The Night Way Home

About

The Night Way Home is a single player survival simulation game with horror, fantasy and anime themes. It was developed by chill_my_art and was released on August 6, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"The Night Way Home" is a first-person exploration and puzzle game set in a surreal, dreamlike world. As the player, you'll navigate through a series of abstract environments, solving puzzles to uncover the story of a young girl who has lost her way. The game features a unique art style and immersive soundtrack that will transport you to a world of mystery and wonder.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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69%

Audience ScoreBased on 212 reviews

story22 positive mentions

grinding12 negative mentions

The game features a unique third-person perspective, which adds a fresh experience compared to previous Chilla's Art titles.
The atmosphere is well-crafted, with some genuinely scary moments and a compelling story that touches on sensitive themes.
The game includes a variety of collectibles and Easter eggs that fans of Chilla's Art will appreciate.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs, including game-breaking issues that can prevent progress and reset settings between levels.
The gameplay can become tedious and frustrating, particularly due to the panic meter and the monster's annoying sound effects.
Many players found the level design to be confusing and the objectives unclear, leading to a lack of direction and enjoyment.

story
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
60%
6%
The story in the game is generally well-received, featuring sensitive themes and a satisfying ending, but many players feel it lacks depth and coherence, with repetitive gameplay that doesn't enhance the narrative. While some appreciate the hand-drawn cutscenes and psychological horror elements, others find the storyline confusing and in need of more polish. Overall, the game offers a decent narrative experience, but it leaves players wanting more in terms of story development and engagement.
- “The story is good and touches some sensitive themes such as domestic abuse, self-harm, and suicide.”
- “It's got a slightly more coherent story than most Chilla's games and has some cool hand-drawn cutscenes and a solid ending.”
- “Now the story is a really 10/10 when you reach the ending; it makes it worth playing and seeing.”
- “Other than gameplay itself, I wish there was more focus on the story.”
- “The levels in the game play out the same for the most part and don't really offer any new information or serve to enhance the game's story.”
- “The story leaves a lot to be desired on this one, and the gameplay loop gets stale once you get through the first half of the game and realize that's all you're doing with very little danger.”
gameplay
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
55%
9%
The gameplay in "The Night Way Home" by Chilla's Art is characterized by a repetitive chase mechanic that can become tedious, lacking the depth and variety found in similar titles like "Outlast" or "Resident Evil." While some players appreciate the panic meter and the overall atmosphere, many feel that the gameplay loop becomes stale and frustrating due to the absence of engaging puzzles and the reliance on a single monster with limited mechanics. Overall, the game offers a mix of fun mechanics and adrenaline-pumping moments, but it requires significant improvements to enhance the overall experience.
- “I recommend it especially if you're a fan of Chilla's; it's something a little bit different but it's not overly difficult or overly long, and the mechanics end up being quite fun.”
- “I love playing Chilla's art games, and really enjoyed the mechanics and story introduced in this game!”
- “The first big thing to talk about is the panic meter, which is a pretty cool mechanic.”
- “This game would be much better if it didn’t have the same monster with the same mechanics chasing you for the entire game.”
- “I did not like the gameplay of this one; getting chased by the monster became tedious pretty fast.”
- “There are no interesting puzzles and the whole gameplay is focused on running from a weird creature.”
graphics
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
70%
10%
The game's graphics receive mixed reviews, with some players noting decent visuals and a unique aesthetic, while others criticize numerous graphical bugs, such as disappearing buildings and a downgraded quality compared to previous titles. Although the artwork in certain sections is praised, many agree that more attention to graphical mechanics is needed. Overall, while the graphics are a highlight for some, they are marred by technical issues and inconsistencies.
- “Decent graphics and visuals.”
- “A good aspect of this game is just the graphics, nothing more.”
- “When I think of games developed by Chilla's Art, I think of their unique aesthetic and genuinely terrifying scares.”
- “The game is plagued with graphical bugs, with entire buildings disappearing depending on the angle of the camera, for example.”
- “As anyone else would agree, more work could have been done in regards to some of the mechanics and graphics.”
- “- downgraded graphics from previous titles.”
atmosphere
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
59%
14%
The game's atmosphere is generally praised for its creepiness and tension, with many players appreciating the dark and immersive environment that enhances the horror experience. However, some reviews note inconsistencies, with a few players feeling that the atmosphere lacks depth or is overshadowed by gameplay issues and bugs. Overall, while the atmosphere is a strong point for many, it is not universally acclaimed, with some finding it insufficient for a compelling horror experience.
- “Creepy atmosphere without many jump scares.”
- “The game’s beginning is fantastic, it’s atmospheric and has the same feeling of horror-induced tension provided in Chilla's Art's other games.”
- “There's several different sections to explore (and get chased) this time around and main scare factors are the atmosphere and audio.”
- “Here there is no atmosphere, no build up, instead of which we get infuriating gameplay.”
- “Pretty straightforward premise with some just okay atmosphere and horror, but a couple of game-breaking bugs left me unable to finish this game.”
- “This game takes a more traditional approach to the horror genre than the other Chilla's Art games do, implementing a simple but effective hostile AI rather than relying on atmosphere and a series of scripted jump scares.”
grinding
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, primarily due to the collectables system that requires extensive searching for items like stickers and yen. The need to replay levels or manually edit save files if collectables are missed adds to the frustration, as does the large game environment and frequent enemy encounters that detract from the overall experience. Many reviewers express that the lack of clear instructions further compounds the tediousness of progressing through the game.
- “I attribute this mostly to the collectables system; having to spend an exorbitant amount of time on each level looking for stickers makes these hostile encounters more and more frequent, which in turn makes them less and less scary, and after a certain point, annoying and tedious.”
- “The devs also decided it would be a good idea to tie collectables to saves, so if you missed out on any one of the forty-three patron stickers spread throughout the game, you either have to replay the entire thing or manually edit each individual sticker back into the save file, which is astonishingly the less tedious option of the two.”
- “There is a lot of ground to cover, and the size of the environment seems rather large compared to other games from them, so when you couple that with specific things you have to find or do in a specific order, and then add an enemy that can and does appear randomly and constantly, it can be tedious.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is widely criticized for its instability, with multiple users reporting significant bugs and softlocks that detract from the overall experience. Many describe it as a "clunky and buggy mess," indicating that it requires substantial improvements to achieve a stable gameplay experience.
- “This game is a clunky, repetitive bore within just the first 5 minutes. Once the shock of the initial jump scares gets old, all you're left with is little more than a buggy run-around-in-circles simulator. I love Chilla's Art, but this one really needs work.”
- “In its current state, however, it is a clunky and buggy mess.”
- “Alas, very buggy.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its quirky character movements and amusing ghost encounters, which often elicit laughter rather than fear. Players find the ghost's annoying noises and unexpected antics, like attacking when players linger, to be particularly funny, contributing to an overall lighthearted experience.
- “Your character also moves at the speed of light, which is honestly pretty funny.”
- “The first initial ghost encounter could be a bit shocking/scary to some people who scare easily, but the ghost comes across as more annoying, especially with the noises it makes (a creaking door when it's moving and sometimes a funny bugged noise when it runs away).”
- “Pretty funny to watch; it did sometimes attack me on the ground when I waited too long looking at it, lol.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
25%
50%
The game offers limited replayability for those not interested in completion, but it is considered highly replayable by others due to its numerous collectibles and diverse routes. Players seeking a challenge may find value in revisiting the game, while casual players might not feel compelled to replay it.
- “Definitely replayable because of the amount of collectibles and many routes to take when flipping your doodle!”
- “The game does not really have any replay value unless you really want to put in the effort for completion.”
- “The game does not really have any replay value unless you really want to put in the effort for completion.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's optimization is consistent with other titles from Chilla's Art, suggesting a standard performance level that may not stand out but is generally reliable.
- “Performance-wise, this game plays the same as most other Chilla's Art games.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game is subtly integrated, with players appreciating the attention to detail in advertising posters found throughout the environment, particularly at the train station. This suggests a thoughtful approach to in-game advertising that enhances immersion without being intrusive.
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Reviewers feel that the game lacks an engaging or eerie background score, suggesting that the inclusion of scary music would enhance the overall atmosphere and excitement.
- “This game should have at least a piece of scary background music to add some spice.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users highlight the emotional aspect of the game as being particularly strong, describing the story as "really good and wholesome," which contributes to a positive and uplifting experience.
- “The story is really good and wholesome.”