Little Misfortune

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A sweet little girl, a friendly voice and a very bad day in the woods.

Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, iPhone, Android
Stores: Steam, GOG
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (92% of 14,397 reviews); Metacritic 57 on PC; 4.66 of 5 on PlayStation Store (1.4K ratings)
Length: about 3 hours
Players: 1
Made by: Killmonday Games
Released: 2019

No. 14 of the cemetery horror games · No. 29 of the small town horror games

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What frightens A cheerful eight-year-old follows Mr. Voice, a friendly narrator only she can hear, into the woods in search of Eternal Happiness for her mother; under the storybook art lie missing-children posters, a monster in the forest, a troubled home and a voice whose intentions are not what they seem.
Content: blood, death, domestic abuse themes, alcoholism, child endangerment, drug use, strong language, partial nudity.

Little Misfortune is a hand-drawn interactive story from Killmonday Games, the makers of Fran Bow. You guide Misfortune, an imaginative eight-year-old, as a voice only she can hear leads her through her town and into the woods in search of Eternal Happiness, a journey that turns darker with every choice.

About Little Misfortune

Little Misfortune was made by Killmonday Games, the Swedish studio of Natalia and Isak Martinsson, and released on PC, Mac and Linux in September 2019, on phones in February 2020 and on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in May 2020. Natalia wrote and drew it and voices Misfortune; Isak made the music; Henrik Norman voices Mr. Voice. It shares a universe with their earlier horror game Fran Bow.

Misfortune Ramirez Hernandez is eight, talkative and full of glitter, and lives on the edge of Openfields, a small Swedish town, in 1993. One day a voice, Mr. Voice, speaks to her and promises a game: if she follows him, she will win the prize of Eternal Happiness for her Mommy. You walk her left and right through her house, her yard, the town and the woods beyond, pet the animals, talk to the people and make small choices, kind or naughty, that change what happens next. At set moments you take her hand with the mouse to do things yourself, such as gluing a broken vase back together or playing a game of whack-a-mole.

The horror is in the gap between what Misfortune says and what you see. Posters for missing children hang on the trees, her home is not a happy one, a silent fox called Benjamin keeps turning up, and there is a monster in the woods. The bright, picture-book art and her funny lines make the dark turns land harder, and the voice guiding her is not a narrator you should trust. The jokes reach into death, drink, drugs and suicide, which is why it is rated Mature in the US and PEGI 16 in Europe.

It is gentle in its controls and has no fail states, closer to a dark fairy tale than a game of scares. The main story takes about three hours. It suits players who liked Fran Bow, and those who want a story-led game with an unsettling undertow rather than jumpscares.

How to play Little Misfortune

Walk Misfortune through each scene and click on people, animals and objects to interact.
Listen to Mr. Voice and decide whether to do what he asks.
Choose between kind and naughty options; your choices change scenes along the way.
Collect glitter and finish each part of the journey toward Eternal Happiness.

Screenshots

Little Misfortune screenshot: a pink bungalow in a dusty autumn yard with crows, a tricycle, small grave markers and a child's drawing of a monster pinned to a tree

Little Misfortune screenshot: Misfortune stands by a broken vase on a striped rug in a sunlit living room hung with family photos

Little Misfortune screenshot: Misfortune in a forest meadow beside a fox with a satchel, standing at a red symbol painted on the ground

Little Misfortune screenshot: Misfortune on a wooden jetty at sunset over water with floating cans and a dead fish, a red and white lighthouse on the horizon

Little Misfortune screenshot: Misfortune on a sidewalk by a chain-link fence and railway tracks, next to a Missing poster of a girl and a crow

Little Misfortune screenshot: a fair at dusk with a Fortuna fortune-teller booth, a glowing-eyed woman with a crystal ball, a hanging skeleton and cat balloons

Little Misfortune screenshot: the Grim Reaper rows Misfortune across dark water in a swan boat decorated with skulls, lit by a lantern

Tips

Explore every corner of each scene; many funny and dark moments are optional.
Play again with different choices to see how much changes.
Play Fran Bow too if you want to understand the world better.
Pay attention to what the story keeps asking of you; it decides which of the two endings you reach.

Questions

Is Little Misfortune a horror game?

It is a dark fairy tale with horror running under it: grim themes, a monster and an untrustworthy voice, told through cute art. It is unsettling rather than full of scares.

Is Little Misfortune connected to Fran Bow?

Yes. Both are by Killmonday Games and share the same universe.

Is Little Misfortune suitable for children?

Despite the art, no. It is rated M (Mature) by the ESRB and PEGI 16, for blood, partial nudity, strong language, drug use and suggestive themes, and it deals with abuse, death and missing children.

How long is Little Misfortune?

About three hours for the main story, according to HowLongToBeat players, and close to five hours to see everything. A second play to try other choices or reach the other ending is shorter.

Is there a demo?

Yes. A free demo is on Steam and on the studio's itch.io page.