The Mildew Children

92%
Game Brain Score Based on 47 reviews
  • story
  • atmosphere
  • graphics
The Mildew Children Game Cover
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In "The Mildew Children," a Metroidvania action-adventure game, play as Kyrphel, a young witch who must perform a perilous ritual with her sisters to save their village. With a blend of 2D adventure and visual novel elements, the game features hand-drawn graphics and a dark, folkloric story centered around pagan traditions and ancient beliefs. Survive the ritual and uncover its secrets. Chapter 1 is currently available on Steam.

  • Mac OS
  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Linux
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

92%
Audience ScoreBased on 47 reviews
story22 positive mentions
replayability2 negative mentions
  • The game features a beautifully crafted atmosphere with stunning visuals and sound design that enhance the eerie and immersive experience.
  • The narrative is engaging and thought-provoking, exploring deep themes such as addiction, manipulation, and social acceptance, with well-developed characters.
  • Gameplay includes interesting dialogue mini-games that add tension and interactivity, making the experience more engaging for players.
  • The pacing can be slow and tedious, with a lot of walking and dialogue that may feel drawn out, potentially leading to player frustration.
  • Some players found the story unpolished and lacking clear explanations, resulting in confusion and a feeling of wasted potential.
  • The game can be challenging in terms of puzzles and achieving certain endings, which may deter players who prefer a more straightforward experience.
  • story39 mentions

    The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its engaging and unique narrative set in an unsettling atmosphere, while others criticize it for being unpolished and lacking resolution. Many highlight the strong character development and immersive visuals that enhance the storytelling experience, though some find the pacing slow and the plot drawn out. Overall, the story is seen as intriguing and thought-provoking, with potential for further exploration in future installments.

    • “Amazing horror game with an interesting story, great characters, and sound design.”
    • “The story was engaging enough to keep me on edge, always wanting to discover what would happen next.”
    • “It's a beautiful game with a beautiful story and characters.”
    • “Nothing is explained, nothing is resolved; the story is unpolished, and by the end of the game, you're just making random choices in the dialogues.”
    • “The plot is clumsy and drawn out.”
    • “More variety and an improved balance between story and gameplay elements would have inspired me to go back and pursue a better ending right away, but instead, I need a break from tiring walks around the village and exhausting conversations with its inhabitants before I do.”
  • atmosphere12 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is consistently praised for its unsettling yet immersive qualities, combining beautiful artwork and sound to create a hauntingly enchanting experience. Reviewers highlight the intense narrative themes of addiction and manipulation, which enhance the eerie ambiance, making it both captivating and disturbing. Overall, the game's atmosphere is described as a blend of horror and charm, effectively drawing players into its otherworldly setting.

    • “The narrative is intense and gripping, exploring themes of addiction and manipulation, creating an immersive yet disturbing atmosphere.”
    • “Visual novel with a highly original story, great artwork and sound, all creating an otherworldly atmosphere.”
    • “The artwork is beautiful, the atmosphere is eerie but enchanting.”
    • “There are no jump scares, and the horror is based on an unsettling atmosphere that permeates the story from the very beginning to the end.”
    • “The atmosphere is horrifying yet tempting you to proceed further.”
    • “A visual novel with a highly original story, great artwork, and sound, all creating an otherworldly atmosphere.”
  • graphics12 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their gorgeous art style and atmospheric design, creating an enchanting and otherworldly experience. Reviewers highlight the beautiful artwork and sound, which effectively complement the intriguing storyline and engaging characters. Overall, the visuals are considered a standout feature, making the game worth playing for their aesthetic appeal alone.

    • “Visual novel with a highly original story, great artwork and sound, all creating an otherworldly atmosphere.”
    • “The artwork is beautiful, the atmosphere is eerie but enchanting.”
    • “This game deserves to be played just for the gorgeous art style and creepy atmosphere.”
    • “The visuals are outdated and lack detail.”
    • “The character models look flat and uninspired.”
    • “The graphics feel like they belong to a previous generation of gaming.”
  • gameplay10 mentions

    The gameplay primarily revolves around exploration, dialogue choices, and occasional quick-time events, which can be disabled if desired. While the integration of mini-games and narrative elements enhances immersion, some players find the mechanics obscure and suggest improvements in button mapping and variety. Overall, the game offers a visually appealing experience with a compelling story, though it may lack challenge for seasoned players.

    • “The memorizing and mini-games also tie in perfectly to the narrative, making the gameplay experience part of the world itself as opposed to just being a mechanic on the side.”
    • “Now I can say that the game has nicely evolved: the locations and characters are well designed, simple mini-games add immersion to the gameplay, there's a really astonishing visual style, and the plot itself is intriguing.”
    • “The creators of this game should be lauded for their clever ideas of interaction in gameplay!”
    • “The gameplay itself could do with some improvements: mostly not using the same button for QTE ticks and answer selection, but custom keybinds would be appreciated too.”
    • “More variety and an improved balance between story and gameplay elements would have inspired me to go back and pursue a better ending right away, but instead I need a break from tiring walks around the village and exhausting conversations with its inhabitants before I do.”
    • “A very good horror visual novel with some elements of gameplay which seems to only exist to make the moment of tension more stressful... and it works.”
  • music8 mentions

    The music in the game is generally praised for enhancing the immersive atmosphere, with an excellent soundtrack that complements the story and visuals. However, some users noted that the music can be sparse and occasionally repetitive, which detracts from the overall experience. Overall, the combination of music, art, and sound effectively contributes to the game's engaging environment.

    • “The story, art, music, the little minigames adding tension during key parts, the different expressions on character portraits, all of it makes the game very immersive, on the level that's usually pretty hard to achieve in a mostly text-based game.”
    • “Artwork and music/sound do a really good job throughout.”
    • “Great story with nice visuals and good music.”
    • “My only gripes with the game are some errors in spelling and grammar, as well as the music being rather sparse and often a bit repetitive.”
  • replayability2 mentions

    The game offers significant replayability through its numerous choices and branching paths, allowing players to explore different outcomes. However, some users feel that certain decisions can lead to frustrating consequences, such as lesser endings, which may detract from the overall experience.

    • “There's plenty of replayability, but as a singular experience, I also don't feel like I missed out.”
    • “I didn’t appreciate being punished with a lesser ending for something I didn’t even realize I had done much earlier, but that’s all part of the many choices and branching paths that make the game replayable.”
  • emotional2 mentions

    Mildew Children is praised for its heartfelt and emotional storytelling, combining elements of point-and-click and visual novel genres. The game features a character-driven narrative with a memorable cast, enhanced by interactive gameplay that influences the outcome of spells, rituals, and conversations.

    • “It is a heartfelt game that is a blend of a point-and-click and a visual novel with mini-games and timed sections that determine how successful you are at a spell, ritual, or conversation.”
    • “Mildew Children creates a character-oriented interactive experience, featuring a strong and emotional story with a great and memorable cast.”
  • grinding1 mentions

    Players find the grinding in the game to be slow and tedious, leading to a general recommendation against investing significant time into it.

    • “I simply cannot recommend anyone to invest 6 hours in this game, considering how slow and tedious it is.”
  • character development1 mentions

    Reviewers highlight the game's deep and rich character development, noting that it enhances the overall narrative and player engagement.

    • “The game features deep and rich character development.”
    • “I was amazed by how the characters evolved throughout the story.”
    • “Each character has a unique backstory that adds depth to their development.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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