The Mildew Children

About

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.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

96%

Audience ScoreBased on 94 reviews

story44 positive mentions

replayability2 negative mentions

The game features a captivating and unique story that explores dark themes, creating an immersive atmosphere.
The visuals and sound design are stunning, enhancing the overall experience and making the game feel enchanting yet eerie.
Gameplay includes engaging dialogue choices and mini-games that add tension and depth to the narrative.

The pacing can be slow and tedious, with a lot of walking and dialogue that may feel drawn out.
Some players found the mechanics obscure and the lack of clear explanations frustrating, particularly in certain chapters.
There are issues with replayability due to unclear choices affecting endings, and some players felt the game could benefit from more character animations and voice acting.

story
78 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
40%
4%
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some praising its engaging and unique narrative set in a dark fantasy world, while others criticize it for being unpolished and unresolved. Many players appreciate the atmospheric horror elements and character depth, though some find the pacing slow and the dialogue choices random by the end. Overall, the story is described as intriguing and immersive, with a strong visual and auditory presentation that enhances the experience.
- “Amazing horror game with an interesting story, great characters, and sound design.”
- “The story, art, music, and the little mini-games adding tension during key parts all make the game very immersive, on a level that's usually pretty hard to achieve in a mostly text-based game.”
- “I am enjoying the story very much thus far; it is engaging enough, eerie, somewhat beautiful, and even thought-provoking.”
- “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.”
atmosphere
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
13%
13%
The atmosphere of the game is consistently praised for its eerie yet enchanting qualities, enhanced by beautiful artwork and a haunting soundtrack. Reviewers highlight the unsettling ambiance that drives the narrative, creating a gripping experience without relying on jump scares. Overall, the game is described as immersive and atmospheric, effectively conveying themes of dread, loneliness, and manipulation.
- “The narrative is intense and gripping, exploring themes of addiction and manipulation, creating an immersive yet disturbing atmosphere.”
- “The artwork is beautiful, the atmosphere is eerie but enchanting.”
- “The dread, the loneliness, the desperation of the village, the eerie atmosphere of everything - that was a blast.”
- “The atmosphere is horrifying yet tempting you to proceed further.”
- “There is no jump scares and the horror is based on an unsettling atmosphere which permeates the story from the very beginning to the end.”
- “Visual novel with a highly original story, great artwork and sound, all creating an otherworldly atmosphere.”
graphics
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
83%
4%
13%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their gorgeous art style and atmospheric design, creating an enchanting and eerie experience. Reviewers highlight the beautiful artwork and sound, which effectively complement the original story and engaging characters, making the visuals a standout feature that enhances the overall gameplay.
- “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 underwhelming and lack detail.”
- “The character designs are uninspired and the graphics feel outdated.”
- “The graphics do not match the expectations set by modern games.”
gameplay
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
65%
15%
The gameplay primarily involves exploration, dialogue interactions, and occasional quick-time events (QTEs), which can be disabled if desired. While the integration of mini-games and narrative elements enhances immersion, some players find the mechanics obscure and the repetitive nature of walking and conversations tiring. Overall, the game is accessible for newcomers to the genre but may lack the challenge that seasoned players seek, with room for improvement in button mapping and gameplay variety.
- “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 (that actually caught my attention initially and still surprises me), 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 tick 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.”
- “Majority of the gameplay consists of walking around, talking with people, and choosing dialogue options, with periodical QTEs (which can be turned off in options at any time).”
music
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
38%
13%
The music in the game is generally praised for enhancing the immersive atmosphere, complementing the story and visuals effectively. However, some users noted that the soundtrack can be sparse and repetitive at times, which detracts from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, the music is still considered a strong aspect of the game, contributing positively to its ambiance.
- “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.”
- “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.”
- “It's all there, from the music, to the ambience, to the dialogue and conversation.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers significant replayability due to its numerous choices and branching paths, allowing players to explore different outcomes. However, some users express frustration over being penalized with lesser endings for unintentional decisions, which can detract from the overall experience.
- “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.”
- “There's plenty of replayability, but as a singular experience, I also don't feel like I missed out.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
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, engaging players through interactive experiences that impact the story's outcome.
- “Mildew Children creates a character-oriented interactive experience, featuring a strong and emotional story with a great and memorable cast.”
- “It is a heartfelt game that blends point-and-click mechanics with visual novel elements, including mini-games and timed sections that determine your success in spells, rituals, or conversations.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that the grinding in the game is perceived as slow and tedious, leading some players to feel that investing significant time, such as six hours, is not worthwhile. Overall, the grinding experience detracts from the game's enjoyment.
- “I simply cannot recommend anyone to invest 6 hours in this game, considering how slow and tedious it is.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The character development in the game is noted for being deep and rich, providing players with a nuanced and engaging experience as they explore the complexities of the characters.
- “Deep and rich character development.”
- “Deep and rich character development.”