Horror visual novels Psychological horror Horror

The House in Fata Morgana

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A cursed mansion, a Maid with jade eyes, and a thousand years of tragedy behind its doors.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Switch, iPhone, Android
Stores: Steam, GOG
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (95% of 6,769 reviews); Metacritic 96 for the Dreams of the Revenants Edition
Players: 1
Controls: Mouse or keyboard to advance text and choose; controller on consoles
Made by: NOVECT (Novectacle)
Released: 2016

Get it on Steam GOG PlayStation Store (Dreams of the Revenants Edition, PS4 and PS Vita)Nintendo eShop (Dreams of the Revenants Edition, Switch)App Store (Crunchyroll Game Vault, needs a higher-tier Crunchyroll membership)Google Play (Crunchyroll Game Vault, needs a higher-tier Crunchyroll membership)MangaGamer's page

What frightens You wake as a spirit with no memory in a decaying mansion, and a jade-eyed Maid takes you through its doors to watch the tragedies of its residents across nearly a thousand years: a beast that yields to savagery and a massacre, a wife neglected and mistreated, a girl branded a witch and marked for death.
Content: violence, blood and gore, sexual themes, abuse, strong language.

The House in Fata Morgana is a gothic visual novel by NOVECT in which you wake as an amnesiac spirit in a decrepit mansion. A Maid leads you through its doors into different centuries to witness the tragedies of the people who lived there, in a story of cruelty, love and insanity that is more slow dread and grief than jump scares.

About The House in Fata Morgana

The House in Fata Morgana was made by the Japanese studio NOVECT (Novectacle), first released in Japan in 2012 and brought to Steam in English by MangaGamer in 2016. On PlayStation 4 and Switch it is sold as the Dreams of the Revenants Edition, which adds the prequel A Requiem for Innocence, the sequel Reincarnation and further short stories, and it is on phones through Crunchyroll's Game Vault.

You awaken in a decrepit old mansion. A woman with eyes of jade tells you that you are the Master of the house and she is your Maid, though you have no memories and no certainty that you are even alive. She invites you to walk the mansion's lifeless halls and see the tragedies that befell its residents, hoping you will find some trace of yourself among them.

Behind each door is another era: 1603, where siblings play in a rose garden and not everyone wants them happy; 1707, where a beast living in the ruins gives in to his savagery; 1869, where an ambitious master mistreats his wife; and 1099, where a girl with white hair has been branded a witch. You read, and at times you choose, as the stories turn darker.

This is gothic tragedy first. The fear is in what people do to one another, in violence and madness shown in painted art, and in a curse that seems to bind the house together. It suits readers who want a long, serious story and can take heavy themes; anyone looking for constant scares should know that much of its power is sorrow.

How to play The House in Fata Morgana

Start a new game and read as the Maid introduces you to the mansion.
Advance the text with a click or key press; use the backlog to reread lines you missed.
Make the choices you are offered; they shape which ending you reach.
Follow each door's tale in turn and keep reading past the fourth to reach the rest of the story.

Screenshots

The House in Fata Morgana screenshot: the Maid in a long black dress gestures toward a fireplace beside an empty rocking chair

The House in Fata Morgana screenshot: a grinning shadow with glowing eyes and fangs looms over a screaming, bloodied face

The House in Fata Morgana screenshot: a white-haired girl with lowered eyes, above a text box saying the house feels as if she has been there before

Tips

Save before each choice so you can go back and see where another path leads.
Play with sound on; the music carries much of the mood.
Read the content warnings first: it deals with abuse, violence and cruelty in detail.
Do not look up the story; its later revelations are the point of it.

Questions

Is The House in Fata Morgana a horror game?

It is a gothic visual novel with horror in it: violence, a beast, a witch hunt and madness in a cursed mansion. Its makers call it a gothic suspense tale, and it leans more on tragedy and dread than on scares.

What is the Dreams of the Revenants Edition?

The console edition on PS4 and Switch. It includes the main game, the prequel A Requiem for Innocence, the sequel Reincarnation and extra short stories.

Can I play it on my phone?

Yes, on iPhone and Android through Crunchyroll's Game Vault, which needs a higher-tier paid Crunchyroll membership.

Does it have multiple endings?

Yes. Its store listing says it has multiple endings, shaped by your choices.