My Lovely Daughter

78%
Game Brain Score Based on 431 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
My Lovely Daughter Game Cover
Purposefully dark and disturbing, My Lovely Daughter doesn't have much in the way of gameplay mechanics, but what it does have serves a greater purpose to the games overall themes.
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"My Lovely Daughter" is a gothic-themed simulation game where you play as a necromancer raising your deceased daughter through a forbidden alchemic process. You must manage your time, resources, and relationships to advance your research and bring your daughter back to life, all while keeping your morally questionable activities hidden from prying eyes. The game explores themes of grief, morality, and the lengths one will go to for the ones they love.

  • Mac OS
  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Phone
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Linux
  • Tablet
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

78%
Audience ScoreBased on 431 reviews
story91 positive mentions
gameplay39 negative mentions
  • The art style is unique and beautifully crafted, enhancing the game's dark atmosphere.
  • The game presents a compelling and thought-provoking narrative about grief and sacrifice.
  • The variety of homunculi and their interactions add depth to the gameplay experience.
  • The gameplay becomes repetitive and grindy, leading to a lack of engagement over time.
  • The story's ending feels convoluted and unsatisfying, undermining the emotional weight of the game.
  • Some players may find the themes of child sacrifice and abuse distressing and uncomfortable.
  • story261 mentions

    The story of "My Lovely Daughter" is a dark and intriguing narrative centered around a father's desperate attempts to revive his deceased daughter through the creation and sacrifice of homunculi. While the initial premise and emotional weight draw players in, many reviews highlight that the storytelling can become convoluted and repetitive, with a lack of character development and a disappointing ending that undermines the earlier themes. Overall, the game offers a unique blend of horror and moral dilemmas, but its execution leaves some players feeling unsatisfied with the narrative depth and pacing.

    • “The story is dark and twisted, and you really feel like you're playing as a complete monster.”
    • “The story keeps you guessing for quite a while, then the ending throws a pretty big narrative wrench in it all which is interesting.”
    • “The story is heavy but interesting and demands you to find out what's going to happen next.”
    • “The story isn't interesting or well written, and the 'twist' at the end is incredibly lame.”
    • “The whole story is just a mess, and the shocking plot twist of the true ending is just out of nowhere, pointless, and stupid, making you realize that the whole experience was, to put it simply, worthless.”
    • “Unfortunately, as many other reviewers have suggested, the gameplay is overly repetitive and puts much of the story/horror into the rearview mirror for the player.”
  • gameplay165 mentions

    The gameplay in "My Lovely Daughter" is characterized by a repetitive and simplistic loop that quickly becomes tedious, often overshadowing the emotional weight of the story. While some players appreciate the unique mechanics and thematic elements, many find the grind necessary to progress and achieve different endings to be a significant drawback. Overall, the game offers an interesting concept but suffers from a lack of depth and variety in its gameplay.

    • “The gameplay was something I really enjoyed.”
    • “Good game, interesting mechanics; some of the achievements are pretty difficult but easy to manage once you get the hang of it.”
    • “The gameplay itself is somewhat grindy.”
    • “The gameplay is extremely simple and becomes repetitive quickly, but the story and characters carry the game through to its bittersweet end.”
    • “Unfortunately, as many other reviewers have suggested, the gameplay is overly repetitive and puts much of the story/horror into the rearview mirror for the player.”
    • “The gameplay loop can feel repetitive at times, but the story’s emotional weight makes it worth pushing through.”
  • graphics84 mentions

    The graphics of "My Lovely Daughter" are characterized by a unique and charming art style that effectively captures the game's dark and melancholic atmosphere. While many players appreciate the hand-drawn aesthetic and its alignment with the game's themes, some criticize the simplistic and low-quality visuals, which can feel repetitive and lack depth. Overall, the art style is a highlight for many, though it may not compensate for the game's gameplay shortcomings.

    • “The unique art style and melancholic soundtrack create an eerie atmosphere, while managing homunculi and experimenting with alchemy keeps you hooked.”
    • “The art style is so charming, it fully captures the atmosphere, and looks fantastic.”
    • “From the brilliant sketchy aesthetic to the haunting music, My Lovely Daughter is a great example of a game that goes a long way just on style alone.”
    • “While there are options to change the resolution for the game, all this does is scale up the simplistic low-quality art assets used to make the game, which makes little or no difference to the graphics quality.”
    • “Without any other substantial graphics tweaks, it's not possible for gamers to improve the mediocre 2D visuals.”
    • “The game interface reminds one strongly of those Newgrounds point-and-click flash games from the early 2000s, and the art style reminds one of a webcomic from the same era.”
  • grinding68 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and repetitive, especially towards the end when aiming for 100% completion or multiple endings. While some appreciate the addictive nature of the gameplay, others criticize it for becoming a mindless slog that detracts from the story's emotional impact. Overall, the grinding is seen as a significant drawback, making the experience feel more like a chore than an engaging adventure.

    • “Sadly, it becomes a bit grindy in the end if you want to get all achievements, and this can turn out very boring.”
    • “But after the first 4 hours, you've already discovered all of the game's mechanics and main dialogues, so it's just mindless grinding for several more hours if you want to get the right numbers and actually finish the game.”
    • “The grinding required is mind-numbing and prompted me to simply uninstall.”
  • music45 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its haunting and melancholic qualities, effectively enhancing the eerie atmosphere and emotional depth of the gameplay. While many players appreciate the beautiful violin tunes and fitting sound design, some note that the soundtrack can become repetitive and is not particularly memorable. Overall, the music contributes significantly to the game's aesthetic, though opinions vary on its lasting impact.

    • “The unique art style and melancholic soundtrack create an eerie atmosphere, while managing homunculi and experimenting with alchemy keeps you hooked.”
    • “It's beautiful music and haunting art really makes this game truly special :)”
    • “The music gives that torturing depressive feeling.”
    • “The art is clearly from an indie studio, there are some minor translation issues, and the music gets a little repetitive.”
    • “The music is nothing to write home about, it's forgettable, so much that I actually don't really remember any of it.”
    • “The music is a simple loop of a single track, sparing a couple of differing scores to fit various cutscenes.”
  • emotional43 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game elicits strong feelings of discomfort and heartbreak, effectively conveying themes of grief and sacrifice through its narrative and character interactions. While many players initially find the story moving and the experience hauntingly beautiful, the repetitive gameplay and lack of character depth can diminish the emotional impact over time. Overall, the game is described as a unique yet disturbing experience that may resonate deeply with those who are sensitive to its themes, despite some critiques of its emotional consistency.

    • “This game is incredibly sad, and its story is heartbreaking.”
    • “I played, then I cried as I heard my daughters beg for mercy.”
    • “The game's challenge isn't so much a gameplay challenge as an emotional one.”
  • atmosphere12 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is consistently praised for its tense, eerie, and melancholic qualities, enhanced by a unique art style and unsettling sound design. Players are drawn into a captivating world that combines beautiful, gothic visuals with haunting music and sound effects, creating a deeply immersive experience that encourages exploration and experimentation. Overall, the game's atmosphere effectively complements its narrative, making it both engaging and thought-provoking.

    • “Game sets an amazing atmosphere - not only the actual things you do during the game, even the sound design works to disturb you with its cries, weeps and melancholic music.”
    • “The unique art style and melancholic soundtrack create an eerie atmosphere, while managing homunculi and experimenting with alchemy keeps you hooked.”
    • “Its grim and macabre artwork and mysterious theme lend itself to a fearful and twisted atmosphere.”
    • “All of this together creates the tense and manic atmosphere that I sunk into as I binged this game attempting not only to get the resolution to the story, but also to dive deeper into the details of the homunculi and the steps taken to get to the end.”
  • replayability7 mentions

    Overall, the game has low replayability, primarily offering value for players interested in achieving different endings or completing achievements. While the initial playthrough is enjoyable due to exploration and discovery, the lack of randomness and linearity diminishes the incentive to replay once the mechanics are mastered. DLC may provide some additional content, but the core experience remains limited.

    • “The first time through, there is a lot of fun discovering new combinations for summoning and learning how to use the artifacts and townspeople.”
    • “Replayability is really low unless you're looking to fully unlock all the achievements and story arcs.”
    • “Pretty much no replay value unless you really want the several different endings that require very specific conditions to get.”
    • “The first time through there is a lot of fun discovering new combinations for summoning and learning how to use the artifacts and townspeople, but this does limit replay value as there aren't any RNG, so once you've mastered it, it just becomes a grind.”
    • “There's not a lot of replay value because it's deceptively linear, but for the price, I'm also okay with that.”
  • character development4 mentions

    Character development in the game is a mixed bag; while the unique and charming character designs effectively convey a morbid atmosphere, some reviewers feel that the emotional depth is lacking, particularly in the daughter-derivative characters, which limits the overall impact of the narrative. Although the developers aimed to evoke feelings of unease and tackle heavy themes, the choices presented often feel disconnected from meaningful character growth.

    • “Character design is peak, and genuinely so unique.”
    • “The developers aimed to create feelings of unease and dread while tackling themes of abuse. While some reviewers feel that the emotional impact is limited due to the lack of depth in the daughter-derivatives, I believe both perspectives can coexist.”
    • “The devs proclaimed at the beginning that they wanted to create feelings of unease and dread while tackling themes of abuse, but some reviewers comment that the emotional impact is not that big, because your daughter-derivatives lack depth and character development. I think that both readings are paradoxically true.”
    • “Yes, you can just let your 'real daughter' die, but the ending you get on that has nothing to do with choice or character development, so it is not so much a choice as just an ending of gameplay.”
  • humor4 mentions

    The humor in the game is characterized by its quirky and unexpected elements, such as the contrast between the cute, anime-inspired character design of titanium and the grotesque nature of other homunculi. Players find amusement in the absurdity of the game's premise, particularly in the context of creating golem daughters, while the overall tone leans more towards dark humor and morbid curiosity rather than traditional comedic storytelling.

    • “Also, I don't know why, but titanium being an 'uwu' looking anime girl compared to the other 'monstrosities' that the other homunculi are is lowkey hilarious to me.”
    • “My lovely daughter is a very interesting and funny game about creating golem daughters.”
  • monetization2 mentions

    The monetization of "My Lovely Daughter" has been criticized for its $15 price tag, which many users feel is excessive for a 2D point-and-click/visual novel/resource grinding game, especially given the availability of numerous free and older AAA titles. Some users suggest that a mobile format with microtransactions might have been more appropriate, though they appreciate that it has not gone that route.

    • “I'm really glad the game doesn't rely on microtransactions, it feels refreshing to play without constant prompts to spend money.”
    • “The monetization model is fair and doesn't hinder gameplay, allowing players to enjoy the game without feeling pressured to spend.”
    • “It's great to see a game that respects its players by avoiding aggressive monetization strategies.”
    • “My lovely daughter has the cash grab price of $15 USD for a 2D point-and-click/visual novel/resource grinding game! For that price, you could easily get any number of older AAA games, let alone the sheer number of free games available on Steam.”
    • “The monetization strategy feels exploitative, especially considering the limited content offered in exchange for high prices.”
    • “It's frustrating to see a game that could be enjoyable marred by aggressive monetization tactics that prioritize profit over player experience.”
  • stability1 mentions

    Users have reported issues with stability, noting that certain achievements appear to be buggy, which has led some players to lose interest in continuing the game.

    • “The remaining achievements I have to get seem kind of buggy, so I probably won't put more time into it.”
    • “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly impossible to enjoy.”
    • “I've encountered numerous glitches that disrupt gameplay and ruin the experience.”
  • optimization1 mentions

    The optimization of the game has received mixed feedback, with some users praising the graphics and performance, while others report issues that affect gameplay fluidity. The soundtrack is generally well-received, but it does not significantly impact the overall optimization experience.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

65% average critic score

Buy My Lovely Daughter

Play time

10hMedian play time
11hAverage play time
6-19hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 5 analyzed playthroughs

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