The Caregiver is a Horror Game by Chilla's Art.
Tomita Sachie is a caregiver who works at a hospital in Japan alongside Kuramoto Naomi and Risako. One night, she gets a call from the daughter of an old man named Koga Souichi, saying that it's an emergency. She heads to his home and finds him alone, the rest of his family nowhere to be found. What follows as the days go by and Naomi takes over for Sachie soon takes a strange turn.
The game was released on April 3rd, 2021.
The Caregiver contains examples of:
- Big Bad: The Karasu Tengu is the main villain of the game, having cursed Souichi when his wife Haori's spirit summoned it to try and bring her back to life and see him again.
- Bring My Brown Pants: When Sachie finds Souichi on the first night, he pees his pants, leaving a puddle of urine on the floor underneath him.
- Came Back Wrong: Souichi's wife Haori seemingly returns to life, but as a Psycho Knife Nut constantly hunting Naomi down. Naomi has to find her box of bones and bury it to purify her soul.
- Dead All Along: The very last shot of the game heavily implies that Souichi was long dead even before Naomi entered his house.
- Decoy Protagonist: Sachie is only playable on the first night. The rest of the game is played from Naomi's perspective.
- Fade to Black: Happens quite frequently as a means of changing minor details in the game world.
- First-Person Ghost: Subverted. You can see Sachie/Naomi's body if you look down. You can also see their reflection in mirrors.
- Infinite Flashlight: Naomi can find a flashlight on the floor of Souichi's house. There's no meter indicating when it needs new batteries, so it's safe to say this trope is in play.
- Job Title: You're the titular caregiver.
- Lock and Key Puzzle: The shed at Souichi's house is locked, and the key is in a box with a rusted lock.
- P.O.V. Cam: The game is played from the perspective of a few people.
- Railroading: You can only go where the game's plot allows you. If you try to go down another path, you will stop walking and a text will appear stating that you shouldn't go the way you're going.
- Rock–Paper–Scissors: The bald guy outside Sachie's apartment building refuses to let you in unless you beat him in rock paper scissors. But even if you do, he still refuses to leave unless you bring him some morphine.
- Run or Die: The final sequence of the game has the Karasu Tengu constantly chase you down while you try to find an exit out of the house.
- The End... Or Is It?: The ending looks quite positive, with Naomi continuing to care for Souichi and visiting his wife's grave... until Souichi suddenly sprouts a pair of tengu wings.
- Wham Shot: As Naomi and Souichi visit the grave of Haori in the ending, the screen slowly zooms in on Souichi... revealing a pair of tengu wings. This is followed by a shocking Wham Line:"What a shame. He was already gone before you stepped into the house. What a shame."
