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Make-A-Friend cover in Game Boy greens: the title in drippy letters over a wide-eyed cat lying inside a chalk triangle between candles

RPG Maker horror2D horrorShort horrorHorror

Make-A-Friend

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A lonely boy, a seven-step ritual, and a cat that may be an ingredient.

Platforms
Browser, PC, Mac, Linux
Stores
itch.io
Price
Pay what you want
Rated
4.7 out of 5 on itch.io (60 ratings)
Length
50 to 60 minutes to complete, sessions of 10 to 20 minutes (maker's figures)
Players
1
Controls
Arrow keys or WASD to move, Z, E, Space or Enter to interact, X, Q or Esc for the menu, Shift to run; or left-click to move and interact and right-click for the menu. Many keys can be reassigned.
Made by
Clark Padmore
Released
2022
Play on itch.io

What frightens A lonely boy follows a seven-step ritual from a smiling man in a cream suit to make a friend, using candles, clay and a small mammal found in his own room; the maker warns of disturbing and violent content, violence against animals, and child neglect and abuse.

Content: violence against animals, child neglect and abuse, violence, high-contrast graphics.

Make-A-Friend is a short occult horror game by Clark Padmore, made with RPG Maker MV in the look of a Game Boy game. Nathan, a lonesome middle-schooler, has been given a ritual guaranteed to make friends, and you gather its ingredients in his bedroom and perform it at his desk, deciding how far he goes.

About Make-A-Friend

Make-A-Friend is a horror game by Clark Padmore, made with RPG Maker MV and drawn in four shades of Game Boy green, though it is not a Game Boy ROM. It was first released on itch.io in 2022, updated with new endings that summer, and given a browser version in March 2024. It plays in the browser or as a download for Windows, macOS and Linux, for a price you name, including nothing.

"You really should make a friend, you know." Nathan is a lonesome middle-schooler. A man in a cream suit has given him a seven-step ritual guaranteed to make friends: it only takes some clay, some candles and a small mammal. The catch is that he has to find those things in his own room, and there is a cat in the room.

You walk Nathan around his bedroom collecting what the ritual asks for, sometimes making a substitution, then carry out each step in a close-up desk view: drawing a reversed triangle in salt or clay, lighting candles, placing what goes in the middle. There are seven steps but, as the maker puts it, only one choice, and what you choose decides the fate of the house. Ending progress is saved, so you can return for the others.

The horror is quiet and close: a child alone, a stranger's instructions, and the question of what you are willing to put on the desk. The maker warns of disturbing and violent content, including violence against animals and themes of child neglect and abuse. It suits players who like short pixel-art horror with a choice at its heart, in the vein of Don't Let Her In or Weekend Ritual.

How to play Make-A-Friend

  1. Open the itch.io page and press Run game, or download the build for your system.
  2. Read the ritual instructions and walk Nathan around his room to find each ingredient.
  3. Where something is missing, look for an item that could stand in for it.
  4. Perform the seven steps at the desk, one at a time.
  5. Make the one choice the ritual asks of you, then replay for the other endings; your ending progress is saved.

Screenshots

Make-A-Friend screenshot: Nathan's pixel bedroom with a ritual note held up and the text: Use salt or clay to draw a reverse triangle
Make-A-Friend screenshot: top-down view of Nathan standing in his bedroom among a desk, wardrobe, bed and pet bowls
Make-A-Friend screenshot: a portrait of a smiling man in a suit above the line: It's hard to make friends nowadays
Make-A-Friend screenshot: the desk view, with a cat sitting inside a reversed triangle drawn between two candles

Tips

  • Search every corner of the bedroom before starting the ritual; substitutions are part of the game.
  • The game shows hints toward endings you have not reached, which helps if you want them all.
  • If the browser version will not start, the downloads for Windows, macOS and Linux are on the same page; F5 restarts the game.

Questions

Is Make-A-Friend free?

Yes. It is pay what you want on itch.io, so you can play it in the browser or download it for nothing; the soundtrack comes with a payment of 1 dollar or more.

How long is Make-A-Friend?

The maker gives 50 to 60 minutes to complete it, in sessions of 10 to 20 minutes.

Is Make-A-Friend a Game Boy game?

No. It looks like one but was made with RPG Maker MV, as its maker has explained, so it does not run on a Game Boy emulator.

Is Make-A-Friend scary?

Its maker says yes. It is unsettling rather than full of jump scares, and it contains violence against animals and themes of child neglect and abuse.

  • game boy style
  • pixel art
  • ritual
  • occult
  • child protagonist
  • one room
  • browser
  • rpg maker mv

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Make-A-Friend is played on clark-padmore.itch.io and its makers' stores; this page links to them and is not part of it. Pictures are from the game's own pages and remain its owner's. Terms and pictures.

Sources: clark-padmore.itch.io