chilla's art's winter streambait offering this year centers around an unnamed employee of a film company. it's unclear what kind of film company this is beyond the higher up wanting him to get some "interesting footage" at an abandoned home. the set up seems to exist primarily only to explain the use of a camera and vhs tapes through out the game; on steam, the game is described as a "found footage mockumentary."

what follows is a trip through a house littered with blood, feathers, and strange tapes documenting a young boy's stay with his grandparents in the home. much of the game reminds me of nana825763's "my house walk-through", other parts harken my mind back to "ring-u". there's a particular segment where, while wandering down a hall, you're forced to consider just how alone in this abandoned house you are-- a brief scare that reminded me of, surprisingly, the conjuring. the overall presentation, though, largely feels unique to jisatsu, a title built from the characters meaning "self" as in "self"ie and "suicide."

some of this game feels like the scariest chilla's art has gotten to date: jumpscares that actually feel earned, the intriguing use of a censor bar, the classic claustrophobic thriller minute. the tense anxiety that's built up through the game pays off, though it never really gets to the heights you really want it to.

it's hard to describe what it is that bogs this one down: is it too long? too short? too ambiguous? does it lean into it's inspirations too much? it is a sudden and awkward bumble at times, but it never loses it's tense atmosphere. it's good, just not as good as some of chilla's catalogue. it's fair; i'd recommend it if you have around two hours to kill, and miss j-horror from a decade ago.