[h1]Sights & Sounds[/h1]
[h3]Awkward[/h3]
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[*] That subtitle is basically how I'd sum up the visual presentation of [i]The Mildew Children[/i] in one word
[*] Take, for example, a typical snapshot of the gameplay as you're exploring. Feel free to pull up an image search for screenshots to verify what I'm saying. To my eyes, it looks like characters are 3D-modeled and placed on scrolling 2D backgrounds. While not ugly per se, the primitive looking characters on the frankly gorgeous backdrops is a little jarring, almost like the assets are from two different games
[*] Character animations are stilted and repetitive. Almost robotic. Additionally, turning around to face a different direction slingshots the screen to maintain your character's position at roughly the 1/4 width mark in the direction you're facing. Hope you're not overly prone to motion sickness
[*] As a result, whenever the game is in motion, it looks and feels strange. When you're just talking to someone and can focus on the voice acting, story development, beautiful backgrounds, and expressive character portraits, though? [i]The Mildew Children[/i] can be quite the scenic experience
[*] I can't really judge the voice acting given that it's all in Russian, but it sounded good to me. And even if a Russian-speaker would judge otherwise, I don't think the typical English speaker would find anything noteworthy to complain about
[*] The soundtrack is really where the presentation shines. I find that a lot of other games with grim, oppressive, and evil atmospheres tend to overuse ambient electronic music with sparse arrangements and occasionally squeaky violins to set the mood. Fortunately, that's not the case in this title
[*] The tracks are noteworthy not only for their quality, but also for how unique they sound to a Western ear. There's a lot of strings and percussion that I can't quite identify, and the use of whispered incantations, disharmonies, and oblique bends convincingly create a creeping sense of unease. Some game OSTs try to sound scary. [i]The Mildew Children[/i]'s sounds like you've broken some arcane ritual law and infernal forces are mobilizing to punish you for it
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[h1]Story & Vibes[/h1]
[h3]Never grow old[/h3]
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[*] [i]The Mildew Children[/i] casts you in the role of Kyrphel, the youngest member of a small coven of witches in a remote forest village. From the outset, it's clear that dark magic in the air
[*] The village is governed by an aggressive practice of forced reincarnation. The laws in place dictate that all people, once they turn 19, are led to their grave and made to drink a poison called Black Milk given to them by the current Grave Priestess. Once lulled into their final slumber, the priestess makes a single clean incision with her scythe and lays them to rest to eventually be reincarnated as a new child
[*] This practice is in place at least in part to appease a goddess called the Mistress of Death. Even so, these ritual sacrifices aren't enough to hold her off forever. Every 10 years, the village's witches, despite their status as outcasts, have to complete a rite called the Dormition on The Darkest Night to stave off the culling of the entire village. Even when successful,
[*] Complicating matters is the fact that the Dormition is typically conducted with four witches, and Kyrphel's currently only contains two others besides herself. Their most senior witch has recently died unexpectedly, making their prospects of success grim
[*] While her sisters are given over to resignation or despair, your goal as Kyrphel is to formulate a plan to ensure the rite's success, even if the cost is her life
[*] As you can plainly see, the setting, background, and plotline are all unrelentingly dark. There's nary a ray of hope throughout much of the narrative
[*] All of this serves as some excellent lore building. Even if the visuals often look uncanny, they never quite break your immersion due to how thoughtfully constructed the in-game world is. I think my favorite bit of lore is that witches in [i]The Mildew Children[/i]'s world become less and less powerful as they age. New initiates have the greatest powers of sorcery, even if they're less capable of controlling it effectively. This means that even if Kyrphel is able to find a replacement witch, the coven will only have a short amount of time to train her before The Darkest Night arrives
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[h1]Playability & Replayability[/h1]
[h3]Jot it down[/h3]
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[*] With its blend of 2D adventure and visual novel gameplay, you'd be forgiven for opining that most of your time in the game centers around walking around and talking. Were it not for the well-written story, I admit that this would get old pretty fast
[*] In that vein, not a lot is expected of the player other than their attention. And I certainly do recommend that you pay close attention. The Dormition may be the most important ritual you'll need to perform, but it's certainly not the only one. If someone explains the process of how a certain rite works or what incantations you'll need for success, you'd do well to take a screenshot or scribble some notes
[*] Sure, there's guides online available to pull you out of a soft-lock if you couldn't be bothered to focus on what was presented, but at that point, why play a story-driven game at all?
[*] These rituals will be the most active part of the gameplay you'll encounter. Beyond wracking your memory for the right words or order of operations, witches must rely on the powers of nature to help them with their practice. These usually take the form of various plants that improve Kyrphel's abilities at the cost of some physical distress
[*] After consuming these magic ingredients, Kyrphel will, at times, suffer adverse effects. When this happens, a meter with a moving arrow will pop up next to her character portrait. You'll need hold the direction opposite of the way the arrow is traveling to keep it from touching the sides. Failing to do so can have results ranging from simple failure to instant death
[*] I'm kind of split on this method of injecting tension into the VN gameplay. On one hand, it does help immersion. It's not always an easy minigame, with the arrow sometimes rapidly changing directions with a lot of momentum. On the other hand, it can be frustrating to start a ritual over and go through the dialogue again if you fail
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[h1]Overall Impressions & Performance[/h1]
[h3]For the genre enthusiast[/h3]
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[*] Assigning a score to a game like this always feels a little tricky. People who don't enjoy VNs or 2D adventure games will probably bounce right off of this. If you can at least tolerate it, though, you're rewarded with a great story with dense lore and an incredible atmosphere
[*] There's just something riveting about conducting all that dark magic while that creepy OST plays over the witches' incantations. It's truly eerie. Managed to give me goosebumps towards the conclusion. I recommend playing in a dark room to complete the illusion. Maybe light a dribbly candle and lower the thermostat a few ticks
[*] Given that the most intense gameplay only involves holding left or right, it's a pretty good Steam Deck title. It ran and performed well on that platform
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[h1]Final Verdict[/h1]
[b]7.0[/b]/10. I'm potentially overweighting the story in this case, but I think that's the fairest way to judge a VN. I've played far more intense horror titles that didn't manage to get this sort of sympathetic nervous system response out of me. If you enjoy the genre, this is an easy title to recommend
