I could never have predicted the latest management sim hit: run a hotel where death gods are cute anime girls

Oct. 27, 2023

Eldritch portals bring all the guests to Yog-Sothoth’s Yard

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Hotel management sim Yog-Sothoth’s Yard strikes me as Cult of the Lamb with all the combat stuff replaced with cute anime girls and some business decisions, and it’s made quite a name for itself onSteam.

From the hard-to-pronounce title to the abundance of eyeballs and tentacles, there’s more than a bit of Lovecraftian horror about Yog-Sothoth’s Yard. You play as some presumably otherworldly being who’s inherited an ancient villa now repurposed as a hotel for decidedlyunderworldly guests.

Your hotel’s employees include a “bioroid” maid named Little Leaf, death-in-training Tlipoca, red dragon alchemist Yevna, and spirit-hunter-turned-chef Haa Lou Ling. Chinese developer Bone Nail also promises “there is a variety of unique NPCs with a wide range of different races, appearances, and personalities,” with a total of 21 possible endings.

This game is sitting somewhere between a management sim, dating sim, and visual novel, from what I can gather. On the business side, you oversee furnishings, cooking, gardening, building expansions, alchemy, and mining (which looks a lot like straight-up minesweeper).

This is pretty typical resource management stuff, and all the accompanying art looks nice, but I’m more interested in the Oracles that you draft roguelike-style to alter the course of your business, partly because this seems to lean a bit more into the Old Gods motif. You might choose between a boost of restaurant guests, VIP hotel guests, exploration stamina, or a lump sum of money to jump-start the week, illustrated here as random cards featuring various monsters.

The game’s eclectic mix of genres and themes both cute and creepy has been extremely well-received. I’ve been eyeing this game since its release a week ago, and I swear every time I look it’s gained 300 reviews on Steam. It’s sitting at 1,300 88% positive reviews at the time of writing. Some reviewers have complained about a bit of awkwardness in the English translation, but it’s apparently readable enough for many English speakers to play through just fine.

Others have complained about the wealth of story content, with the visual novel DNA apparently taking center stage on many occasions, especially the notoriously lengthy prologue. It feels like a surprise hit that won’t be for everyone, but willreallyappeal to a certain demographic. The game’s $10.99 if you want to find out whether you fall in that group.

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