The Heartbreaking Story of Little Misfortune

Little Misfortune is a horror adventure game developed by Killmonday Games. It is an interactive story, and the gameplay itself is very simple. It is a point-and-click game where the player can interact with different things, play some easy minigames, and solve simple puzzles while controlling the main character, Misfortune. When the player interacts with things in the game world, it usually triggers dialogue that adds to the story and reveals things about Misfortune’s life. The game also has moments where the player has to choose between two alternative actions that have an effect on the story.

The story is set in a fictional town called Openfield. The protagonist, Misfortune Ramirez Hernandez, is a brave and persistent little girl with a big imagination. On her journey, she is accompanied by two other major characters: Benjamin the Fox and Mr. Voice, who is also the narrator of the story. Aside from choosing between two alternative actions at times, the player usually takes a passive position from a narrative point of view. Most of the storytelling happens through the conversations that Mr. Voice and Misfortune have with each other.

At the beginning of the game, the player is told that Misfortune comes from a very difficult situation. She lives with her alcoholic mother and abusive father. The story starts with Mr. Voice convincing her to play a game with him. Misfortune agrees to this because she is promised a prize of Eternal Happiness, and she is determined to give it to her mother. The game deals with very heavy themes, such as domestic abuse, substance abuse, death, and depression. These topics are presented through the experiences and understanding of an eight-year-old child, as Misfortune tells the narrator, and the player, about the experiences herself. The mix of these heavy themes with Misfortune’s childish innocence is eerie and very thought-provoking.

The game further deepens this contrast between the dark story and childish innocence by having an art style that is very cutesy and picture-book-like, while also portraying things such as ghosts, monsters and death, which are often considered scary or unsuitable for children’s stories. All of these aspects together create an atmosphere that is very unsettling but also captivating. The game is fully voice acted, which amplifies the unsettling and eerie atmosphere. Actually hearing Misfortune talk about her experiences is a lot more affective than just reading the dialogue from the screen. The soundtrack of the game is also good, and it plays a big part in creating said atmosphere and improving the player experience.

Despite there being a lot of choices for the player to make throughout the game, these choices do not really have an effect on the overall story. The choices have small effects, they might unlock things like minigames or trigger different dialogue. However, the outcome of the story will still be more or less the same no matter what choices you make. I think the choices could have a slightly bigger narrative effect, as this would also give the game more replay value.

Overall, Little Misfortune takes you on a journey that is cute at times but absolutely heartbreaking and unsettling at others. It addresses extremely dark and heavy themes and occasionally throws a sprinkle of glitter and some childish humour into the mix. The game is suitable for all players who like horror and interactive stories with simple gameplay. Though it is good to keep in mind that the story is sad and deals with heavy themes, and that might not be for everyone.

Basic information:

Developer: Killmonday Games
Publisher: Killmonday Games
Release date: 18 Sep, 2019
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Linux, MacOS, Android, iOS
Genres: adventure, horror
Pegi: 16
Photos:Featured image: official promo photo: [https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/little-misfortune-switch/], other photos are screenshots from Little Misfortune

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