Even if life is already full of hardships and problems (some more, some less), the urge to go crazy is still present. A great deal of literature and film has been written on the subject of mental illness. The gaming industry, of course, also tries to follow the trends. The Killmonday studio has created its own interpretation of what a crazy world can be like in the eyes of a little girl Fran Bow.
The game is made in psychedelic style with horror elements and makes the players feel Fran, experience her emotional state and see the horrors of what goes on in the head of the little girl. Similar horror games can also be found at https://apparify.com/.
The plot of the game
Cute little girl named Fran appears to us, at first glance, the sweetest and most frightened creature. She’s confused as to where she’s real and where she’s imaginary. The girl had a caring family, but one day her parents are resting in their bedroom, chopped up into little pieces.
Little Fran’s only wish is for her beloved aunt to come and take her in. But the girl ends up in a psychiatric clinic, where the doctors note her inability to now return to normal life. The heroine is truly subject to a warping of reality. One moment Fran is able to see things clearly. At another moment, there are horrors unfolding before her eyes that would hurt even an adult’s psyche.
The idea behind Fran Bow
The game was created for those who like to tickle their nerves with something frankly nasty and at times horrific enough to even reach the point of absurdity. The idea itself is somewhat similar to Alice in Wonderland at the expense of the violent mind games the heroine experiences.
Fran is also confronted with taking pills from the vial she always has with her. But uninvited guests in the form of a black giant with a goat skull and other monsters are keeping the little girl awake, forcing her to experience fear again and again.
The young beauty needs to preserve her sanity, which will allow her to escape from the creepy monsters. In addition, she needs to find her beloved cat, called Mr. Midnight. He comes to Fran in her dreams. Escaping from the asylum itself is actually a simple enough task, but not going crazy in the process is much more difficult.
Features
Essentially, Fran Bow is a classic adventure game, where the developers tried to create an original atmosphere using the main features of a typical horror game. The trick lies not in the complexity of the tasks and quests one encounters, but rather in the atmosphere.
The heroine’s journey from the real world to the otherworld is mediated by some kind of mutation. Where there was a tree, a wall suddenly appears. A waterlogged tower emerges in place of the country house. Interestingly, it is impossible to grasp the logic behind these transformations.
Despite the fact that some moments in the game were clearly “copied” from those found in other similar adventurous horror titles, a certain curiosity is piqued in the player’s mind. But on the whole, things get boring rather quickly, and the music and everything eventually becomes annoying.
Funny is the change of atmosphere, when from the dark real world you get to the otherworld, which turns out to be colourful and even the address of its inhabitants to the heroine can be described as friendly.
Overall, the idea is quite interesting, with a unique style and familiar elements. The controls are simple, but therein lies the nuance. In fact, the entire game is significantly inferior to the competition and gives the impression of some kind of draft rather than a full-fledged product.