The Night Way Home

The Night Way Home | 帰り道 is a video game of horror puzzle adventure genre developed by Chilla's Art and published by Chilla's Art. It was released on Steam for Microsoft Windows on August 7, 2021.
== Synopsis ==
The Night Way Home is a Japanese survival horror game.
Rina, a junior high school student, learns that a girl who goes to the next junior high school has gone missing. As she is going home, she enters an eerie world. While being chased by an enemy, Rina searches for her home. Will Rina be able to return home safely?
== Gameplay ==
=== Prologue ===
When the game begins, Mom had already left for work. Before going to school, Rina watches the news, the reporter starts talking about a junior high school girl who went missing on her way home after extracurricular activities, Setsuna Funamori. As the reporter spoke, Rina realized that she was going to be late.
At school, Rina listened to students gossiping about a student from the next school going missing at the station. One of the students from the next school left her friend at the station and said friend hasn't been seen since, but the missing girl also told her friends that she didn't want to go home. The gossiping students believe the missing girl might've ran away from home since rumors say that there was domestic violence involved.
Rina was at the subway staircase when she pondered on the gossip she heard at school. She didn't want to go home either as she would just feel lonely, she believed her mother didn't like her either.
=== Subway Station ===
Rina entered the subway through the escalator, she wanted to go home fast since it was getting late. She went to the toilet first, but when she left her stall, she saw a crying girl near the last stall at the back. When Rina asked her about it, she answered that she didn't want to go home and that they were two of a kind when Rina agreed to her sentiment.
When Rina said she had to get home, the crying girl didn't let her and grabbed her arm. Rina wakes up in a different realm. A very tall girl elongated limbs and hair, wearing a school uniform and yells loudly when close to Rina will chase her around as she tries to escape.
* There will be a note on the floor in front of the lockers that says you can retrieve a security key from the top row of the west lockers.
* There's a newspaper that says *In red* with the numbers 389-1270-908 that can be found slipped between lockers in the west locker area. Calling this number on a phone booth will open a locker close to where you found the newspaper, the security key is inside.
* In the security room, you can use the control panel to unlock the exit shutter.
The exit will have green lights glowing around it, climbing up the stairs will allow Rina to leave the subway station. Rina goes to retrieve her bike from the basement parking lot.
=== The Way Home ===
==== Basement Parking Lot ====
The tall girl with elongated limbs followed Rina to the parking lot, she will chase her as she tries to find her bike.
* There is a small shadow child in the lowest staircase reachable at the parking lot area, they will talk about a teddy bear their mother gave them.
Rina's bike can be found in a lot specifically meant for parking bikes, it will have blue lights glowing around it. Rina cries at the sight of her bent and ruined bike, the shutters slightly opens and Rina crawls under it to exit the parking lot.
==== Local Bus Stop ====
Rina decides to go to the local bus stop since she couldn't walk home. She walks through a long line of torii gates into a temple area, she discovers a harae - Oonusa. Rina can now use it to repel evil spirits away. As she walks through the area, the tall girl with elongated limbs will continue to chase after her but Rina could also find a small shadows of a child smaller than her in multiple places in the area.
* On a ledge near the first phone booth, the child will talk about how their mother would read them a book before bed.
* Around a building across a corner of the park, the child will talk about how they tried to spend all their New Year's money on sweets but their mom got angry.
* In an alley visible from the streets, the child will talk about making pancakes with her mother.
* Near the vending machines at the park, the child will talk about the cocoa their mom made for them when they had trouble sleeping.
* Between two buildings near an air conditioner unit, the child will talk about their mother who started working harder from early morning to late at night, the child decided not to be selfish to their mother.
* Under a building and some large concrete pillars, the child will talk about how they love talking to their mom while cooking because she always listen with a smile when they cook.
* At the very top of a tall building, a child on the staircase will say that they wanted to be like her mother.
Rina will not have enough money to get on the bus, she will still need 400 yen. She will have to explore the area and find 100 yen coins on the ground, there are metal noises whenever she walks close to a coin. When Rina has enough coins, she rides the bus to a small suburban area.
==== Residential Area ====
After she gets off the bus, Rina will return the harae - Oonusa to an offering table she finds while walking down the road. At a dead end at the smaller roads, she will find a girl who is crawling on the ground, approaching her will lead to the tall girl with elongated limbs attacking Rina. Behind the girl on the ground who is now passed out, there is an alley that leads to a playground, there is a gate key near the sand box.
Rina must run around the area with small roads until she finds a locked gate that will lead her back to the larger roads.
* At the opposite end of the drains, the child will talk about their mother carrying them in her arms or on her back when they fell asleep.
* Next to a side rail on the larger roads, they will talk about drawing at preschool, only their mother knew they drew a frog.
Going through a large gate will bring Rina to an area that's filled with parked cars, when she walks close to the train railroad however, there will suddenly be a train crossing through. Rina will have to wait for the train to pass while evading the tall girl with elongated limbs. Past the train railroad is the main street. Rina suddenly realizes that she doesn't remember where her home was, but she did know it was around there.
==== The City ====
Near the train railroad is a bulletin board that contains clues about where Rina's home is located.
* The small shadow child can be found under what looks like a bicycle parking area (open shed) near Block 35, they will talk about calling their mother an idiot and not being sure whether their mother liked them anymore.
* At a parking lot close to Block 33, the child will talk about (error)
=== Home Sweet Home/Ending ===
In the apartment, Rina finds no one at home, she felt lonely and wondered when her mom was coming back. Soon after, the tall girl with elongated attacks her, they apparently followed her home.
Once she returned to her senses, Rina realizes that she's in her room. The door slowly opens and reveals Mom who was puzzled and frantic when she saw the state of Rina's arm. Rina looks down and sees her bloody arm as well as a blood-stained bed. Mom returns in a hurry as shown by the contents of her bag strewn around the hallway, she brought first aid when she came back in the room.
Rina doesn't answer when Mom asks if she did it to herself and doesn't look at Rina either. With watery eyes, Mom asks if it was her fault and if Rina hated her. Mom then starts crying and apologizing for pushing Rina to that point. Rina couldn't help but hug her and cry as well.
Rina wondered what the tall girl with elongated limbs was trying to tell her and if she shouldered something heavier. Rina ponders on what she should do next.
== Characters ==
* Rina - A junior high school student who doesn't want to trouble her mother despite her own feelings. She loves her mother dearly.
* Small shadow child - Rina's memories who remembers the happy times she experienced with her mother
* Mom - A strong mother who never shows weaknesses, she works hard from early morning to late night, unaware that she made her own daughter feel neglected.
* Girl with elongated limbs - She first appears as the crying girl in the subway station bathroom and later turns into a tall girl with elongated limbs. A ghost who presumably suffered a similar situation or worse than Rina. She chases Rina around as she tries to find her way home. It is possible that she was trying to reconcile Rina with her mother.
== Trivia ==
* The only Chilla's Art game where we can play in a third person perspective.
* One of the few Chilla's Art games where you manually save your progress.
* This game only has one ending.
* A chinchilla plushie is seen in Rina's home. Which is a reference to the creator: Chilla's Art.
== External links ==
*The Night Way Home on Steam
Category:Games
Category:Games with one ending