Horror visual novels Horror Short horror Anime horror

Don't Toy With Me

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A doll, a sad clown puppet, and an owner who plays favourites.

Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux, Android
Stores: itch.io
Price: Pay what you want
Rated: 4.8 of 5 from 347 ratings on itch.io
Length: short; a 15,500-word story with four endings
Players: 1
Controls: Mouse or touch: click to advance the text and to pick choices
Made by: Karmic Punishment
Released: 2022

No. 19 of the doll horror games · No. 18 of the clown horror games · No. 14 of the toy horror games · No. 12 of the puppet horror games · No. 9 of the rabbit horror games

Get it on itch.io

What frightens Dahlia, a doll who has lived alone in the dollhouse with a stuffed rabbit, is given a sad clown puppet named Huxley as a new companion, and the owner's favouritism turns the toys against each other. The maker calls it a horror visual novel and warns of emotional abuse and manipulation, body horror imagery of the toys, and murder and violence.
Content: emotional abuse and manipulation, body horror imagery, murder, violence.

Don't Toy With Me is a short horror visual novel by Karmic Punishment. Dahlia the doll has lived alone in the Dollhouse for a long time, and when the toys' owner gives her a sad clown puppet named Huxley as a companion, sharing the house turns out to be anything but simple. It has four endings, two on each of its two branching routes.

About Don't Toy With Me

Karmic Punishment put this horror visual novel out on itch.io in April 2022, with builds for Windows, Mac, Linux and Android. You name the price, and zero is fine.

Dahlia, a doll in a lace bonnet, has spent years in the Dollhouse with nobody but Wisker, a mute stuffed rabbit. Then the owner of the toys brings home Huxley, a gloomy clown puppet, to keep her company. Dahlia is thrilled at first. Introducing a new friend to the household turns out to be harder than the owner expected, and once you start playing favourites, you have to wonder who's really in control of the Dollhouse.

Play is plain visual novel stuff: dialogue in a text box over hand-drawn characters, moving between the attic, a bedroom and the hallways. Some choices matter and some just change the flavour of a scene. The ones that count split the story into two routes and four endings in all, and there are ten CGs to collect along the way, with variations.

The art is cute and the setting is a child's toy house. That's exactly why the turn hurts. The maker warns of emotional abuse and manipulation, body horror imagery of the toys, and murder. Expect jealousy and favouritism spiralling out of hand, not jump scares. If you like a short horror VN with a sweet surface and a cruel heart, you can see one route in an evening.

Karmic Punishment meant this as a NaNoRenO jam entry. Two months later the jam was long over, but the dev finished anyway. One player on the itch.io page put the body horror well: what hurts is a toy losing control of their body as punishment for petty misbehaviour. That idea lingers longer than any gore would.

How to play Don't Toy With Me

Download Don't Toy With Me from its itch.io page for Windows, Mac or Linux, or as an Android APK. It is name-your-own-price, and each build is around 150 to 170 MB.
Read the content warning on the itch.io page, then unzip the download and start the game (or install the APK).
Click or tap to advance the text as Huxley arrives at the Dollhouse.
Make your choices as they appear; they decide which of the two routes you follow.
Play again and choose differently to reach the other endings and collect the CGs you missed.

Screenshots

Don't Toy With Me screenshot: Huxley the clown puppet and Dahlia the doll in a dusty attic lit by a round window, as Huxley talks about bowties

Don't Toy With Me screenshot: Huxley and Dahlia frowning in the dollhouse hallway by a red-carpeted staircase, as Huxley says she was acting weird

Don't Toy With Me screenshot: the clown puppet Huxley curled up in an open box, seen from above, as Dahlia asks if he is dead

Don't Toy With Me animated scene: Huxley and Dahlia in a bedroom with a canopy bed and paper stars, as Huxley talks about bedtime stories

Tips

Read the maker's content warnings first: the cute art hides some hard themes.
Save before a choice that looks important so you can go back for the other endings.
Some choices only change the flavour of a scene; the ones about who you favour matter more.

Questions

Is Don't Toy With Me free?

Yes. It is name-your-own-price on itch.io, so you can download it for nothing or pay what you like.

How long is Don't Toy With Me?

It is a 15,500-word story, short enough for one evening. Seeing all four endings takes several playthroughs.

How many endings does Don't Toy With Me have?

Four: two branching routes with two endings each.

Can I play Don't Toy With Me on my phone?

On Android, yes: itch.io offers an APK. There is no iPhone version.

Does Don't Toy With Me have jump scares?

No. It is read as text over still art, and its horror comes from what the toys do to each other, including murder and body horror imagery, rather than from sudden frights.