Little Misfortune

Rate it

A sweet little girl, a friendly voice and a very bad day in the woods.

Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, iPhone, Android
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (92% of 14,224 reviews); Metacritic 57 on PC
Length: about 2 to 3 hours
Players: 1
Made by: Killmonday Games
Released: 2019

What frightens A cheerful eight-year-old follows Mr. Voice, a friendly narrator only she can hear, into the woods in search of Eternal Happiness for her mother; under the storybook art lie missing-children posters, a monster in the forest, a troubled home and a voice whose intentions are not what they seem.
Content: blood, death, domestic abuse themes, alcoholism, child endangerment.

Little Misfortune is a hand-drawn interactive story from Killmonday Games, the makers of Fran Bow. You guide Misfortune, an imaginative eight-year-old, as a voice only she can hear leads her through her town and into the woods in search of Eternal Happiness, a journey that turns darker with every choice.

About Little Misfortune

Little Misfortune was made by Killmonday Games, the Swedish duo of Natalia and Isak Martinsson, and released on PC in 2019, on iOS and Android in early 2020 and on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in May 2020. It shares a universe with their earlier horror game Fran Bow.

Misfortune Ramirez Hernandez is eight, talkative and full of glitter. One day a voice, Mr. Voice, speaks to her and promises a game: if she follows him, she will win the prize of Eternal Happiness for her Mommy. You walk her through a sunlit autumn town, her own house and the woods beyond, pet the animals, talk to the people and make small choices, kind or naughty, that change what happens next.

The horror is in the gap between what Misfortune says and what you see. Posters for missing children hang on the trees, her home is not a happy one, and there is a monster in the woods. The bright, picture-book art and her funny lines make the dark turns land harder, and the voice guiding her is not a narrator you should trust.

It is gentle in its controls and has no fail states, closer to a dark fairy tale than a game of scares. It suits players who liked Fran Bow, and those who want a story-led game with an unsettling undertow rather than jumpscares.

How to play Little Misfortune

Walk Misfortune through each scene and click on people, animals and objects to interact.
Listen to Mr. Voice and decide whether to do what he asks.
Choose between kind and naughty options; your choices change scenes and the ending.
Collect glitter and finish each part of the journey toward Eternal Happiness.

Screenshots

Little Misfortune screenshot: a pink bungalow in a dusty autumn yard with crows, a tricycle, small grave markers and a child's drawing of a monster pinned to a tree

Little Misfortune screenshot: Misfortune stands by a broken vase on a striped rug in a sunlit living room hung with family photos

Little Misfortune screenshot: Misfortune in a forest meadow beside a fox with a satchel, standing at a red symbol painted on the ground

Tips

Explore every corner of each scene; many funny and dark moments are optional.
Play again with different choices to see how much changes.
Play Fran Bow too if you want to understand the world better.

Questions

Is Little Misfortune a horror game?

It is a dark fairy tale with horror running under it: grim themes, a monster and an untrustworthy voice, told through cute art. It is unsettling rather than full of scares.

Is Little Misfortune connected to Fran Bow?

Yes. Both are by Killmonday Games and share the same universe.

Is Little Misfortune suitable for children?

Despite the art, no. It deals with abuse, death and missing children.