripping, and the sense of place is what makes Chilla’s Art games so good.

You can grab The Convenience Store on Steam 

1. The Closing Shift

The title of Best Chilla’s Art game has to go to The Closing Shift. This one takes all the best of the others–pacing, atmosphere, gameplay mechanics, and culminates in an experience that feels decidedly complete. It’s reminiscent of The Convenience Store, but it feels like a full realization of the concept established there.

You play as a woman working the closing shift at Chilla’s Cafe, a cheekily named coffee shop. You work alone, tending to customers as they walk in to order drinks and food. There’s a pretty engaging gameplay loop of playing as a barista while you take orders, read recipes, and talk with customers. It’s surprisingly fun to memorize recipes and bounce around the shop, knocking out order-after order.

What makes this work so well, is that similar to The Convenience Store, you’re disarmed by the mundane nature of the gameplay. You zone into your tasks while the tension builds and strange things happen around the store. Horror is at its best when it takes an otherwise normal place, and turns it hostile. The Closing Shift understands this, through subtle scares and changes to the environment, leading up to some well-earned jump scares.

It’s conveyed through something as simple as taking out the trash. You step outside to the back of the building and you’re quickly reminded of how isolated you are. Suddenly, the (already) creepy inside of Chilla’s Cafe feels like the safer choice, and you hurry back inside. You know there’s something terrible going on around you, but rather than face it you put your head down and get back to making lattes. It’s moments like this that really hammer home Chilla’s Art’s ability to establish a tone with a smaller environment.

The Closing Shift takes the Best Chilla’s Art game spot as it feels the most feature-complete and holistic in its design. The cafe is beautifully rendered and the gameplay loop is engaging. Sprinkle in the slow build-up of tension, lingering dread and explosive scares towards the end and you’ve got an experience you don’t want to miss.

You can grab The Closing Shift on Steam