Released in February 2020 by Chilla’s Art, the new Japanese indie horror game The Convenience Store emphasizes the boredom and terror of working the graveyard shift alone. Players begin the game as a young woman taking a night shift job at a local convenience store, working in total isolation with few customers. To pass the time, the manager leaves the player’s character a task to perform each night. Meanwhile, each night, the player’s character receives increasingly more cryptic VHS tapes containing brief footage of areas behind the store.
While parts of the game recreate the feelings of boredom that come from working alone at night, the haunting atmosphere and the subtle environmental changes that put the player constantly on edge keeps the momentum and mystery high. Performing the relatively menial tasks between the more intense and disturbing moments of the game offers players a set of Steam achievements, including two possible endings to unlock. Some of these achievements hide in plain sight, so this guide will reveal all five and how to earn them.
Earning the Homeless Achievement in The Convenience Store
On the way into the first night’s shift, players will likely encounter a man sitting on the sidewalk next to the store. His dialogue is cryptic and foreboding, reading like the ramblings of a broken man. Without much else to do, the player will likely continue into the store and forget this homeless man. But, if players can remember this character, they can unlock a humanitarian achievement.
Once the coworker behind the counter leaves the store for the night, the player should enter the small employee space connected to the counter. Typically, there will be a note for the player to read coming directly from the manager. One of the first manager-requested tasks a player will encounter is clearing the shelves of expired food. As players click on expired items, they appear in trash bags in front of the character’s line of sight. A player can take these trash bags to the dumpsters in the back of the store. Instead, however, players should take the bags to the homeless man outside the store. Doing this will unlock the Homeless achievement.
Earning the Expiration Date Achievement in The Convenience Store
This achievement pairs well with the first, as both Homeless and Expiration Date, can be completed at once. On the same night, the player should walk down aisle four, clicking each of the shelves on the left and the right. The Expiration Date achievement will unlock at the end of the aisle as a reward for checking every item on every shelf.
Earning the Security Achievement in The Convenience Store
The store has a CCTV monitor located in the small room beside the counter. Checking this monitor gives players a view of the store and the surrounding area from nearly all angles. Players should check the CCTV at least five times during the game to earn the Security achievement.
Earning the Ending 1 Achievement in The Convenience Store
According to True Steam Achievements, fewer than 50% of players have achieved this ending, as it is the least intuitive one. Over the course of the four nights, players will receive mysterious packages containing unmarked VHS tapes. They will be asked if they want to watch the tape on their TV at home. This subtly conditions players to always choose “Yes” when asked if they want to watch. However, as spookier events occur, it becomes apparent someone or something, is stalking the character and watching the store.
On Night Four, a final package with a final VHS will appear in the character’s room. The player should click on this VHS to pick it up. They should then click on the empty box on the table by the window. They will be asked if they want to send the VHS back to the sender, who has conveniently included their address on the package.
This option then gives players a black screen with scrolling, narrated text explaining the origin of the convenience store and its curse. This achievement includes a relatively happy horror ending for the character, who reports that she quit her job and no longer goes near the store due to an odd feeling she has like someone is watching her. As the credits roll, players will receive the Ending One achievement
Earning the Ending 2 Achievement in The Convenience Store
In this more common ending, the player should bring the final VHS to the television in the character’s room and press play. When asked if they want to watch it, they should click “Yes.” When asked, “Are you sure?”, they should again click “Yes.”
The footage on the VHS reveals the character filmed through the window of her bedroom. The footage fades to black. In a cut scene, the character wakes up in bed declaring she cannot move. A black figure crawls up in the darkness and lunges at her, ending her life and the game, and giving players the Ending Two achievement.
The Convenience Store is available on Steam.