Little Misfortune

Indie games have recently been flexing their muscles in the PC Gaming scene for a few years now. Games like Undertale, The Binding of Isaac and Hollow Knight have established their presence among the top 5 titles for a large number of PC Gamers. Additionally, many studios are investing a lot more into independent titles.

One of the newest indie titles to grace the scene is Little Misfortune. After its launch in 2019, it addressed sensitive topics through the gaming medium. Its approach was met with some divisive reception. The general consensus puts Little Misfortune at an average score of 55/100. However, is there really more to this game, or is it mishandling the mature themes that overarch its story.

Characters

In Little Misfortune, you play as the protagonist, Misfortune Ramirez Hernandez, a self-explanatory character from her name. She has lived a pretty hard life, but her age makes her oblivious to the cruel reality of the world. Because of this, she deals with her tragedies through humor and a brave tenacity.

During your adventure as Misfortune, you’ll get to explore the world with a narrator that plays a significant role in Misfortune’s life. Misfortune is aware of the narrator, and she often interacts with him during her journey. Akin to The Stanley Parable, it’s evident that interactive narration is an interesting medium within video games.

Additionally, a mysterious anthropomorphic fox character is encountered numerous times by Misfortune, but she is warned against interacting with the fox by the narrator. During the course of your journey, this fox will play an important role in the conclusion to Misfortune’s story.

Gameplay

Little Misfortune is a 2.5D game that allows the player to move only forwards or backwards. However, there are some cutscenes that can be triggered to change the appearance of the game. There are also some minigames that can be played by Misfortune such as Whack-a-mole. There is also the occasional puzzle that requires you to piece together a vase.

As you explore the world, you can inspect things around you. Some of the things you’ll interact with are important in unlocking the path forward, or unlocking extra dialogue in the game. Some decisions you make might alter some outcomes in the game.

Darker Themes

In Little Misfortune, the characters and animals you’ll encounter are charmingly cute. The world is basically a cartoon, but the darker themes still manage to pull you into the game.

Generally, the reveals in Little Misfortune are supposed to provide a lasting effect for players. However, anyone can pretty much tell when something is off, so the reveals don’t really provide the shock value that was probably intended by Killmonday games. Essentially, it was quite predictable, but without much of an impact. This makes the ending leave a sort of bitter taste. The lessons learned along the way are still important, but the game’s intent could have been communicated a lot better.

Pros

• Beautiful World
• Interesting Characters
• Impactful Story

Cons

• Weak Ending
• Too Predictable