An eight-year-old girl, Misfortune Ramirez Hernandez, lives in the town of Openfields in Sweden. The fledgling comes from a pathological family of alcoholics who ignore her, so she couldn’t be said to be happy. Little Unfortunate, however, beautifies her everyday life by showering the horrors from her surroundings with handfuls of glitter and accepting reality as it is, without any deeper reflection. One day a mysterious voice enters her life and announces that the girl is going to die. At the same time, the main character gets from him the opportunity to play a mysterious game that will allow her to find eternal happiness. Misfortune decides to participate, but – surprisingly – not for herself, but to win for her mother.
Lots of clicking and more
The playability of this title is low, and the controls are simple. We use arrows (movement and selecting options), space (previewing actions on objects) and three letter keys (throwing glitter, confirming and rejecting possibilities) and shift (running). The character moves right or left because the game is not three-dimensional. There is no menu of characters, development, skills or speeding up or slowing down time. The player can only move the girl and make choices when faced with decisions. However, the plot teaches from the very beginning that everything has its consequences. It can be completed in about 2.5 to 3 hours.
So I go and go and talk and go
Little Misfortune is characterized by a nice line and an interesting idea for a plot. A single girl whose parents got together because of an unwanted pregnancy (because, as we learn from one statement, they could not afford an abortion), leads a sad life full of dangerous situations. The main character, whether out of boredom or because she heard about her potential death, decides to take part in the game of the mysterious voice. Her journey in search of eternal happiness abounds in abstract situations and places, and along the route there are decisions and options that we, as players, decide on or reject. For example, a girl may end up in a challenging adult club (with hamsters attending and strippers). There are also animals standing in her way, such as the hip-hop hot duck or the Fox, whom the eight-year-old calls Benjamin. The redhead circulates around the heroine for a specific purpose that seems inconsistent with what the mysterious voice wants from the very beginning. Unfortunately, despite the interesting-sounding description, the pace of events is terribly slow. Each statement must be listened to to the end, we do not rush anything, even when we run instead of walking. If it was a procedure aimed at better reflecting the child’s pace, I consider it unsuccessful and ill-considered for the users of the game.
It seems nice, but it causes disgust
The reality surrounding Misfortune is, on the one hand, strange and slightly dark, and on the other – many situations are embellished with such comments from the heroine that you don’t know what to think. The aforementioned abortion, alcoholism, the father returning his daughter to the pool, the mother who leaves her in the store unattended, the hanging men, the dying animals … there are no limits to what a child can experience in his short life in this game. I was not quite able to find myself in such a narrative, because it was no longer simply dark, but simply unpalatable. My line has been crossed in this game. I couldn’t help but think how many children in the world must live under such conditions. This could be considered a plus – that the game provokes reflection, but it also took away any pleasure from the game. I also do not know who was planned as the main recipient of the game. I certainly wouldn’t recommend it to children, because despite the graphic layer, dialogues and situations are too cruel, abstract and distasteful. For older players, it is simply boring due to its slow pace and too infantile task-decisions.
Oh, such a curiosity
A nice graphical game that moves too heavy topics at times. I was expecting a dark title that would draw me into its world for hours. However, I got a short adventure game that caused mixed feelings, and sometimes even irritation and disgust. I believe a pretty good idea burned here.
