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ProtoViolence

ProtoViolence Game Cover
96%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:story, emotional
Most mentioned negative aspects:gameplay, optimization
96% User Score Based on 70 reviews

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ProtoViolence Game Cover

About ProtoViolence

ProtoViolence is a single player action game with horror, mystery, anime and science fiction themes. It was developed by Mado and was released on February 18, 2024. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

Can a scientist save a test subject from her life’s work? All documents enclosed relate to ██. ██████ and █████████’s history within the Youth Training and Development Initiative (YTDI)’s child cybernetics and processing program. Unauthorized release of any information constitutes an unacceptable risk to stop’s reputation and will result in immediate termination and potential incarceration. Thes…

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Reviews

96%Audience ScoreBased on 70 reviews
story22 positive mentions
gameplay3 negative mentions
  • Deep, emotionally impactful and well-written story that serves as a strong prequel expanding on the lore and characters of malViolence.
  • High-quality art and presentation with expressive character animations, polished visuals, and an immersive atmosphere enhanced by well-chosen music and partial voice acting.
  • Innovative and immersive narrative structure using various formats like interviews, diary entries, texts, and interactive objects that enrich story delivery and player engagement.
  • Minimal interactivity and gameplay elements, being almost a kinetic visual novel with limited or no meaningful player choices, which may feel more like reading than playing.
  • Some pacing and narrative flow issues caused by forced interaction with multiple clickable objects interrupting the story’s momentum.
  • Occasional technical issues such as lag on low-end systems, inconsistent voice acting coverage, and some dialogues progressing too quickly or cutting off, impacting immersion and readability.

  • story

    62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    35% positive mentions, 60% neutral mentions, 5% negative mentions

    The story is deeply emotional and thoughtfully developed, serving as a compelling prequel that enriches the original Malviolence narrative with well-written characters and a haunting, cinematic atmosphere. While mostly linear with limited interactive choices, it effectively explores dark themes of cybernetic experiments on children and systemic failure, delivering a powerful, heart-wrenching experience that resonates strongly—even as a standalone tale. The pacing, innovative presentation through interactive records, and strong character dynamics make it engaging and impactful despite its short length and minimal gameplay.

    • “This game goes way more in depth with the story than it did in the first game.”
    • “I really liked learning more about Dr. Deidre, Pavel, and the YTDI through the story and interactive records.”
    • “A remarkable little story that makes use of every second of its runtime to continue building texture and nuance to the Violence universe while delivering a touching and heartbreaking narrative presented with great writing and fantastic visuals.”
    • “First and foremost, I recommend this game, though calling this a game is a bit generous. Aside from the fact that there are some interactable parts which you have to check all of them in the end, there isn't much aside from the story. There aren't any choices, so it's mostly reading, though I do think the story compensates for this.”
    • “The only issue with the story is that if you played Malviolence (the first game), the principal character will be getting info and stuff that you already know, which can be a bit bad as the tension falls a bit flat when you already know what this is about. That's why I think this game actually works better if it's the first game you play.”
    • “Third: The interactive choices that you have in this game for me aren't the best. First, they don't go with my second point as these aren't choices since you have to interact with all nonetheless, so principally when the game starts getting to its climax, this part can feel like they are interrupting the story. But I do think this is more personal; it does work to see what Deidre does, but the fact that we have to click on all of them just makes me wonder why make it interactive at all?”

  • emotional

    19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game delivers a deeply emotional and heart-wrenching narrative that vividly portrays the struggles and bonds between its characters, especially Pavel and Deidre. Reviewers praise its compelling storytelling, nuanced character development, and the ability to evoke strong feelings such as sadness, care, and empathy, making it a memorable and impactful experience despite its short length.

    • “It is so compelling and made me want to cry and care for Pavel.”
    • “A remarkable little story that makes use of every second of its runtime to continue building texture and nuance to the Violence universe while delivering a touching and heartbreaking narrative presented with great writing and fantastic visuals.”
    • “It was heartbreaking, painful but above all, beautifully crafted to the last detail.”

  • music

    16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    38% positive mentions, 43% neutral mentions, 19% negative mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for enhancing the atmosphere and emotional impact, suiting key moments perfectly and complementing the story and art style. Although some find it understated or sometimes too backgrounded, most appreciate its evocative and well-integrated nature that deepens the overall experience.

    • “The art, music, and voice acting all come together to create a really strong atmosphere.”
    • “My emotions really went through the wringer and reading all the dialogue while listening to the amazing music really amplified the experience.”
    • “The music, story, and style come together beautifully to further flesh out the story of our little future supervillain and Dr. Danger herself.”
    • “My only two complaints would be the music, which is kind of way too much in the background, and a pretty unusual but redundant way to choose what to see next (clicking between 4 different objects).”
    • “There is not much music, so most of the time it was silence.”
    • “First, I'll go with music is not something I pay too much attention to but the few times I listened I actually liked the music and that it went well with the scenarios and the feelings of the moment.”

  • graphics

    11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    64% positive mentions, 9% neutral mentions, 27% negative mentions

    The graphics feature a charming, cartoonish art style that contrasts strikingly with the darker content, enhancing the overall narrative impact. Visuals are praised for their quality and character design, though some users experienced lag on lower-end systems, indicating a need for performance optimization settings.

    • “I really enjoyed the storyline, and love the art style!”
    • “The contrast is what makes it hit: the art style looks almost 'innocent' (kinda European BD / cartoonish), while the content is anything but.”
    • “A remarkable little story that makes use of every second of its runtime to continue building texture and nuance to the violence universe while delivering a touching and heartbreaking narrative presented with great writing and fantastic visuals.”
    • “Again, not an issue for most, but it lagged many times on my potato laptop while streaming the game, so I wish they had a setting for game graphics to optimize performance.”
    • “The visuals were innocent to begin with, lulling me into a false sense of security that was smashed later on.”
    • “The contrast is what makes it hit: the art style looks almost 'innocent' (kind of European BD/cartoonish), while the content is anything but.”

  • gameplay

    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    17% positive mentions, 33% neutral mentions, 50% negative mentions

    The gameplay is minimal and primarily involves clicking through dialogue with no real challenges, pacing, or engaging mechanics. It functions more as a visual novel or interactive story rather than offering substantive gameplay.

    • “Art, gameplay, writing and voice acting were all amazing.”
    • “But there’s no challenge, no pacing curve, no real gameplay loop.”
    • “As a visual/interactive novel, this doesn't feature any notable gameplay, it's just a lot of clicking through badly written dialogue that would never have been accepted or published in print, which poses the question, "how did something this badly written end up on steam?".”
    • “Worth it only as “bonus lore”, not as gameplay.”

  • atmosphere

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The atmosphere is highly praised for its cohesive blend of art, music, and voice acting, creating a strong and immersive experience with clear intent.

    • “The art, music, and voice acting all come together to create a really strong atmosphere.”
    • “Now, what it does have is atmosphere and intent.”

  • optimization

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    50% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 50% negative mentions

    Optimization is generally acceptable, but some users with low-end hardware experience lag and wish for additional graphics settings to improve performance.

    • “It lagged many times on my low-end laptop while streaming, so I wish there was a graphics setting to optimize performance.”

  • monetization

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    Users criticize the monetization as exploitative, viewing the content as a mere advertisement meant to push another low-quality, non-interactive e-book rather than offering genuine gameplay or value.

  • grinding

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    Users find the grinding aspect tedious and slow, likening it to having to click repeatedly to progress through what would otherwise be an engaging novel. This mechanic disrupts the reading flow and can make the experience feel monotonous.

  • humor

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    Users find the humor dry and niche, with jokes that may appeal only to a very small audience. It is seen as clever but likely to have limited broad appeal.

  • character development

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 100% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    Users appreciate the game's strong character development, particularly praising its unique art style and well-crafted character designs that enhance the overall experience.

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Play Times

4h Median play time
4h Average play time
2-5h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

ProtoViolence is a action game with horror, mystery, anime and science fiction themes. Common tags for ProtoViolence include first-person, indie, psychological, emotional, psychological horror and others.

ProtoViolence is available on PC, Mac OS, Windows and Linux.

On average players spend around 4 hours playing ProtoViolence.

ProtoViolence was released on February 18, 2024.

ProtoViolence was developed by Mado.

ProtoViolence has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players. Most players liked ProtoViolence for its story but disliked it for its gameplay.

ProtoViolence is a single player game.

Similar games include Narcissu 1st & 2nd, Her Lie I Tried To Believe, Lucid9: Inciting Incident, Fault Milestone Two Side: Above, Analogue: A Hate Story and others.