Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk
- August 26, 2020
- Nikita Kryukov
- 2h median play time
Get on Steam"Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk" is a surreal visual novel where you help a girl buy milk, experiencing either humorous abstractions or psychological episodes. With a unique art style and authentic audio, the game offers a short, distinct narrative experience in 10-15 minutes. Its basis in real events is stylized, making it an artistic exploration of language and form.
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- story598 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The story of "Milk Inside a Bag of Milk Inside a Bag of Milk" is a brief yet impactful exploration of mental health, focusing on a girl's struggle with her psychological issues while attempting a mundane task—buying milk. Reviewers praise its unique storytelling style, emotional depth, and the way it captures the complexities of mental illness, though many note its short length and linearity limit character development and narrative exploration. Overall, the game is seen as a thought-provoking experience that resonates with players, particularly those familiar with similar struggles.
“I'm honestly surprised at the storytelling; it is quite unique and very well done.”
“The narrative is beautifully crafted, weaving a story that is both eerie and deeply human.”
“The story does a great job of representing mental illnesses through a suspenseful narrative setting.”
“The story felt lackluster because there was too much left to the imagination.”
“The story is extremely short but worth the viewing.”
“It feels like a cop-out to lean on mental illness as a crutch for surreal storytelling when I think this story could have functioned just as well without it, had the author given the main character some type of personality beyond being traumatized and mentally ill.”
- graphics341 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are characterized by a unique, minimalist pixel art style that often employs a limited color palette, primarily featuring shades of red, purple, and black. While some players appreciate the surreal and unsettling aesthetic that complements the game's themes of mental illness, others find the visuals confusing and difficult to interpret, leading to mixed feelings about their effectiveness. Overall, the graphics contribute significantly to the game's atmosphere, enhancing the narrative experience despite their simplicity and occasional lack of clarity.
“Great story, great visuals.”
“The combination of this weird audio and visuals sets this unique and amazing atmosphere, well done.”
“The graphics are so good for how simple they are and the nonsensical world ties in perfectly with the overarching theme of mental disorder.”
“Graphics and sounds are almost non-existent but there's a little bit of charm to them, including a good understanding of using very limited pixel art and sound cues to create the unsettling.”
“The visuals are far too murky and bland to accurately convey the surroundings.”
“The graphics are muddy, disorienting, ugly, and unpleasant.”
- music235 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The music in "Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk" is widely praised for its ability to create an unsettling and immersive atmosphere, enhancing the game's psychological horror elements. Reviewers describe the soundtrack as unique, eerie, and deeply fitting for the game's themes, often evoking feelings of anxiety and discomfort. Many players appreciate how the music complements the visuals and narrative, making it a standout feature of the overall experience.
“The soundtrack is the best.”
“The music is surreal and the TTS really adds to the feeling like you are insane with a voice inside a voice.”
“The soundtrack complements the narrative perfectly, immersing players in the emotional depth of each moment.”
“The music is extremely unsettling and is one of the main things that made me uneasy during my playthrough.”
“The visuals and the soundtrack are bizarre and indiscernible from one another, which is indicative of the mental state that the protagonist currently finds herself in.”
“Txt file with a soundtrack that sounds like if an AI did it.”
- emotional162 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is widely praised for its profound impact on players, often evoking strong feelings such as sadness, discomfort, and empathy. Many reviews highlight the game's ability to resonate with personal experiences related to mental illness, leading to moments of introspection and emotional catharsis. While some players found it deeply moving and relatable, others noted a sense of emotional manipulation, indicating a complex reception to its themes and storytelling.
“This game is heartbreaking, sombre and shows how difficult such small tasks are while dealing with mental illness.”
“Outstanding, made me feel real feelings and that's what I love about art like this.”
“The soundtrack complements the narrative perfectly, immersing players in the emotional depth of each moment.”
- atmosphere137 mentions
- 48 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its eerie, unsettling quality that effectively conveys themes of mental illness and emotional depth, immersing players in a unique and thought-provoking experience. Many reviewers highlight the combination of minimalist visuals, a limited color palette, and an evocative soundtrack that together create a haunting ambiance, despite the game's brevity. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout feature, making the game a compelling choice for those who appreciate psychological and surreal storytelling.
“The atmosphere is so eerie, and I'm not a person for horror games, but I would still recommend this game to everyone, and I would play it again.”
“In such a short span of time, this game manages to perfectly capture the horrid atmosphere and impact of its characters and story, whilst also being a masterclass example of mental illness and absurdist art.”
“The art direction is minimalistic but effective, the glimpses you catch of the world through the girl's eyes are otherworldly, creepy and surreal, and both the art and sound mesh really well together to create a deeply unsettling atmosphere.”
“The text-to-speech voice is annoying and detracts from the atmosphere.”
“This game is very shallow in its attempts to create an atmosphere of horror in the twisted, derealized world shaped by the main character's depression, anxiety, and paranoia.”
“While the atmosphere itself is unsettling, the writing is an expression of something deeper, something novel and cathartic.”
- humor107 mentions
- 98 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as a mix of dark, absurd, and situational comedy, often juxtaposed with unsettling themes. Many players found the dialogue and character interactions to be both funny and poignant, creating a unique atmosphere that balances humor with deeper emotional undertones. While some appreciated the comedic elements, others felt that the attempts at humor were inconsistent or forced, leading to a varied reception of its comedic effectiveness.
“I like this funny little milk game, let's get that out of the way.”
“The imagery and dialogue are very interesting, and the protagonist's thoughts manage to be cute, hilarious, and sometimes a bit disturbing.”
“This game is funny in a sick way and disturbing in a good way.”
“I think I could have stomached this game if it wasn't so hellbent on shoving a terrible joke into every textbox and stretching unfunny gags by repeating the letter 'o' over and over, thinking that makes it funny!”
“It's unfunny and ugly to look at.”
- gameplay92 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 83 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay is primarily a visual novel format, characterized by short playtimes (typically around 15-30 minutes) and simple mechanics involving text reading and choice selection. While some players appreciate the narrative depth and unique atmosphere, many criticize the repetitive nature and lack of substantial gameplay elements, leading to mixed feelings about its overall value. Overall, it offers a brief but impactful experience, particularly for those interested in themes of mental health, though it may not satisfy players seeking traditional gameplay mechanics.
“This small game offers an intense and thrilling 20 minutes of narrative gameplay that will have you captivated from start to finish.”
“The interesting narrative twist here, in terms of gameplay, is that while the main character narrates the story, you actually only control a subset of her subconsciousness, and it's here where most of the dialogue is exchanged.”
“The gameplay consists of mouse-clicking and occasional choices.”
“The gameplay sucks.”
“Nonsensical visual novel with no real gameplay element.”
- replayability15 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
Overall, the game has low replayability, primarily due to its short length and limited endings, with most players completing it in under half an hour. While some found value in exploring different dialogue options, the lack of significant variations in outcomes and the presence of only one or two unique responses diminish the incentive for multiple playthroughs. Despite its intriguing elements, many reviewers noted that the game does not offer enough content to warrant extensive replay.
“It's interesting, and definitely replayable at least to me, but it's very short.”
“A weird little visual novel with some interesting replayability because of dialogue choices.”
“I can't say this is the most replayable game ever, however there are several dialogue options that I wouldn't mind selecting even for the minute changes in the POV character's responses.”
“Only 2 possible endings (not much replayability).”
“It doesn't have much replayability though and is quite short.”
“I anticipated that it would be short and lack replayability, and I was right; the game took me less than twenty minutes to finish, including a second playthrough to see an alternative ending.”
- grinding12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, often requiring excessive clicking to progress through text and explore multiple endings. Many reviewers express frustration with the lack of skip functions, making repeated playthroughs feel like a long, drawn-out grind. While some appreciate the free nature of the game, the overall sentiment leans towards the experience being overly laborious.
“It can be a bit grindy sometimes, but it adds to the overall experience.”
“You'll need a second life for grinding, as it can be quite time-consuming.”
“The grind can feel long and tedious at times, but it ultimately pays off.”
“Visual novels/e-books are tedious at best... imagine the best novel you ever read, but then translate that to a format where the words dribble out and you have to click your mouse every time you wanted to read the next sentence, instead of just turning the pages.”
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“Restarting the game can feel a bit tedious as the skip functions do not exist, so you may have to utilize mass clicking or pressing enter/spacebar.”
- character development4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Character development in the game received mixed reviews; while some players appreciated the well-executed character design and found the development to be strong, others felt that the game's brevity limited the depth of character exploration. Overall, the writing and psychological elements contributed positively to the characters, but the short length hindered more extensive development.
“Nice story, great character development, perfect ambiance.”
“The game is too short for a short story, not allowing for a lot of character development.”
“I liked pretty much everything about the game: the retro, limited color palette art style; the soundtrack; the themes; the writing; the subtle, psychological horror; the character design.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game exhibits some stability issues, including bugs in the visuals and loading menu; however, these problems are deemed minor due to the game's short length and limited options.
“The visuals are nothing special, and the game itself is a bit buggy.”
“The loading menu is a bit buggy, but the game's short length and lack of options make it irrelevant.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 200 % positive mentions
- -400 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game features no in-game purchases, with the exception of an optional soundtrack DLC available for those interested.
“The game offers a fair monetization model with no pressure to spend money.”
“I appreciate that the game doesn't push for in-game purchases, allowing for a more enjoyable experience.”
“In-game purchases: none (there's a soundtrack DLC if you want it, though).”
“The monetization model feels outdated and doesn't offer any meaningful content.”
“I was disappointed to find that the game relies heavily on microtransactions for progression.”
