My Beautiful Paper Smile

About

In "My Beautiful Paper Smile" , you are a child trying to escape from the Joyous facility, where the Authorities are trying to force perfection upon you in the form of a giant, happy smile. Use stealth and solve puzzles to avoid the Authorities, but beware of the faceless monster lurking in the dark. Discover the twisted truth behind the Authorities' scheme while trying to free yourself from their grasp.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

86%

Audience ScoreBased on 210 reviews

story58 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

The hand-drawn art style is unique and visually stunning, creating a captivating atmosphere that enhances the horror experience.
The story is intriguing and engaging, with a mix of psychological horror elements that keep players invested in the narrative.
The gameplay features a blend of exploration, puzzles, and stealth mechanics, providing a variety of challenges that contribute to the overall experience.

The game suffers from frequent crashes, which can disrupt gameplay and frustrate players.
Some gameplay mechanics, such as certain boss fights and stealth segments, can feel clunky and frustrating, leading to a trial-and-error experience.
The story lacks depth in certain areas, leaving players with unanswered questions and a desire for more lore and character development.

story
124 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
49%
4%
The story of "My Beautiful Paper Smile" is a mix of engaging and disappointing elements, with many players praising its unique art style and atmospheric storytelling. While some found the narrative intriguing and emotionally resonant, others criticized it for being linear, lacking depth, and relying on clichés. Overall, the game offers a compelling yet flawed narrative experience that leaves players wanting more in terms of world-building and character development.
- “The story is very good; I like how the boy just wanted to escape and be free with his friend, but soon he gets entangled into a bigger plot in freeing his people.”
- “The story, art, and the characters/world are so creepy and interesting.”
- “My beautiful paper smile's story gives you just enough information for you to be invested while keeping most details secret to keep the world mysterious and foreign.”
- “The story is a disappointment for me, and even then if I look at it for what it is.”
- “I just find it generic, boring, and a departure from the setups earlier in the story.”
- “Story-wise, very little is happening at any given time, and the player has little motivation to do anything except that they 'should' want to.”
graphics
94 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
43%
3%
The graphics of "My Beautiful Paper Smile" are widely praised for their unique hand-drawn art style, which evokes a Tim Burton-esque aesthetic and enhances the game's eerie atmosphere. While many reviewers appreciate the beautiful visuals and the way they contribute to the overall experience, some note that the environments can feel bland or overly dark at times, detracting from the game's potential. Overall, the art style is considered the standout feature, effectively complementing the psychological horror elements of the game.
- “The visuals of the game are amazing; they’re not perfect, sometimes the game is too dark for its own good, but all things considered, it’s a very unique looking game that doesn’t just look great, but can also instill a lot of anxiety at times with its gloomy lighting and great camera angles.”
- “My beautiful paper smile creates a tense and eerie atmosphere through its beautiful art style and its cryptic settings and dialogue.”
- “This is a psychological horror game with incredible atmosphere thanks to its hand-drawn art style, with a 2D presentation in a 3D space that feels almost like Paper Mario in hell.”
- “The visuals can easily carry the gameplay; however, for having a really cool art style, the game had very bland environments and nothing that caught my eye or was necessarily cool to walk through and look at.”
- “I tried lowering all the graphic settings as well as skipping the first part to try and get into the gameplay; while I got a bit further, a minute in and it still crashes.”
- “The game's biggest strength is also its biggest weakness: the art style.”
gameplay
75 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
65%
8%
The gameplay is generally described as simplistic and linear, often resembling a walking simulator with light puzzles and point-and-click mechanics. While some players appreciate the art style and atmosphere, many find the gameplay repetitive and lacking depth, with mechanics that are introduced but not fully utilized. Overall, the experience is seen as underwhelming, with a mix of enjoyable moments overshadowed by clunky controls and a lack of engaging gameplay loops.
- “The gameplay is good; it's a simple point-and-click game where you gather items and use them to solve some light puzzles, nothing too complicated.”
- “The gameplay isn't too difficult, and even though I managed to die a handful of times, it was easy to grasp after a few minutes.”
- “I find that the simple gameplay and beautiful yet haunting drawings capture the imagination and can get the message across to its audience.”
- “The gameplay itself is alright, there were some fun aspects, but nothing lasted long enough to truly get into the mechanics, which I think is because they were so simplistic there wasn't much to actually get into.”
- “Running speed is quite low and even then: in order to run you have to constantly have 'shift' pressed, which is annoying, because walking is entirely useless in this game and there is no 'always run' setting, so it gets very tiresome to hold 'shift' with your pinky finger.”
- “One of the biggest problems with the gameplay, in my opinion, is that the game teaches you quite a few mechanics that are never explored again, which makes them feel a little redundant and like they’ve been added just to keep the player busy.”
atmosphere
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
34%
7%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its eerie and immersive qualities, enhanced by unique hand-drawn art and effective sound design. Players appreciate the blend of creepy visuals and a haunting ambiance that creates a sense of tension and dread, although some note that the reliance on jump scares can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to its psychological horror elements and engaging storytelling.
- “The atmosphere gives me chills and the world building is done really well.”
- “The game does a fantastic job of creating an eerie atmosphere with its minimalist approach to its music and dark tones in its environment, always making you wonder what may be hiding in the shadows.”
- “I honestly love every part of this game from its unique art style to its genuinely creepy atmosphere.”
- “Walking in a straight line at an excruciatingly slow pace with an obnoxious never-ending footstep sound effect that completely destroys the atmosphere.”
- “The sound design was functional; I feel more could have been done on that front to help with the atmosphere, but to reiterate, it still definitely works.”
- “The atmosphere is unrelentingly eerie, the art style is unique and well-made, and the story is a great mix of explained and ambiguous.”
music
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
46%
27%
The music in the game is characterized by a minimalist and eerie approach, effectively enhancing the unsettling atmosphere without overwhelming the player. While there are limited songs, the sound design, including creepy sound effects, contributes to a sense of suspense and intrigue. Voice acting, particularly that of the king, is noted for its quality, adding depth to the game's dark themes.
- “The game does a fantastic job of creating an eerie atmosphere with its minimalist approach to its music and dark tones in its environment, always making you wonder what may be hiding in the shadows.”
- “The music kept me unsettled without being overbearing; the visuals were fun the whole way through and gave me a Tim Burton vibe but darker and more personal to the creators.”
- “Music is eerie and gloomy.”
- “There's no music at any given time, only creepy sound effects, which ends up making the game boring rather than the intended effect of suspense.”
- “The music is eerie and gloomy.”
- “The music kept me unsettled without being overbearing, the visuals were fun the whole way through and gave me a Tim Burton vibe but darker and more personal to the creators.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly due to the collection of items that offer minimal rewards, such as vague lore instead of meaningful incentives. The overall atmosphere and horror elements are praised, but the cumbersome mechanics and low-quality combat detract from the experience, making the final boss encounter feel more like a chore than a satisfying conclusion.
- “In every chapter, there are collectibles that are tedious to collect, and if you think you get a reward for collecting everything, think again; you get a vague 'lore' cinematic.”
- “I found it tedious to have to move to a place where there were spots I wouldn't get caught, taking the equipment on and off.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
Character development in the game is noted for its impressive character designs and intriguing plot, contributing to a captivating atmosphere. However, the overall storytelling and world-building are criticized as lacking depth, which detracts from the potential for richer character arcs.
- “The scenery and character designs are great; the story is engaging and the suspense is amazing.”
- “The game itself has a good atmosphere and an intriguing plot, featuring some of the most uniquely twisted character designs ever.”
- “The game has a good atmosphere and an intriguing plot, but the character development feels shallow and unengaging.”
- “While the character designs are visually striking, the lack of depth in their development makes it hard to connect with them.”
- “The story is weak and the character arcs are predictable, leaving little room for meaningful growth or transformation.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the game to be a deeply touching experience, noting that it offers an intense emotional journey, albeit a brief one.
- “It's very touching.”
- “This was an emotional and intense journey for me, but a short one.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report significant stability issues, noting a lack of error messages for troubleshooting and unhelpful community discussions. Additionally, in-game entities like 'the lost child' and various monsters frequently glitch, detracting from the overall experience.
- “There is no error message for troubleshooting whatsoever, and error discussion threads in the community page ultimately lead to nowhere.”
- “A spirit-like creature called 'the Lost Child' as well as monsters in the world become glitches in reality, with a desire to strip you of your mask.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's replayability is somewhat diminished due to the excessive walking, which can become tedious over time. While players may need to replay the game to uncover all secrets, the slow pace can detract from the overall experience, making it less appealing for multiple playthroughs.
- “There is a lot of walking, and I really mean a lot of walking. I've been playing this game on and off since 2021, which means I've amassed more than triple the total playtime of the game. The walking got really boring really quickly. Because of that, I'd say that the game slightly loses out on its replay value, since even sprinting can feel quite slow at times. Trust me, you will have to replay the game at least once if you want to get all the secrets without using a guide.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the humor in the game to be effective, particularly enjoying the combination of fear and comedy, which leads to memorable moments, especially when sharing laughs with friends. The ability to create memes from these experiences adds to the overall enjoyment.
- “It was a good game and a funny, scary one. I like it when I see my friends scared, so I make a meme of them! XD”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
300%
The game's optimization has room for improvement, particularly in lighting settings and some repetitive sound effects; however, these issues do not significantly detract from the overall playability.
- “Some of the settings need a bit of optimization, like lighting, and some sounds are a little too repetitive, but nothing that makes it unplayable.”
- “Some of the settings need a bit of optimization, like lighting, and some sounds/noises are a little too repetitive, but nothing that makes it unplayable.”
- “The game suffers from poor optimization, leading to frequent frame drops and long loading times.”
- “Despite its potential, the optimization issues make it frustrating to play, especially in more demanding areas.”

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My Beautiful Paper Smile
$14.99
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8h Median play time

8h Average play time

8-8h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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