The Freak Circus

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The Circus of Horrors is in town, and its silent clown has chosen you.

Platforms: Browser, PC, Mac, Linux, Android
Stores: itch.io
Price: Pay what you want
Rated: 4.9 of 5 from 11,185 ratings on itch.io
Length: about half an hour for the current build
Players: 1
Controls: Mouse: click to advance the text and pick choices
Made by: Garula (Neko Bueno)

Not on PlayStation. The Freak Circus is on itch.io, PC, Mac, Linux, Android and Browser. It is not in the PlayStation part of the site you came from.

Play on itch.io

What frightens A Circus of Horrors comes to town and its silent clown Pierrot fixes on you, the maker's yandere, with his seductive rival Harlequin joining in; the maker warns of blood, death, murder and gore, allusions to cannibalism, kidnapping, abuse and drugging, and says the circus hides a terror you have to face.
Content: blood and gore, murder, allusions to cannibalism, kidnapping, abuse, non-consensual drugging, harassment, strong language.

The Freak Circus is a free yandere horror visual novel by Garula, played in the browser or downloaded for Windows, Mac, Linux and Android. You work at a café, and after one chance meeting on the way to work, Pierrot, the silent clown of a travelling Circus of Horrors, will not let you go, while his rival Harlequin joins the game. It is still being made: the current build introduces the cast and has one bad ending.

About The Freak Circus

The Freak Circus is a visual novel by the artist and writer Neko Bueno, published on itch.io as Garula. It is built in Ren'Py with original art and backgrounds, has voice acting, and can be played in English, Brazilian Portuguese and Chinese. The maker marks it as a prototype: all the characters are introduced, and the story goes on for one more in-game day in a part still being written.

You play a café worker in a town where the Circus of Horrors has just arrived. On your way to work you cross paths with Pierrot, a silent clown with a fixed grin, and from that moment he is obsessed with you. His stage rival Harlequin decides to join in, and what follows is a competition between the two with you as the prize. The circus has secrets of its own, and the people who work there, from the ticket taker to the doctor, are not what their smiles suggest.

The horror is that of the yandere story: someone who wants you far too much and will not take no for an answer, set inside a circus that is dangerous in its own right. The maker rates it for adults and warns of blood, death, murder and gore, allusions to cannibalism, kidnapping, abuse, drugging and unwanted physical contact. The art leans on dark stages, spotlights and close-ups of painted clown faces that grin too wide.

It is also a romance, and the endings the maker plans are routes with Pierrot, with Harlequin, with both, or on your own. Players who like their horror in the form of a dangerous love interest, as in other yandere visual novels, are the audience; those who want a finished story should know it stops after its opening chapter for now.

How to play The Freak Circus

Open the game's itch.io page and press Run game to play in the browser, or download it free for Windows, Mac, Linux or as an Android APK.
Choose a language and start a new game.
Click to advance the text as your day at the café begins.
Pick your answers when choices appear; they shape how Pierrot and Harlequin treat you.
Save often, since a wrong turn leads to the bad ending.

Screenshots

The Freak Circus screenshot: Pierrot leans close with glowing heart eyes and says you are even more beautiful in your sleep

The Freak Circus screenshot: Harlequin in a green jester hat raises a finger to his lips in a café and says that's a secret

The Freak Circus screenshot: a close-up of Pierrot's grinning face tilted over the text box

The Freak Circus screenshot: the ticket taker in a top hat and half mask stands in a dark doorway

The Freak Circus screenshot: a gloved red hand reaches toward a pale hand on a table in the dark as the Doctor speaks

Tips

Read the maker's content warning on the itch.io page before you start; it is an 18+ game.
Play with sound on: there is voice acting and music.
Follow the maker's devlog on itch.io for new chapters, since the story continues past the current build.

Questions

Is The Freak Circus free?

Yes. It is name-your-own-price on itch.io, and you can play it in the browser or download it for nothing.

Is The Freak Circus finished?

No. The maker lists it as a prototype: the characters are all introduced and there is one bad ending, with more of the story in development.

Is The Freak Circus scary?

It is a yandere horror story more than a jump-scare game: a clown's obsession with you, a circus full of threats, and, by the maker's warning, blood, murder and gore.

Can I play The Freak Circus on my phone?

On Android, yes: itch.io offers an APK. There is no iPhone app, though the browser version is there to try.