Horror visual novels Psychological horror Short horror Horror Anime horror

The Perfect Woman

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Your creator wakes you every morning. He wants you perfect.

Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux, Android
Stores: itch.io
Price: Free
Rated: 4.6 out of 5 on itch.io (218 ratings)
Length: 30 minutes to an hour
Players: 1
Controls: Mouse or keyboard: click to advance the text and to choose; buttons for save, load and settings.
Made by: Chattercap
Released: 2024

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

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What frightens You are Yumeko, an AI woman woken again and again by the Doctor, her creator, who means to shape her into his perfect wife; his voice wears her down, the screen and her own appearance change each time she is rebooted, and the horror is of being erased by an abuser.
Content: emotional abuse, misogyny, abusive relationship.

The Perfect Woman is a short, fully voiced psychological horror visual novel by Chattercap, a modern retelling of the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea. You play Yumeko, an AI woman woken by the Doctor who made her, and over 30 minutes to an hour your choices decide which of three endings she reaches.

About The Perfect Woman

The Perfect Woman is a free visual novel by Chattercap, a solo developer who drew the characters and backgrounds and handled the animation, interface, sound and script. It was released in September 2024 for the Mythology VN Jam and the short circuit VN jam, made in Godot, and runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and Android. Every line is voiced, the narration included, by a cast led by Michael Mishkin as the Doctor.

The store page sells it as a cute romance about an AI and her loving creator, but the maker warns that it contains horror and sensitive content, and that it deals heavily with misogyny and abusive relationships. It retells the myth of Pygmalion, the sculptor who carved his ideal woman. Yumeko opens her eyes to a pale, tired man in round glasses wishing her good morning, and the morning keeps happening: the Doctor talks, corrects and reboots her, and the conversation becomes a slow carving away of who she is.

You read and listen, and you choose how Yumeko answers. A row of hearts sits at the top of the screen, and players note how her appearance and the interface shift as the reboots go on. There are three endings, each a different fate for her, and Chattercap has posted a walkthrough for finding them all. The maker has said she wanted to show the weight of abuse without blood or gore, and the horror stays in the Doctor's words and what they do.

It suits players who liked short, story-led horror about control and relationships, such as Doki Doki Literature Club or Dress Me Down, and who want something they can finish in one sitting.

How to play The Perfect Woman

Download it free from its itch.io page for Windows, macOS, Linux or Android, unzip it and run it.
Click or press a key to advance the voiced text.
Choose how Yumeko answers when choices appear; they decide the ending.
Save before choices, then replay to reach the other two of the three endings.

Screenshots

The Perfect Woman screenshot: Yumeko's portrait on the left with a pixel heart, the Doctor saying good morning, Yumeko, and a row of grey hearts above the text

The Perfect Woman cover: Yumeko, dark-haired in a blue top, in front of repeated pink close-ups of her face and the glitching title

Tips

Play with sound on: every line, the narration included, is voiced.
Already-seen dialogue can be skipped quickly, which makes replays for the other endings short.
If an ending eludes you, the maker's walkthrough on the itch.io devlog lists how to reach each one.
On macOS the maker recommends installing through the itch.io app.

Questions

Is The Perfect Woman free?

Yes, it is a free download on itch.io.

How long is The Perfect Woman?

Chattercap gives 30 minutes to an hour of playtime.

How many endings does The Perfect Woman have?

Three, depending on the choices you make.

Is The Perfect Woman a romance?

Its page presents it as one, but it is a psychological horror story about an abusive creator and the AI he is reshaping. The maker warns that it deals heavily with misogyny and abusive relationships.

Is there gore in The Perfect Woman?

Very little. The maker set out to convey abuse without blood or gore; the horror is in the dialogue and in how Yumeko and the screen change.