The Caregiver

About

The Caregiver is a single player open world simulation game with a horror theme. It was developed by chill_my_art and was released on April 2, 2021. It received positive reviews from players.

"The Caregiver" is a psychological horror adventure game set in Japan, where you play as a caregiver. The game features an immersive, photo-realistic graphical style and a VHS film aesthetic that enhances the horror experience. Key features include a gripping story, atmospheric setting, and puzzles to solve. Note: This summary is based on the information provided and my understanding of the game. It is not an official description.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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82%

Audience ScoreBased on 256 reviews

story35 positive mentions

stability13 negative mentions

The game has a great atmosphere and genuinely creepy moments, making it a solid horror experience.
The story is engaging and features interesting elements of Japanese folklore, enhancing the overall narrative.
The gameplay includes a mix of exploration and puzzle-solving, which keeps the experience engaging despite some minor bugs.

The game suffers from performance issues and bugs, including getting stuck in certain areas and a lack of proper save points.
Some players found the objectives unclear and the pacing slow, leading to frustration during gameplay.
The final chase sequence and puzzles were considered frustrating and poorly designed, detracting from the overall experience.

story
83 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
54%
4%
The story aspect of the game has received mixed but generally positive feedback, with many players appreciating its intriguing narrative and atmospheric tension. While some found the plot simplistic or confusing, others praised its unique storytelling approach, compelling characters, and effective pacing that builds suspense without relying heavily on jump scares. Overall, the narrative is seen as a strong point, contributing to an engaging and immersive horror experience.
- “This one was terrific, gameplay design and atmosphere was good as always but the story was also very interesting to follow.”
- “The narrative, despite not being verbose or overly elaborate, really paints a compelling picture of a possible haunt of demon possession with some events and even places reminding me of 'The Exorcist 3' for some reason. It's well-paced and to the point, showing a lot of restraint and letting the tension build up naturally.”
- “Super fun and immersive horror game with a captivating story and interesting characters.”
- “The environment is definitely creepy but the scares are virtually non-existent and the story is underwhelming.”
- “However, this story didn't draw me in as much.”
- “The story of the game is pretty simple.”
atmosphere
56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
45%
5%
The atmosphere in the game is widely praised for its creepiness and immersive quality, particularly once players enter the house, where the design, lighting, and sound contribute to a sense of dread and suspense. Many reviews highlight the game's ability to build tension through unsettling moments and a unique story, although some note that the sound design could be improved. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout feature, effectively capturing the essence of psychological horror typical of Chilla's Art games.
- “The spooky atmosphere in this one was so perfectly sculpted.”
- “The atmosphere of this game is on point.”
- “The game builds a slightly eerie atmosphere, revealing a dark secret through a few unsettling moments.”
- “The environments are certainly creepy, but the sound design - arguably the most crucial element in a horror game - is extremely underwhelming, hardly ever providing the right atmosphere.”
- “I did genuinely enjoy its beginning but it completely fails to deliver on the atmosphere it created, making it one of their least scary games.”
gameplay
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
70%
10%
The gameplay is primarily a walking simulator with some object interactions, which some players find repetitive, while others appreciate the streamlined design and clear objectives that enhance the experience. The atmosphere is well-crafted, contributing to a spooky and engaging narrative, and many reviewers note that this installment strikes a better balance between gameplay and atmosphere compared to previous titles. Overall, while the gameplay may not be groundbreaking, it effectively supports the story and provides a focused experience.
- “I think this is the game where Chilla's Art finally found the right balance between atmosphere and gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is much more streamlined and I knew what I was supposed to do at all times.”
- “The atmosphere is dark, the gameplay is simple but story-driven, and the art style is really unique.”
- “In other reviews, I've mentioned that many of their games tend to feel a bit boring due to them being predictable, with walking making up like 90% of the gameplay experience.”
- “Really just a walking simulator with very little actual gameplay.”
- “Many of their earlier games have just felt like wandering about in some spooky locale until something happens, while others had some actual gameplay focus but didn't really have much of a creepy atmosphere beyond just 'being a Chilla's Art game.'”
graphics
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
53%
11%
The graphics in Chilla's Art games are characterized by a unique blend of retro aesthetics, including grainy VHS-style visuals and PS1-era graphics, which many players appreciate for their atmospheric and horror-inducing qualities. While some environments are well-designed and evoke a sense of familiarity, others suffer from poor textures and a lack of polish, leading to mixed reviews on overall visual quality. Despite these inconsistencies, the game's art style and lighting contribute to a compelling and immersive experience, particularly for fans of low-budget horror games.
- “Top notch atmosphere, aesthetics, and horror.”
- “Another short, spooky Chilla's Art j-horror game with great grainy VHS-style visuals and that usual unsettling uncanny valley feel with all the character models.”
- “I played this with an RTX 3070 on max settings with shadow and all details set to max, loved the eerie graphics and it ran perfectly, absolutely not one hiccup or anything.”
- “Poor and distorted graphics.”
- “Low budget game, with 80's VHS quality visuals.”
- “The graphics are awful and Steam has refused a refund (because I have had the game for over two weeks).”
stability
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is notably poor, with numerous glitches and bugs reported by players, including getting stuck in specific locations and issues with game mechanics that require restarting the entire day. While some users find the game enjoyable despite these issues, the overall consensus is that the performance detracts significantly from the experience, making it feel rough and unfinished.
- “Unfortunately this game is really buggy; there is a specific spot on the stairs going up to the second level, where if you try to go off them into the most immediate connecting room, you get entirely stuck and can't escape without quitting and reloading, and there are no checkpoints you just have to start the whole day over, which is fine as it's short overall, but it's a very glaring bug, especially as you cannot quit to the main menu, you can only quit out of the game entirely and have to load it back up.”
- “Horrible game, the last puzzle is difficult to solve plus when you die it glitches so you have to redo the whole day and on top of that glitched a few times earlier.”
- “This one was really close to hitting the mark of being another fun horror experience, however, it's very buggy.”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The optimization of the game has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with players reporting numerous glitches, constant crashes, and poor performance regardless of hardware specifications. Many reviews highlight it as one of the worst-optimized titles from Chilla's Art, often requiring restarts due to game-breaking bugs and lacking essential features like saving. Overall, while the game's style is appreciated, its gameplay experience is marred by significant stability issues.
- “Love the style of the game, but it can be quite bland in gameplay throughout the whole game, and it does seem to have some performance issues.”
- “[i]The Caregiver[/i] is a prime example of that, with very awkward performance regardless of how good your PC is and at least one game-breaking bug that will require you to restart your playthrough.”
- “A fun little horror romp, but very rough on performance and stability.”
- “Somehow the worst performance among 13 Chilla's Art games I have played, with a number of glitches.”
- “Out of all Chilla's Art games, this one is horribly optimized.”
- “Negative review is due to the constant crashing, poor optimization, and no saving feature.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly due to the save system that only retains progress at the start of each day, forcing them to repeat lengthy tasks after failures. The confusing environment and occasional bugs further contribute to a frustrating experience, detracting from the game's otherwise engaging atmosphere. While some appreciate the developers' ambition in trying new concepts, the overall sentiment leans towards the grinding being a significant drawback.
- “It saves for the day but not all progress made within the day, so if you crash, you restart that entire day all over again, which is tedious.”
- “Which would be alright, but since saves are at the start of the day, if you get taken out by grandma or the raven, you have to go back and do all that tedious fetching again, which really pulls you out of an otherwise pretty creepy game.”
- “It's tedious, buggy, and not scary (though I admit it has one of the better atmospheres of the horror games I've played).”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
33%
The music in the game is described as intense and traditional, effectively enhancing the atmosphere during challenging moments, such as puzzle-solving. However, some users feel that the overall soundtrack does not stand out significantly, and while sound effects are generally good, certain elements, like footsteps, can be overly pronounced. Overall, the music aspect receives mixed feedback, with a rating of 7/10 for sound effects.
- “Don't ask me how I beat the Karasu Tengu's tricky room of fusuma sliding door puzzles with the intense traditional music. I winged it, followed the light, and was somehow freed from the crow demon's trickery.”
- “The sound effects and music were very good; however, the footsteps seemed just a little too loud and hard, like the character is stomping the yard.”
- “The music really enhances the atmosphere of the game, making each moment feel more immersive and engaging.”
- “There was too much music, or it just didn't stand out to me.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is initially effective, contributing to a sense of fear and dread, but it ultimately becomes awkward and distracting as the "monster" is easy to evade and appears comical in its movements. While the humor works well at first, it loses its impact as the game progresses.
- “It does a really good job setting up this sense of fear and dread from the beginning, even though it kind of falls flat near the end for a very obvious reason: the 'monster' is very easy to outrun and dodge (and looks funny walking).”
- “It was funny the first few times but got awkward and distracting quickly!”