Make Hot Coffee, Get Chills
The Closing Shift is a fantastic horror game made by the indie Japanese studio Chilla’s Art. You play as a female barista working the night shift. Sadly, you’ll be dealing with rude customers, a mean boss, and a dangerous stalker. Make drinks and pastries, clean the store, and pay attention to the strange things the customers are noticing… It might just save your life.
Where to Find Things
To fulfill orders, first grab your order slip from the counter. Then hit tab to see what’s in your inventory. Make the order using the recipe, then bring them over to the counter where the customer is waiting. If it’s a hot drink, put a hot lid on it. For cold drinks, put a cold lid on it. To serve an item, put it down on the counter and put the correct order sticker on it.
Pastries are in the pastry shelf. To make a pastry, grab it from the shelf and put it in one of the bags on the right.
For coffee, simply take a hot cup and use it on the coffee dispenser.
If a recipe requires steamed milk, use the milk steamer, which is to the right of the blender. Put the jug under it, then take milk from the fridge under the syrups. Pour the milk in and let it steam, then grab the jug of steamed milk.
For blended ice, get ice from the big refrigerator to the left of the blender. Pour it into a blender cup and blend.
Whipped cream is in the fridge under the blender.
If you need to add powders, syrups, or sauces, make sure you put the cup on the appropriate mat, or it won’t work.
The First Day
Going To Work
You start out in your apartment, and you’re late for work! Leave the apartment and go downstairs. You should see a phone lying on the ground; pick it up. Its owner is around the corner, frantically searching the ground. Hand him the phone, then go to your car to drive to work.
Clocking In
At Chilla’s Coffee, enter through the front door. Fun fact, there are decorations with the names of Chilla’s Art’s Patreon supporters in the trees by the road. Go into the back room, past the door behind the counter.
Funahashi-senpai, your coworker, is sitting at the computer. Put your stuff into the locker on the right, then talk to him. He tells you about some tutorial videos (after complaining about you being late), then ends his shift and leaves.
Watch the tutorials if you’d like. There’s a VHS player and TV in the corner. When you’re done, go back out to begin your shift.
Takashi
Your first customer is Takashi. His daughter loves Chilla’s Coffee, but he thinks the place is creepy and he doesn’t like the prices either. Here’s his order:
- Coffee – Hot Cup, Coffee, Hot Cup Lid
- Latte – Hot Cup, Coffee, Steamed Milk, Hot Cup Lid
Saran
Saran tells you to be careful as a lone woman working at night. Here’s her order:
- Dark Mocha Chip Chillappuccino – Cold Cup, Blended Ice, Coffee, Milk, Chocolate Sauce, Cocoa Powder, Cold Cup Lid
Four Students
Your next group of customers are four students named Kenta, Koji, Shoki, and Taka. Their constant overlapping chatter may get confusing to follow. However, when you repeat their order back to them, choose the second option. Here’s all seven of the correct items:
- Matcha Chillappuccino – Cold Cup, Blended Ice, Milk, Matcha Powder, Whipped Cream, Cold Cup Lid
- Salted Caramel Mocha – Hot Cup, Coffee, Steamed Milk, Caramel Syrup, Hazelnut Syrup, Chocolate Sauce, Hot Cup Lid
- White Mocha – Hot Cup, Coffee, Steamed Milk, White Chocolate Sauce, Hot Cup Lid
- Matcha Chiffon Cake
- Pumpkin Cake
- American Waffle
- American Apple Pie
Hasaku
Your last customer tonight is Hasaku, a private investigator who tells you to inform him of any suspicious activity. Here’s his order:
- Latte – Hot Cup, Coffee, Steamed Milk, Hot Cup Lid
Ending Your First Shift
When you’re done with the day, it’s time to clean the store. Get a broom from the cleaning supply closet in the back room and sweep the dirt spots on the floor. Hold down the mouse on the dirt spots to sweep.
Once that’s done, the power goes out in the store. Don’t worry, you can fix this! Go into the storage room, which is past the back room. Look for the breaker switch on the back wall and flip it.
Strangely, when the lights are back on, you’ll see milk cartons scattered all over the floor. Pick them up in all the rooms and return them to the milk fridge under the syrups. With that, you’ve finished the first day.
The Second Day
Starting Your Shift
Leave your apartment, go downstairs, and head to your car. Before you get in, notice the strange van parked nearby.
At the store, walk inside and talk to Funahashi-senpai at the counter. He’s pretty mad that you’re late again. Put your stuff in your locker, then go behind the counter to start your shift.
The Foreigner
Your first customer is a friendly foreign guy, who’s a little unnerved by that guy outside peeping in the window. Here is his order:
- Coffee – Hot Cup, Coffee, Hot Lid
- American Waffle
- American Apple Pie
- American Caramel Toffee Scone
The Hoodie Guy
That weirdo who scared off your last customer comes into the shop. He gives you his order without saying a word. Hand him his stuff and he’ll slink off to the back corner of the store, out of sight. Here’s what he wants:
- Vanilla Chillappuccino – Cold Cup, Blended Ice, Milk, Vanilla Syrup, Vanilla Powder, Cold Cup Lid
- Milk – Cold Cup, Milk, Cold Cup Lid
- Milk – Cold Cup, Milk, Cold Cup Lid
Shoya
Shoya is high off of his own confidence. He promptly asks for your number and thinks the reason why you don’t respond is because he’s so good-looking. You can either insist he order a Chillappuccino, or give him a fake phone number. Picking his order for him makes him angrily rant at you, then he leaves without ordering anything. If you give him a fake number, here’s what he orders:
- Caramel Macchiato – Hot Cup, Coffee, Steamed Milk, Caramel Syrup, Caramel Sauce, Hot Cup Lid
Closing Tasks
Today, you’ll be taking out the trash and cleaning the tables. Go into the back room and pick up three trash bags. Put these bags in the dumpsters outside. Then head back inside and grab a cleaning rag from the locker. Look for tables with cups on them and clean them. On one of these tables, you find a photo of the inside of the store, left by Hoodie Guy. Yikes. When you finish, the day will end.
The Third Day
Mother and Baby
Head downstairs from your apartment, only to get jumpscared by this lady and her naked baby in the middle of winter! After you’re done talking to the lady, get in your car and go to the coffee shop.
Talk with senpai and put your stuff away, then get behind the counter as usual.
Three High School Girls
Mari, Remi, and Mayumi enter the coffee shop. Mari runs to the bathroom, but her friends order for her while bickering with each other. It may be confusing to follow, but you’ll get order stickers for them, so just use those to make their food and drinks. Also, you’ll want to pay attention to their conversation in the background after you serve them. Here’s what they want:
- Matcha Chillappuccino – Cold Cup, Blended Ice, Milk, Matcha Powder, Whipped Cream, Cold Cup Lid
- Coffee with Whipped Cream – Hot Cup, Coffee, Whipped Cream, Hot Cup Lid
- Caramel Macchiato – Hot Cup, Coffee, Steamed Milk, Caramel Syrup, Caramel Sauce, Hot Cup Lid
- Strawberry and Cream Roll
- Strawberry Churro
The Broke Guy and The Good Samaritan
Your next customers are Kaiya and Akira. They’re strangers to each other, but Akira noticed that Kaiya didn’t have enough money to pay for his drink and offers to treat him. Here’s what they order:
- Latte – Hot Cup, Coffee, Steamed Milk, Hot Cup Lid
- Vanilla Latte – Hot Cup, Coffee, Steamed Milk, Vanilla Syrup, Hot Cup Lid
A Weird Noise in the Drive-Through
Now that this day’s over, it’s time for your closing tasks. You’ll be bussing tables again, so grab a cleaning rag from the supply locker. When you’re done, you’ll hear a weird noise. Look at the monitor at the top of the back wall to see a figure in the drive-through lane.
This protagonist is much braver than me. I say that because you’re going to have to go outside and check the area. Leave through the back door and walk around the building. Look at the drive-through sign; there’s a creepy note on it for you to read. With that note, the day ends.
The Fourth Day
Gotta Take the Bus
After a very creepy cutscene, the lights fade in and you’re in your apartment, ready for another great day at work. Suddenly, the doorbell rings. Go to your front door to find another note in your mailslot talking about your anniversary with your stalker. Instead of calling the police or arranging plans to move, let’s just go to work like normal and pretend this never happened?
When you try to get in your car, it won’t start, so you’re forced to take the bus. Follow the path outside the front of the apartment building to the bus stop. Wait for the bus here. On the bus, there’s a weird man staring at you… or is he? When you get off the bus, turn around quickly to see who he was actually watching… the man who’s been watching you!
He Followed You
Go into the store and put your stuff in your locker. Where’s senpai? Open the bathroom to find out.
Senpai starts screaming that you scared the poop out of him. It’s funny because he seemed to already be done when you opened the door… Senpai hilariously starts running to the back room after this, as if he really pooped his pants in fear.
Now it’s time to face your fears. Remember the guy on the bus earlier? He comes into the store but doesn’t order anything. Instead, he just stares at you, before sitting down in a seat where he can continue to stare at you.
Drive-through Guy
You’re interrupted from your staring contest by the sound of a car in the drive-through. Now you’ll need to have your back to that creep. Great. Here’s what to serve the guy in the car:
- Caramel Macchiato – Hot Cup, Coffee, Steamed Milk, Caramel Syrup, Caramel Sauce, Hot Cup Lid
- Caramel Macchiato – Hot Cup, Coffee, Steamed Milk, Caramel Syrup, Caramel Sauce, Hot Cup Lid
- Caramel Toffee American Scone
- Caramel Toffee American Scone
Yoko
Yoko is a nice older lady who offers you a rosary bracelet she bought on the home shopping channel. It was advertised to ward off evil. Let’s hope it works! Here’s Yoko’s order:
- Green Tea Latte – Hot Cup, Steamed Milk, Matcha Powder, Vanilla Syrup, Hot Cup Lid
- American Waffle
Idol
Your third customer is an idol who wants to recruit you for her agency since you’re so cute. Here’s what she’s ordering:
- Salted Caramel Mocha – Hot Cup, Coffee, Steamed Milk, Caramel Syrup, Hazelnut Syrup, Chocolate Sauce, Hot Cup Lid
Mametaro the Shirtless Dancing Wonder
Your last customer of the night (and my personal favorite) is Mametaro, who shows up with no shirt and still expects service. While he dances, read Mametaro the Japanese penal code to scare him off, or beg him to put some clothes on.
Don’t tell him you’re attracted to him though, or the game will freeze, and he’ll just keep dancing there. Forever. I had to restart the game and lost my whole day’s progress. This may be a bug that only I experienced, though.
If you pick one of the other options, eventually he leaves without ordering anything.
A Closing Nightmare
For today’s closing tasks, you’ll need to take out the trash and clean the toilet. Grab all the trash bags and toss them in the dumpster outside.
Now you’ll need to clean the toilet. Open the supply locker and take out the toilet cleaning products at the bottom. Walk to the bathroom and clean the dirty toilet.
You’ll also find out that the bathroom is out of toilet paper. Is that senpai’s fault? The toilet paper can be found in the storage room on a shelf. Bring it back and place it, then return to the counter.
The lights go out, and shadowy figures appear while a clock counts down in the window! You must serve them as many lattes as you can until the timer runs out and everyone has been served.
After this bizarre extra shift, go to the storage room and flip the breaker. It doesn’t work. Try the doors? You’re locked in here! Bang on all the doors and flip the switches for a while. Then the mysterious door in the back will open. Two eyes peer out of the darkness, before the figure rushes at you and it all fades to black…
The Fifth Day
Go To Work
Was that last section just a bad dream? You wake up in bed, tossing your sheets off in a panic. There isn’t much time to worry, though. It’s time for your next shift at Chilla’s Coffee.
Today your car is working. No more scary bus! At the store, Hasaku, the investigator from the first day, has returned. He’s going to look around the building and make sure we’re safe tonight. For some reason, Funahashi-senpai isn’t here today, and your stuff is already in your locker. Just stay at the counter to start your shift.
Office Ladies
Sumika has brought her senpai to try Chilla’s Coffee. When serving them, they will mention someone who is taking photographs outside… photographs of the protagonist. You’d like to hope it’s the investigator, but that’s not likely. Before you can ponder that, you’ll have to make this order:
- Salted Caramel Mocha – Hot Cup, Coffee, Steamed Milk, Caramel Syrup, Hazelnut Syrup, Chocolate Sauce, Hot Cup Lid
- Chocolate Chip Chillappuccino – Cold Cup, Coffee, Blended Ice, Milk, Chocolate Sauce, Cocoa Powder, Cold Cup Lid
Mother, Minus Baby
Remember the mom from a couple days ago? She’s your customer now, but her baby isn’t in the stroller and she’s openly weeping… Make of that what you will. She hands you her order without a word:
- Salted Caramel Mocha – Hot Cup, Coffee, Steamed Milk, Caramel Syrup, Hazelnut Syrup, Chocolate Sauce, Hot Cup Lid
Machiko
Machiko is apparently a regular and wants her usual. Here’s her order:
- Salted Caramel Mocha – Hot Cup, Coffee, Steamed Milk, Caramel Syrup, Hazelnut Syrup, Chocolate Sauce, Hot Cup Lid
- Caramel Macchiato – Hot Cup, Coffee, Steamed Milk, Caramel Syrup, Caramel Sauce, Hot Cup Lid
- Sweet Red Beans and Butter Bread
The developers must have really been craving a salted caramel mocha, since it keeps showing up in every order. When you serve her, Machiko mentions seeing someone on the roof. Ok, this is getting too weird. Since she’s our last customer, it’s time to investigate.
Finding A Secret Room
Go into the back room and look inside your locker. To your dismay, your stuff is gone. Pick up the ladder in the storage room and bring it outside. There’s a spot to place it next to some trash on the ground. Place and climb the ladder to the roof.
Up here, there’s a big pile of bricks that you can climb on to walk along the outer wall of the building. Next to it are some bricks you can pick up. There’s also a vent up here. Climb down it, and you’ll be in the room previously marked “…” where the figure jumped out from before. Look at the pictures of you on the walls to discover that your stalker has been living here. What can be done about that?
Time to Go Home?
This girl must really need this job. Instead of calling anyone or running for our lives, first we’ll need to perform our closing duties. In the back room, grab the product scanner on the desk. Use the product scanner to scan the sandwiches in the front counter of the pastry shelf. Next, grab the old pastries off the back of the pastry shelf, and toss them in the trash. Lastly, get the money from the register, and put it into the counting machine in the back room. It looks like a little cash register on the desk.
When it’s all finished, flip the closing sign on the door to trigger the game’s ending sequence. You have three options with which to end this story, so try them all or pick one at random.
Ending 1
There’s a creepy guy outside by the front door… let’s just leave out the back door! Nevermind, that was a big mistake. Restart to try a different ending.
Ending 2
Go into the secret room in the back and grab a screwdriver from the pile of bedding. Enter the bathroom next. You should see a vent; use the screwdriver on it to climb out. Now you’ll be in the drive-through lane. Your car key is on the ground out here. Pick it up and get in the car… Should’ve checked if the car was safe first! Restart to try another ending.
Ending 3
In the storage room, pick up the ladder, and bring it to the secret room. Place the ladder and climb onto the roof. You will see a stack of bricks. Pick a brick up, then climb the stack so you can get onto the edge of the roof. Walk around until you can see the guy outside the door below. Drop a brick onto his head to knock him out!
When the cutscene is over you’ll be back in your apartment. Go outside onto your balcony. Your phone is on the ground floor outside. Go get it, then return to your place and go into the living room for another cutscene.
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