There are many ways to indulge in procrastination as a writer, from cutting down trees to reorganising your Pokémon cards, but running a bathhouse for spirits is by far the best ‘I’m totally working on my fantasy novel honest’ excuse I’ve ever heard. It’s also exactly what happens to the inspiring author protagonist of Spirittea – a management simulator, with a mixture of RPG and life sim elements, from developer Cheesemaster Games – after drinking tea from a magic teapot. Though you have to wonder if there’s something magical about those leaves… Guided by cat spirit Wonyan, your goal is to rebuild the ruined bathhouse, ease the troubles of the local spirits and fill your pockets with cash along the way.
We recently played the Spirittea demo and, while it only covers the game’s first hour, it gave us a taste of what running the bathhouse is like. Though the tasks available to you in the demo are simple – such as cutting wood and cleaning towels – they certainly keep you busy, ensuring there’s no awkward moment where you’re waiting around for something to happn.
The spirits themselves also bring a puzzle element to running the bathhouse. Each one is assigned a season which determines their likes and dislikes; deducing a spirit’s season either through experimentation or finding a scroll hidden about town will help you give them the perfect bath. This includes putting the correct elixir in their bathing water and, more importantly, who they sit next to – spirits prefer to sit next to others belonging to the season following theirs, winter spirits like sitting next to spring spirits for example, but dislike sitting next to ones belonging to the season opposite to theirs.
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