Psychological horror Horror puzzle Horror

My Friend is a Raven

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The last man alive comes home to talk to a dying raven.

Platforms: PC
Stores: Steam
Price: Free
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (91% of 1,331 reviews); recommended by itch.io and Alpha Beta Gamer
Players: 1
Controls: Mouse to look and click on objects; W and arrow prompts to move between spots.
Made by: Two Star Games
Released: 2020

What frightens You play Lutum, the last man alive after a plague has buried everyone, returning through a ruined, empty world to his old apartment to talk with a sickened raven and learn why the calamity happened; dirty, overgrown rooms drawn in scratchy ink and a gloomy, deathly mood carry the dread.
Content: themes of death and plague.

My Friend is a Raven is a free, hand-drawn point-and-click story by Two Star Games. As Lutum, the last man left after a plague, you come back to your old apartment to speak with a sickened raven, solving puzzles to uncover what happened and reach one of four endings.

About My Friend is a Raven

A plague has swept the Earth clean. Everyone who was alive now lies in their grave, and Lutum, a tall figure in a top hat and goggled mask, is the last man left. He goes back to his old apartment one last time, looking for a sick raven, because the raven may know why the world ended.

The game is drawn in scratchy ink lines washed in sepia, like a sketchbook left in the dark. Rooms are overgrown and filthy, feathers lie on the floor, lamps give a little light, and outside the windows a foggy, dead town fades into nothing. You move from spot to spot and click on what you find, and Lutum comments on it in a dry, tired voice.

You talk with the raven and solve puzzles around the apartment. Different puzzles lead to four different endings, and seeing all of them is how you learn the whole story of Lutum and the bird.

It began as a 2019 game jam entry and was released free on Steam in January 2020 by Two Star Games, who went on to make My Beautiful Paper Smile and Choo-Choo Charles. It is quiet and gloomy rather than jumpy, and suits players who like short, strange, story-led horror in the style of Bad Dream: Fever or Neverending Nightmares.

How to play My Friend is a Raven

Download it free from Steam or Game Jolt and start a new game.
Look around each room with the mouse and click on objects to examine them.
Use the arrow prompts to move between places in the apartment.
Talk to the raven and solve the puzzles you find to open new paths.
Play again and solve different puzzles to reach the other endings.

Screenshots

My Friend is a Raven: Lutum stands in a dark, ink-drawn hallway scattered with black feathers, a lit storeroom behind him

My Friend is a Raven: Lutum in a filthy bathroom, with his line 'It's overflowed and so filthy, that I doubt anyone would use it'

My Friend is a Raven: a dim sepia living room with a worn sofa, a small lamp and Lutum in the shadows

Tips

Read every comment Lutum makes; they often point at what to do next.
Check drawers, cupboards and corners twice, small items are easy to miss in the dark art.
After one ending, think about which puzzles you skipped; they lead elsewhere.
Turn the sound up: the music and the raven's voice set most of the mood.