The Watcher in Anomaly Cafe Guide, How to Get & What It Does?

The second part of the Afterlife content in Anomaly Cafe adds a new playable character called The Watcher. Unlike the usual characters, you cannot unlock this strange black cat simply by spending Bells. Instead, you need to complete a hidden quest that takes you between the living world and the Afterlife.

The Watcher also has a very unusual set of abilities and drawbacks. This makes the character less suited for players who want the most efficient setup, but it can be a fun option if you want something different. Here is how to unlock The Watcher and what you can expect from the character.

Who Is The Watcher in Anomaly Cafe?

The Watcher is a new playable character added with Part 2 of the Afterlife Update. The character is a black cat with unusual glowing eyes and blue stitches across its body, giving it a fitting appearance for the game’s strange Afterlife setting. Unlike standard characters, The Watcher changes how you approach several parts of a Cafe run.

The biggest thing to know is that The Watcher comes with several penalties. Cooking, cleaning, and earning money are all worse compared to the normal character setup, while some useful items are completely unavailable. The Watcher’s main drawbacks are:

• Cooks 15% slower than the base character.
• Cleans 5% slower.
• Earns 15% less money.
• Cannot equip or use weapon items.
• Cannot use items that restore Sanity, such as Coffee.

These weaknesses might make The Watcher look like a poor choice at first. However, the character has two special features that make the playstyle much different from other characters.

Double Bells

The Watcher has a passive ability that doubles the amount of Bells earned during gameplay. This helps offset the character’s lower money income and gives you another reason to keep playing despite the other penalties.

Devour

The Watcher’s active ability is called Devour. Instead of using normal Sanity-restoring items, The Watcher can consume an Anomaly to recover Sanity.

This is especially interesting because The Watcher cannot use weapons. Rather than immediately getting rid of every Anomaly, you can sometimes keep one around and use it to restore your Sanity.

How to Unlock The Watcher

The Watcher is unlocked through a hidden questline involving the Afterlife. You need to die more than once, speak with a mysterious grey cat, collect the Watcher’s Soul, and eventually meet The Watcher back in the living world. The quest is easier once you know the required steps, so follow the process below.

Die Before Day 10

Start a normal Anomaly Cafe run and make sure you die before reaching Day 10. You need to lose all of your Sanity to enter the Afterlife.

One of the easiest ways to do this is by allowing an Anomaly to attack you repeatedly. You should also do this in a single-player run, as it makes the quest progression easier to manage.

Once your character dies, you should be taken to the Afterlife.

Find the Grey Cat

After entering the Afterlife, look for a grey cat NPC. The cat can be found behind the shrine where you normally speak with Bingo.

Talk to the cat and go through all of the available dialogue. During the conversation, you will be given the opportunity to help the cat return to the living world.

After finishing the conversation, speak with Bingo.

You can then leave the Afterlife and return to the normal game.

Reach Day 11

Once you’re back in the living world, continue playing the game normally. Your goal is to reach Day 11.

Complete your Cafe orders, deal with Anomalies, and keep your character alive until you get through Day 11. The important part is that you need to reach this point before dying again.

After Day 11 is complete, you need to enter the Afterlife for a second time.

Die Again

Just like the first time, you need to reduce your Sanity to zero and die.

Allowing an Anomaly to attack you is once again one of the easiest methods. Once your character dies, you should return to the Afterlife Cafe.

This time, the grey cat will have something important for you.

Get the Watcher’s Soul

Find the grey cat again after arriving in the Afterlife Cafe. The NPC should be located close to the area where you spawn.

Talk to the cat to receive the Watcher’s Soul.

The Watcher’s Soul is an actual inventory item, so make sure you do not accidentally lose it. You need to keep this item with you while completing the next section of the quest.

Complete the Afterlife Cafe

After obtaining the Watcher’s Soul, continue through the Afterlife Cafe section.

This part works somewhat like a normal Anomaly Cafe shift, although the environment and gameplay are different. There are also some additional platforming sections, so pay attention while moving through the area.

Continue until you can speak with Bingo again.

Return to the Living World

Once you’ve finished the Afterlife Cafe segment, talk to Bingo and return to the living world. You will receive a second chance from Bingo, allowing your character to respawn back inside the Cafe.

From there, head toward the back of the Cafe.

Find The Watcher

At the back of the Cafe, look around the area near the fuse box. You should find The Watcher sitting against the wall. The character will now look slightly undead after everything that has happened during the quest.

Approach The Watcher and interact with them. Complete the conversation and you will recruit the character as part of your Cafe staff. Once the dialogue is finished, The Watcher should be unlocked and available from the character selection screen.

Is The Watcher Worth Unlocking?

The Watcher is not designed around making your Cafe runs as efficient as possible. The character has several significant disadvantages, including slower cooking, slower cleaning, reduced normal income, and restrictions on useful items.

However, the character’s Double Bells passive and Devour ability create a completely different way to play. Instead of simply eliminating every Anomaly as quickly as possible, you can use them as part of your strategy to recover Sanity.

The Watcher is therefore better suited to players who want a challenge or simply want to experiment with a different playstyle. The unlock quest can sound complicated at first, but once you know where to go and when to die, the process is fairly straightforward.

If you already enjoy Anomaly Cafe and want to try one of its stranger characters, completing the quest is worth doing just to see how The Watcher changes a normal Cafe run.