Grotesqueresque

About Grotesqueresque

Grotesqueresque is a horror anthology by A. V. Dossow, made with RPG Maker MZ for the RPG Maker Horror Game Jam #10, Theatre of the Grotesque, in 2025. The maker did all the art, sprites, scenes and music. It plays in the browser on itch.io, with downloads for Windows and Mac, and you can pay what you want.

It opens like a show: welcome, and here are ten grotesque stories. A man plagued by insomnia, a girl who enjoys forest strolls, a cursed TV show, a legendary cryptid hiding in Antarctica, a shady clinic full of horrors and more. The maker has said the TV series Tales from the Crypt was one of the main inspirations.

Each story plays differently. Some are mostly reading and choosing, others have you walk a small pixel-art map, and each has different outcomes depending on what you do; the download comes with an endings guide, and players mention a second ending for every tale. The art uses one limited palette throughout, the whole of it shown in the game's logo, with animated scenes and its own retro soundtrack.

Players on itch.io rate it 4.5 out of 5. They call it creepy and grotesque, with a few good scares and a jump scare in the last story, and some find parts of it funny too. The maker notes that the save system makes reaching other outcomes slow. It suits players who like short horror tales in one sitting and the look of old computer games.

How to play Grotesqueresque

1. Open the game's itch.io page and press Run game to play in the browser, or download it for Windows or Mac.
2. Choose a story from the show's programme.
3. Read, make choices and, in some stories, walk your character around the map.
4. Watch how the story ends, then replay it with other choices for its other outcome.
5. Use the endings guide that comes with the download if you are stuck.

Tips

• Save often: the maker admits the save system makes other outcomes slow to reach.
• Each story has its own rules, so read what the game tells you at the start of each one.
• Keep the sound on for the last story, but be ready for a jump scare.

Questions