Spoiler Warning
This guide contains detailed information about Brother Hai's Pho Restaurant's story, endings, and gameplay mechanics. If you prefer to discover the game's mysteries yourself, play first before reading this guide.
Haven't downloaded the game yet? Get the free PC version here before diving into this walkthrough.
Brother Hai's Pho Restaurant - Complete Walkthrough
Master Guide to All 4 Endings, Gameplay Tips, and Vietnamese Cultural Context
1. Game Basics & Mechanics
What You Do in the Game
You play as Brother Hai, operating a phở restaurant in Đan Phượng district on the outskirts of Hanoi. The game alternates between day and night cycles, each presenting different challenges and encounters.
☀️ Day Operations
- • Serve regular customers
- • Manage restaurant resources
- • Make business decisions
- • Prepare for night shift
🌙 Night Shift
- • Face mysterious customers
- • Encounter supernatural events
- • Make critical story choices
- • Uncover the truth
Core Gameplay Loop
1. Customer Service: Interact with customers through dialogue choices. What you say and how you treat people matters.
2. Business Management: Make decisions about your restaurant's operations, balancing profit with ethics.
3. Story Progression: Your choices accumulate throughout the game, ultimately determining which of the 4 endings you receive.
4. Atmospheric Exploration: Pay attention to environmental details, sounds, and subtle changes that hint at the supernatural elements.
💡 Key Insight: Brother Hai's Pho Restaurant is more about moral choices and atmosphere than traditional gameplay mechanics. There are no complex controls to master—focus on the story, dialogue, and your decisions.
2. General Gameplay Tips
Listen to Audio Cues
The game uses sound design to build atmosphere and signal supernatural events. Play with headphones for the best experience. Subtle audio changes often precede important encounters.
Read All Dialogue
Don't skip dialogue. Customer conversations contain clues about the story, character backstories, and hints about which choices lead to which endings. Every interaction matters.
Balance Profit & Compassion
The game tests your priorities. Choosing profit over people consistently leads to tragic endings. The true ending requires showing kindness even when it's not financially beneficial.
Multiple Playthroughs
Plan to play 2-4 times to see all endings. Each playthrough takes 1-2 hours. Try different approaches: greedy, kind, cautious, bold—see how the story changes.
Embrace the Atmosphere
This isn't a jump-scare horror game. It's about building dread and emotional weight. Play in a dark room, pay attention to small details, and let the atmosphere affect you.
Take Notes
Consider keeping track of your major choices in each playthrough. This helps identify which decisions led to which ending, making it easier to unlock all four.
3. Vietnamese Cultural Context
Understanding Vietnamese culture significantly enriches your experience with Brother Hai's Pho Restaurant. The game draws heavily from authentic traditions and folklore.
🍜 Why Phở Matters
In Vietnamese culture, running a phở restaurant isn't just a job—it's often a multi-generational family legacy. Brother Hai carries the weight of ancestral tradition and family expectations.
Cultural significance:
- Phở represents Vietnamese national identity
- Family recipes passed down through generations
- Small phở shops are community gathering places
- Economic survival tied to maintaining quality and reputation
- Brother Hai's struggle reflects real pressures on family businesses
This context makes Brother Hai's desperation and choices more understandable—he's not just trying to survive financially, he's trying to honor his family legacy.
👻 Ma Quỷ (Ghosts & Spirits)
The supernatural elements in the game draw from Vietnamese folklore about ma quỷ—ghosts and spirits who exist at the boundary between the living and dead.
Key concepts in Vietnamese spiritual beliefs:
Cô Hồn (Wandering Spirits)
Souls without proper burials or offerings who roam seeking acknowledgment. They're not necessarily evil—just lost and seeking peace.
Ancestral Karma
The belief that family actions and sins can affect descendants. Brother Hai may be dealing with consequences of past family choices.
Proper Death Rituals
Vietnamese tradition emphasizes specific burial and memorial practices. Without them, spirits can't rest and may cause problems for the living.
🌙 Night Shift Significance
In Vietnamese folklore, nighttime is when the boundary between the living world and spirit world becomes thinnest. Late-night phở shops in real Vietnam do serve this mysterious atmosphere.
The game captures authentic Vietnamese beliefs about vulnerability during night hours, when spirits are most active and isolation makes you a target for supernatural encounters.
📚 Want to Learn More About Vietnamese Culture?
This is just a brief overview. For comprehensive coverage of phở culture, ma quỷ folklore, family business heritage, and Vietnamese horror traditions, check out our complete guide.
Explore Vietnamese Culture Guide →4. All 4 Endings Explained
Brother Hai's Pho Restaurant features 4 distinct endings based on your choices throughout the game. Three are tragic, reflecting different moral failings, while one offers hope and redemption.
Ending 1: "Silent Footstep" (True/Happy Ending)
The only positive outcome
What Happens:
Brother Hai finds peace and resolution. The supernatural threats are laid to rest through compassion and understanding rather than fear or greed. The restaurant continues, but Brother Hai is free from the curse that haunted him.
How to Achieve:
- Show kindness to all customers, especially mysterious ones
- Make business decisions that prioritize people over profit
- Respect the supernatural elements rather than denying or exploiting them
- Complete all customer interactions thoughtfully
- Choose dialogue options that show empathy and understanding
Themes:
Compassion, redemption, breaking cycles of karma, honoring the dead properly, choosing humanity over survival instinct.
Ending 2: Greed Ending (Tragic)
One of three bad endings
What Happens:
Brother Hai's pursuit of profit at all costs leads to his downfall. By prioritizing money over morality, he falls victim to the very supernatural forces he tried to exploit or ignore.
How You Get This:
- Consistently choose profit over helping customers
- Exploit supernatural situations for financial gain
- Ignore warnings and red flags in pursuit of money
- Treat customers poorly or dismissively
Message:
Greed and exploitation have consequences. The game punishes pure selfishness, reflecting Vietnamese cultural values about community and compassion.
Ending 3: Fear Ending (Tragic)
One of three bad endings
What Happens:
Paralyzed by fear and unable to confront the truth, Brother Hai's avoidance and cowardice lead to a tragic fate. By running from the supernatural rather than understanding it, he seals his doom.
How You Get This:
- Avoid confronting mysterious customers or events
- Choose dialogue options that show fear or denial
- Run away from situations instead of engaging
- Refuse to acknowledge the supernatural elements
Message:
Ignoring problems or running from truth doesn't make them disappear. Courage to face reality is necessary for redemption.
Ending 4: Ignorance Ending (Tragic)
One of three bad endings
What Happens:
By failing to pay attention to clues, ignoring cultural wisdom, or dismissing the significance of events, Brother Hai misses his chance for redemption and suffers the consequences of ignorance.
How You Get This:
- Skip or rush through important dialogue
- Ignore environmental clues and story hints
- Make random choices without considering context
- Disrespect cultural or spiritual elements
Message:
Understanding requires attention and respect. The game rewards players who engage deeply with the story and cultural context.
💡 Tip: The specific mechanics of how endings are determined aren't explicitly shown. The game tracks your overall "moral alignment" based on cumulative choices rather than single decisive moments. Be consistently kind, thoughtful, and brave to achieve the True Ending.
5. How to Get the True Ending "Silent Footstep"
🌟 True Ending Strategy
The "Silent Footstep" ending represents Brother Hai finding peace and breaking the cycle. Here's how to achieve it:
1. Be Kind to Every Customer
Treat all customers with respect and compassion, especially those who seem strange or supernatural:
- Listen to their stories fully
- Offer help even when it doesn't benefit you financially
- Show empathy in dialogue choices
- Don't judge customers based on appearance or behavior
- Remember: mysterious customers may be testing you
2. Make Ethical Business Decisions
When faced with business choices, choose compassion over profit:
- Don't exploit desperate situations
- Maintain quality even when facing financial pressure
- Help customers in need even at personal cost
- Avoid shortcuts that compromise integrity
3. Respect Cultural & Spiritual Elements
Show respect for Vietnamese traditions and supernatural beliefs:
- Don't mock or dismiss supernatural occurrences
- Acknowledge the presence of spirits with respect
- Follow cultural wisdom when it's offered
- Understand that the spirits may need your help, not just fear
4. Engage Fully with the Story
Don't rush through the game:
- Read all dialogue carefully
- Pay attention to environmental storytelling
- Listen to what customers really need
- Complete all customer interactions
- Look for clues about the deeper story
5. Face Your Fears
Courage is required for the happy ending:
- Don't run from scary encounters
- Confront the truth about what's happening
- Accept responsibility for past actions (family karma)
- Choose brave dialogue options when it matters
6. Understand the Golden Dog
The Golden Dog is a key character in achieving the true ending:
- Pay special attention to Golden Dog encounters
- Be kind and gentle with the dog
- The dog represents loyalty and protection in Vietnamese culture
- Your treatment of the dog significantly affects the ending
⚡ Quick Checklist for True Ending:
- ✓ Kind to all customers (no exceptions)
- ✓ Ethical business choices (people > profit)
- ✓ Respect supernatural elements
- ✓ Read all dialogue
- ✓ Be brave, not fearful
- ✓ Special care with Golden Dog
6. Key Characters & Encounters
🐕 The Golden Dog
Significance: One of the most important characters in the game. The Golden Dog appears during key moments and has become iconic from the game's viral TikTok clips.
Cultural Context: In Vietnamese folklore, dogs can be spiritual guardians or messengers between worlds. The golden color suggests auspiciousness.
How to Interact: Be gentle, show respect, don't fear it. The dog may be trying to help you despite its unsettling appearance.
🌙 Late-Night Customers
Nature: Various mysterious customers who appear during night shifts. Some may be spirits (ma quỷ), others might be testing you.
Key Insight: Not all supernatural customers are malevolent. Many are cô hồn (wandering spirits) seeking acknowledgment or help.
Approach: Serve them like normal customers. Listen to their stories. Show kindness. Some may reward you, others may harm you based on your treatment.
👤 Brother Hai (You)
Character: A phở restaurant owner struggling with financial pressure, family legacy, and supernatural encounters.
Motivation: Survival, honoring family tradition, and ultimately seeking redemption for past family actions.
Your Role: Your choices shape who Brother Hai becomes—greedy, fearful, ignorant, or compassionate and redeemed.
💡 Note: The game keeps many characters intentionally mysterious. Part of the horror comes from not fully understanding who or what you're encountering. Pay attention to clues, but accept that some mysteries may never be fully explained.
7. Important Choice Points
While the game doesn't explicitly mark "critical choices," certain decision points have more weight in determining your ending:
Customer Payment Choices
When: Customers who can't pay or offer unusual payment.
The Choice: Demand payment, accept alternative payment, or offer food for free.
Impact: Your generosity (or lack thereof) significantly affects your moral alignment. True ending requires showing compassion.
Supernatural Encounter Reactions
When: Obviously supernatural events occur.
The Choice: Acknowledge and engage, deny and ignore, or exploit for gain.
Impact: Respect and engagement lead to true ending. Fear or exploitation lead to tragic endings.
Business Ethics Decisions
When: Opportunities to cut corners or maximize profit appear.
The Choice: Maintain quality/ethics or prioritize profit.
Impact: Greedy choices accumulate toward the Greed ending. Ethical choices support True ending.
Dialogue Tone
When: Throughout all customer interactions.
The Choice: Kind/empathetic vs. dismissive/rude vs. fearful.
Impact: Consistent kindness is crucial for True ending. Being consistently rude or fearful leads to tragic outcomes.
8. Secrets & Easter Eggs
🎭 Vietnamese Cultural References
The game is filled with authentic Vietnamese cultural details that Vietnamese players immediately recognize but international players might miss. Pay attention to traditional practices, food preparation methods, and spiritual rituals depicted—they're all researched and accurate to Vietnamese culture.
🔊 Audio Clues
Subtle audio changes often precede supernatural events. Listen for changes in ambient sound, distant voices, or shifts in background music. These aren't just atmosphere—they're clues about what's about to happen.
🌟 Godot Engine Easter Eggs
The developer created this game using Godot Engine as a student project. Sharp-eyed players might notice small references to the game development process or the developer's journey.
📍 Đan Phượng District Details
The setting isn't random—Đan Phượng is a real district northwest of Hanoi with over 1,000 years of history. Vietnamese players from this area have noted authentic local details in the game's depiction.
🎮 Multiple Playthrough Dialogue
Some dialogue changes slightly on repeat playthroughs, suggesting the characters (or spirits) remember your previous choices. This adds a meta-layer to the horror—are you trapped in a cycle?
Ready to Master Brother Hai's Story?
Remember: Kindness, courage, and cultural respect are the keys to the True Ending.
Understanding the cultural context makes the story even more powerful