When Fran Bow was released, people took the game to be a cute game, and ended up being shocked by the dark element. Little Misfortune, developed by Killmonday Games has expanded on a new story that might be set in the same universe. With a short play time of about 3 hours, Little Misfortune is a cute, and somewhat raunchy and emotional hitting game.
This dark fantasy game is played in 2.5D where you mostly are moving back and forth, with little option to move in to the background. Misfortune, is a young girl that comes from a broken home with wayward parents. So she creates her own happiness with glitter and the delusion that she can fix her parents. The narrator of the game is named “Mr. Voice” and he guide Misfortune on an adventure to find eternal happiness. Sadly, things are not completely as they seem.
As Misfortune goes on an adventure out of her home, she encounters many animals and mysterious missing child posters. Couple this with her cute accent and foul language, the game can’t be cuter. Unlike Fran Bow, the puzzles and clues seem to be easier to get through. With this being said, the game moves faster but the plot is the main focus. As the player, you get to have a secret that Misfortune isn’t supposed to know about.
The art is very smooth and abstract. At some points I looked at the game and wondered, “Did I really just see that?” because there are some visual puns and other things that will be recognized by adults. Speaking of adults, this game does have language and it does have flashes of death and other dark images. So you should express caution before letting the younger audiences get a hold of a copy.
dark
fantasy
Other than the game being somewhat short, the story was fun and cheery, even with a dark undertone. There is a lot to think about and discuss in terms of real life problems that families face. For example, addiction, domestic violence and prostitution all come up. To hear it from the young Misfortune really rips your heart out. Play carefully, every decision Misfortune makes will determine the outcome of the story for her, but at least give the game a good try before making a full decision about how you feel.
9/10
Available on PC
