Psychological horror Stealth horror Horror puzzle

My Beautiful Paper Smile

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Keep smiling, stay in the light, and get out of the king's facility.

Platforms: PC
Stores: Steam
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (84% of 428 reviews)
Players: 1
Made by: Two Star Games
Released: 2021

What frightens In a dystopia where a mad king wants every child to wear a constant smile, you are one of the Joyous, held in an 'education' facility: you hide from the Authorities who watch and test you, strange creatures lurk in dark corners, and if you stay out of the light too long a faceless monster comes after you.
Content: violence, themes of murder and torture.

My Beautiful Paper Smile is a hand-drawn, black-and-white horror adventure by Two Star Games. You play a child taken by the Authorities to a facility where a mad king forces every child to smile, and you sneak, hide and solve puzzles to escape while a faceless monster waits in the dark.

About My Beautiful Paper Smile

My Beautiful Paper Smile is set in a dystopian kingdom where a mad king has decided what a perfect child looks like: a giant, happy smile, worn all the time and never fading. You are one of the Joyous, a boy taken by the Authorities who has only ever known their facility and the paper mask he wears over his face.

The whole game is drawn in rough black-and-white pencil lines, from barbed-wire yards lit by searchlights to iron catwalks and overgrown gardens. Hooded guards carry lanterns, other children shuffle past in their masks, and an eye drawn above your head shows when you are being watched.

You play by sneaking. You use the environment to hide, avoid the Authorities' patrols, and solve puzzles to open the way out. The light matters: stay in the dark too long and a faceless monster comes for you, so each dark stretch is a gamble.

The game is by Two Star Games, the studio later behind Choo-Choo Charles. It came out in Early Access in 2020 and was released whole on Steam in October 2021, with a free demo still on Game Jolt. The store notes mild fantasy violence and mature themes of murder and torture. It suits players who liked Little Nightmares or INSIDE and want something stranger and more hand-made.

How to play My Beautiful Paper Smile

Buy the game on Steam, or try the free demo on Game Jolt first.
Explore the facility and watch for the Authorities and their lanterns before you move.
Hide behind and inside the scenery when a patrol comes near, and wait for it to pass.
Solve the puzzles in each area to open the next one, and keep to lit places so the faceless monster does not find you.

Screenshots

My Beautiful Paper Smile: the masked boy walks a stone path toward a fountain and a twisted tree in a dark, hand-drawn garden

My Beautiful Paper Smile: the masked boy stands at a machine of levers while a bright light flares behind a tall horned figure

My Beautiful Paper Smile: dark pencil-drawn iron catwalks and brick walls inside the facility, one lit door in the distance

Tips

Watch the eye above your head: it tells you when you have been seen.
Learn a patrol's route before you cross its path.
Do not linger in dark areas; plan your route from light to light.
Read the notes and signs; they explain the Authorities' rules and hint at puzzle answers.