Little Misfortune (2019), developed by Killmonday Games, follows eight-year-old Misfortune Ramirez Hernandez’s unsettling yet whimsical journey. On said journey, she seeks “eternal happiness” to gift to her troubled mother. Guided, or perhaps manipulated by a slightly suspicious narrator, known as Mr. Voice. Misfortune’s story unfolds as a dark fairy tale filled with themes of trauma, emotional neglect, trust, and the irreparable loss of innocence, all veiled behind layers of shock humor and surreal storytelling.
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The Darkness of Little Misfortune
The Start
The game opens with a glimpse of a mysterious fox named Benjamin stepping through a portal on an unknown mission. Quickly shifting to Misfortune’s bleak home life, the tone is set when Mr. Voice announces to the player that Misfortune will die today. To Mr. Voice’s surprise, she can hear him. Her ability to hear the narrator shatters the fourth wall, immediately unsettling the player and signalling that this is no ordinary adventure.
Through slightly upsetting scenes like Little Misfortune showing her hand-drawn diary, the player begins to understand the depth of her emotional isolation. Her diary filled with misspelled words, pictures of domestic violence, and her confused attempts to make sense of her world. Despite her naivety, she chooses to embark on the quest for eternal happiness not for herself, but for her mother. Thus highlighting her prematurely forced maturity.
Vital Themes
From the beginning, the game emphasises the significance of personal choice, with Mr. Voice stressing, “Your choice is much more important than you think”. Even during small moments like selecting a rock or a toy unicorn for the journey. These seemingly minor decisions underline the game’s core message, the importance of making choices for yourself even when the world has taken control away.
Without giving away too much, Little Misfortune ends on a bittersweet and emotional note that may leave players with mixed feelings. The story’s final moments can be a bit confusing at first and abrupt. Nonetheless, it conveys the themes of loss, innocence, and trust that the game builds up to. Depending on the choices made along the way, players may experience slightly different endings. However, all of them are meant to make you reflect on what Misfortune’s journey really meant.
Little Misfortune can be played on:
- macOS
- Windows
- Android
- IOS
- PS4
- Xbox One
- Nintendo Switch
