My Lovely Daughter

About

My Lovely Daughter is a single player role playing game with horror and fantasy themes. It was developed by GameChanger Studio and was released on March 8, 2018. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

"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.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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77%

Audience ScoreBased on 474 reviews

story95 positive mentions

gameplay39 negative mentions

The art style is unique and beautifully crafted, enhancing the game's dark atmosphere.
The story is intriguing and thought-provoking, exploring themes of grief and sacrifice.
The gameplay, while repetitive, offers a satisfying loop of resource management and character development.

The gameplay becomes tedious and repetitive after a few hours, leading to a lack of engagement.
The endings can feel unsatisfying and convoluted, detracting from the overall experience.
Some players may find the themes of child abuse and sacrifice distressing and uncomfortable.

story
279 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
60%
6%
The game's story is a dark and twisted narrative centered around a father's desperate attempts to resurrect his daughter, blending elements of management gameplay with visual novel storytelling. While the initial premise and character development are intriguing, many players find the execution lacking, with repetitive gameplay overshadowing the emotional weight of the narrative. The plot features unexpected twists and moral dilemmas, but the overall delivery can feel disjointed and unsatisfying, leaving some players frustrated despite the game's artistic merits.
- “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 storyline with the inquisitor... well, I'm not going to ruin it for anyone, but it just wasn't good in the end.”
- “The story is weak and predictable.”
- “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.”
gameplay
180 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
58%
22%
The gameplay in "My Lovely Daughter" is primarily a resource management and visual novel hybrid, requiring players to balance relationship development with repetitive tasks to progress the story. While the unique premise and emotional weight of the narrative are praised, many reviewers note that the gameplay quickly becomes tedious and grindy, lacking depth and variety. Overall, the game is recommended for those who appreciate its dark themes and story, but players should be prepared for a simplistic and repetitive gameplay experience.
- “Gameplay is 50% management and 50% visual novel; you have to develop relationships and progress the story through the novel part while spending a lot of time on the management aspect to gather enough resources and money to avoid game over and continue the story.”
- “The gameplay loop is simple, but the game is short enough that it doesn't outstay its welcome.”
- “The gameplay is unique and engaging, and I had a lot of fun playing through it.”
- “While the premise is intriguing, the gameplay quickly becomes repetitive and overly grindy.”
- “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 is extremely simple and becomes repetitive quickly, but the story and characters carry the game through to its bittersweet end.”
graphics
91 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
51%
4%
The graphics of "My Lovely Daughter" are characterized by a unique and charming art style that effectively captures the game's dark and macabre themes. While many players appreciate the hand-drawn visuals and atmospheric design, some criticize the simplistic and low-quality assets, which can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the art direction is a highlight, contributing significantly to the game's eerie atmosphere, despite some concerns about repetitiveness and execution.
- “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.”
grinding
80 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game has received largely negative feedback, with many players finding it tedious, repetitive, and frustrating, especially towards the end. While some appreciate the intriguing concept and character designs, the excessive resource management and lack of narrative depth lead to a gameplay experience that feels like a slog. Overall, players suggest that the grind detracts significantly from the enjoyment and emotional impact of the story, making it a challenging experience for those who prefer more engaging gameplay.
- “The game is very tedious, and I doubt I'll play it anymore for its lackluster story.”
- “The gameplay as a whole is fun but gets very boring and tedious quite quickly as there is no variance in what you do in the game.”
- “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.”
music
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
49%
6%
The music in the game is widely praised for its haunting and melancholic qualities, effectively enhancing the eerie atmosphere and emotional depth of the experience. While many players appreciate the beautiful violin tunes and thematic fit, some note that the soundtrack can become repetitive and is not particularly memorable. Overall, the combination of music and art contributes significantly to the game's unique charm and unsettling tone.
- “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, again, is thematically good, but not especially memorable.”
emotional
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
98%
2%
The emotional aspect of the game elicits a wide range of responses, from deep discomfort and heartbreak to frustration over repetitive gameplay. While some players find the themes of abuse and sacrifice profoundly moving, others feel that the emotional impact diminishes over time due to a lack of character depth and repetitive mechanics. Overall, the game successfully evokes strong feelings, but its emotional weight can wane as the experience progresses.
- “You will be emotionally crushed on every step of this journey, but it's surely an interesting one.”
- “This game is incredibly sad, and its story is heartbreaking.”
- “The game's challenge isn't so much a gameplay challenge as an emotional one.”
atmosphere
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
73%
7%
20%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its unique blend of charming art, melancholic music, and unsettling sound design, creating a tense and immersive experience. Reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke a grim and eerie ambiance that enhances the storytelling and gameplay, making it a captivating journey into its mysterious themes. Overall, the combination of beautiful visuals and haunting audio elements effectively draws players into its haunting world.
- “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.”
- “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.”
replayability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
Overall, the game's replayability is considered low, with most players feeling that once they have experienced all the endings and mastered the mechanics, there is little incentive to replay. While the initial gameplay offers fun exploration and discovery, it quickly becomes repetitive without random elements to keep it fresh. The potential for replay value mainly lies in pursuing achievements or engaging with DLC content.
- “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.”
- “Replayability is really low unless you're looking to fully unlock all the achievements and story arcs.”
- “This is without playing with the DLC, but I don't think this has much replay value, the most likely coming from the DLC.”
- “I guess they were going for replayability, but no one's going to replay this once they get all the endings.”
- “Pretty much no replay value unless you just 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.”
character development
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
20%
40%
While the character designs and concepts are praised for their uniqueness and charm, the execution of character development is criticized for being shallow and lacking depth. Reviewers note that despite the game's attempt to evoke feelings of unease and tackle serious themes, the emotional impact is diminished due to the limited development of the characters, particularly the daughter-derivatives, which leads to a sense of tedium in the narrative. Overall, the character development feels underwhelming and fails to significantly enhance the gameplay experience.
- “Character design is peak, and genuinely so unique.”
- “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.”
- “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.”
- “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.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its quirky contrasts, such as the amusing depiction of titanium as an 'uwu' anime girl among more grotesque homunculi, and the darkly comedic undertones that accompany the gameplay. Players find the blend of morbid curiosity and absurdity, particularly in the context of creating golem daughters, to be both interesting and funny. Overall, the humor is a mix of lightheartedness and dark themes, enhancing the game's unique atmosphere.
- “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.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The monetization of "My Lovely Daughter" has been criticized as a cash grab, with a $15 price tag deemed excessive for a 2D point-and-click/visual novel/resource grinding game, especially when compared to the abundance of free and older AAA games available. Some users suggest that it might have been more successful as a mobile game with microtransactions, though they appreciate that it isn't.
- “I'm really glad the game doesn't rely on microtransactions, it feels refreshing.”
- “The monetization model is fair and doesn't pressure players to spend money.”
- “It's great to see a game that prioritizes player experience over aggressive monetization.”
- “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.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
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 frustrating to progress.”
- “I've encountered several glitches that disrupt gameplay and ruin the experience.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The optimization of the game has received mixed feedback, with some users praising its 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. Overall, players suggest that while the game has potential, further improvements are needed for a smoother performance.

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75%Critics’ scoreBased on 4 critic reviews

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10h Median play time

11h Average play time

6-19h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 5 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

My Lovely Daughter is a role playing game with horror and fantasy themes.

My Lovely Daughter is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac OS, Phone and others.

On average players spend around 11 hours playing My Lovely Daughter.

My Lovely Daughter was released on March 8, 2018.

My Lovely Daughter was developed by GameChanger Studio.

My Lovely Daughter has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its gameplay.

My Lovely Daughter is a single player game.

Similar games include Always Sometimes Monsters, My Lovely Wife, Paper Cages, Death and Taxes, Yes, Your Grace and others.

My Lovely Daughter

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