Unhappy Ever After

About

Unhappy Ever After is a dark fantasy RPG where players assume the role of Sophia, an 18th-century librarian's apprentice trapped in a magical world. Seeking revenge on the witch who tore her away from her lands, Sophia embarks on a quest through steampunk lairs, underworld realms, and cursed forests, aiding a rebellion and navigating political intrigue in the Twelve Duchies. With its rich, immersive universe and diverse gameplay, Unhappy Ever After offers a thrilling and unique RPG experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

+14

61%

Audience ScoreBased on 23 reviews

story9 positive mentions

stability6 negative mentions

The game features a compelling and dark storyline that creatively twists classic fairy tales, engaging players with moral dilemmas and character depth.
Visually, the game is impressive for an RPG Maker title, with cute pixel graphics, detailed environments, and a day/night cycle that enhances immersion.
There is a wealth of side quests and a unique combat system that requires strategic thinking, making for a challenging and rewarding gameplay experience.

The combat mechanics are poorly balanced, with a high encounter rate and frustrating escape mechanics that disrupt exploration and pacing.
Technical issues such as lag, crashes, and bugs, including auto-deleting save files and unresponsive NPCs, significantly detract from the overall experience.
The lack of a proper map system and unclear directions can lead to confusion, making navigation difficult and frustrating for players.

story
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
75%
6%
The game's story is generally praised for its compelling and dark narrative, with many players feeling drawn in by its unique themes and character development. However, some reviewers noted that the story's pacing suffers due to overwhelming side quests and frequent combat interruptions, which can detract from the overall experience. While the presentation of the story is often described as beautiful, there are concerns about its execution and the lack of resolution, especially given the absence of a sequel to complete the narrative arc.
- “It has a compelling story and characters.”
- “I’d rather say it’s a mature story that provides a unique perspective on children’s tales while addressing the difficult issues that plague modern society.”
- “The story, while I won't give away too much, is actually captivating despite the fact that it piggybacks on the tale of Hansel and Gretel.”
- “Anyway, back on the story of the game - the most important part, really - it started off well and went downhill fast by a certain point.”
- “It does not do the story justice at all.”
- “Perhaps this observation changes and the game picks up exponentially as I continue through the story, but I’ve seen no hint of this being the case and there’s very little information available from the community on what to expect going forward.”
graphics
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
62%
15%
23%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their cute pixel art style, stunning beauty, and immersive environments, with many reviewers highlighting the detailed artwork on sprites and maps. However, some users experienced issues with choppy graphics and noted the reuse of certain assets in different color palettes. Overall, the visuals are considered a strong point, enhancing the overall gaming experience.
- “Visually, the graphics are stunningly beautiful and the game world is extremely detailed.”
- “The game's graphics and art style are very nice and immersive.”
- “Right off the bat, the graphics and art style are very nice and immersive.”
- “To add insult to injury, after struggling through the choppy graphics for about half an hour, I discovered that at least on Linux, save files are deleted when you exit the game, so you'd have to be able to complete it all in one sitting.”
- “Also, the artwork is unique, though I’ve seen the same mobs simply rendered in different color palettes and reused to fit different local areas already, and I’m only in the first town of the game.”
- “We've all played a lot of RPG Maker games, but graphically this one stands out to me.”
music
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
43%
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many praising its ability to complement the visuals and enhance the atmosphere, creating a memorable experience. However, some users note that certain sound effects can be repetitive and annoying. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's immersive qualities.
- “The music complements the visuals and is very nice to listen to.”
- “I find myself humming along to the victory song after a battle.”
- “The game is beautiful to look at, and the music creates a chilling atmosphere that suits the world perfectly.”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is notably poor, with numerous glitches and bugs reported by players, including issues like walking through walls and unreachable items. Additionally, there are various spelling errors and minor quest-related glitches, contributing to an overall sense of unpolished gameplay. Despite these issues, many players remain engaged due to the compelling story.
- “There are also minor glitches in several of the quests.”
- “This game is unpolished as there are various spelling errors and small glitches that will never be fixed since the developer got the money and left.”
- “Every player can see glitches and bugs in the game (e.g. walking through walls, unreachable chests, unequipable items).”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The game's atmosphere is described as immersive and dismal, reminiscent of the Lisa games, with dark twists on standard fairytales. Players appreciate the beautiful visuals and chilling music that enhance the overall experience, creating a fittingly eerie ambiance.
- “Talking about an immersive gaming atmosphere, wow!!!”
- “The game is beautiful to look at, and the music creates a chilling atmosphere that suits the world perfectly.”
- “If you couldn't tell from the title, the game has a little dismal atmosphere (it kind of reminds me of the Lisa games, in terms of atmosphere).”
- “If you couldn't tell from the title, the game has a little dismal atmosphere (it kind of reminds me of the Lisa games, in terms of atmosphere).”
- “I love the atmosphere and the dark twists on standard fairytales.”
gameplay
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The gameplay is a mixed bag, with players enjoying the engaging storyline and the discovery-based combat mechanics, but expressing frustration with the combat system and certain mechanics that complicate escaping battles. Overall, the game is deemed fun and compelling, particularly for its unique approach to spell learning.
- “I love the combat mechanics, the various spells that have to be learned by discovery and not obtained automatically from leveling.”
- “The storyline is really fun, and I'm only playing to find out how it ends; otherwise, the combat mechanics and other parts of the game unrelated to the story are atrocious.”
- “I don't understand the mechanic in how the game determines how you can escape, but I don't want to fight every single battle even when the monsters do 0 damage to me.”
- “However, this RPG Maker game is so much fun that I feel compelled to write about it after just 10 hours of gameplay.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, resulting in persistent lag and frame rate drops that worsen over time. Additionally, numerous bugs affect gameplay, including unresponsive items and quests that can crash the game or remain incomplete.
- “Poorly optimized, leading to lagginess that gets worse as the game runs.”
- “Additionally, there seem to be many bugs impacting optimization (FPS lags happen often) and many more affecting items and quests (some items are not equippable, some quests crash the game or aren't always completable, etc.).”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its subtlety and depth, effectively intertwining adult themes such as cannibalism and vengeance with witty character interactions. Reviewers appreciate the multi-faceted nature of the characters, which enhances the overall comedic experience within the narrative.
- “I really liked the main story and the twelve duchies’ background, which is written with subtle humor and incorporates adult themes like cannibalism, vengeance, death, and substance abuse.”
- “The characters are funny and multi-faceted.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users indicate that the game has notable replayability factors, suggesting that players may find it enjoyable to revisit the game multiple times.
- “I really enjoy the replayability factors in this game.”
- “The game offers great replayability, keeping me engaged for hours.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect tedious due to monsters leveling alongside them, resulting in prolonged battles without significant rewards. The scarcity of impactful gear upgrades further diminishes the incentive to engage in grinding for character improvement.
- “Initially, the way the monsters leveled with you, along with the lack of gear, made the battles very long and tedious.”
- “This pretty much takes away the incentive of fighting mobs and grinding to gain an advantage entirely. On top of that, you'll struggle to find equipment upgrades that have even a slight impact on your characters' stats.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Reviewers note that significant character development is lacking, suggesting that certain gameplay mechanics or design choices detract from the depth and growth of the characters.
- “A lot of the character development is lost by doing that.”
- “The characters feel one-dimensional and lack meaningful growth throughout the game.”
- “I was disappointed by how little the characters evolved; their arcs felt rushed and unfulfilling.”