The Mildew Children pulls you into an unsettling world, characterized by its eerie atmosphere and dark secrets.
The Mildew Children’s slow-burning storytelling style gives you the feeling of a psychological thriller. Within this haunting setting, themes of witchcraft and ancient Pagan rituals weave through the game’s story, adding layers of mystery and intrigue. As you delve deeper into the game, you’ll uncover the dark secrets of the village and ultimately decide the fate of its inhabitants.
Developed by The Growing Stones and published by Valkyrie Initiative, The Mildew Children tells a dark story set in a secluded village populated solely by children, where the villagers adhere staunchly to savage pagan customs. At the heart of this grim tale are Kyrphel and her sisters, tasked with a harrowing Ritual essential for their village’s survival.
This ceremony, with its macabre rites, often claims the lives of witches, for not all can defy the grasp of the Mistress of Death. However, Kyrphel, imbued with a strength she believed unyielding, faces this trial with determination. Little did she know the challenges awaiting her would test her resolve beyond imagination.
Immerse yourself in a captivating blend of fairy tale and horror within The Mildew Children, where the narrative intricately weaves together elements of pagan folklore and ancient beliefs. Join Kyrphel and her companions on a journey through this dark yet beautifully hand-drawn adventure game. Engage in the long-forgotten Rituals that hold the key to unlocking the village’s secrets, interact with its peculiar inhabitants, and delve into the mystique that surrounds the young sorceress.
When I first dived into The Mildew Children, I couldn’t shake the feeling of resemblance to the 2019 movie Midsommar. Both explore themes of rituals, folklore, sacrifices, and death, creating a deeply atmospheric and unsettling experience. However, while Midsommar presents these themes from an outsider’s perspective, in The Mildew Children, players immerse themselves directly into this eerie world, experiencing these elements firsthand. This distinction adds a layer of intimacy and intensity to the story, drawing players deeper into the dark and mysterious atmosphere.
Echoes of M. Night Shyamalan’s 2004 film The Village also resonated throughout the game. Like The Village, The Mildew Children goes into the complexities of secluded communities, hidden secrets, and the darkness that lurks beneath seemingly idyllic facades. Additionally, there is an element of the game that feels like the developers have taken some inspiration from some of the Resident Evil games, and whether that was intended or not it compliments The Mildew Children well.
The Mildew Children falls into the category of being a 2D adventure game along with being a visual novel. Set in a side-scrolling format, controlling the protagonist, Kyrphel, is straightforward on the Switch—simply maneuver the left joystick for movement, with interactions managed by the A button. While the controls are simple, the game introduces puzzles that add some difficulty to The Mildew Children. These puzzles range from timed button presses to maintaining an exact position using the joystick.
The game also incorporates riddles thrown at you by various characters, adding to the interactive experience. However, one aspect that could be improved is the clarity of puzzle-solving mechanics. The lack of a tutorial before encountering the first puzzles left me initially puzzled – no pun intended- and trying to determine what to do next. Eventually, I figured out what was going on. Again, the controls aren’t difficult but a bit of a tutorial before the first puzzles would have been of a great deal of help,
Another significant challenge I encountered while playing The Mildew Children was its integration of minigames within dialogue sequences, proving to be a major disruptive element in the game. You basically have to be an expert at speed reading or, be able to both read text and make decisions at the same time.
While I don’t consider myself to be a slow reader in the least and I am more than capable of multitasking, this particular part of the game was unnecessary and difficult. You tend to end up having to decide to either concentrate on the dialogue or complete the minigame, but if you fail to complete the minigame then the entire game ends and you’ll have to start from a checkpoint.
I eventually ended up concentrating on the minigame and at those times during the game, I can honestly say that I don’t know what was said between characters, I would finish the minigame and then not fully know what was happening. It’s frustrating and could have been avoided if the developers had the dialogue first, then the minigame followed by further dialogue.
The Mildew Children offers an expansive experience spanning across 12 chapters and approximately 8 hours of gameplay, ensuring a solid journey for players to engage themselves in. The map of the game may at times feel like a bit of a walking simulator it does provide a small break between scenes allowing you to wander around.
While there isn’t grinding in the traditional sense, the game’s depth is in navigating through the chapters, solving puzzles, and engaging in interactive dialogues, which contribute to a longer gameplay experience. However, for those less inclined towards extensive reading, maintaining interest and concentration throughout The Mildew Children may require extra effort.
The art style of The Mildew Children complements the themes, elements, and storyline. Featuring a balance of beauty and darkness, the visuals are well crafted, avoiding the overuse of vibrant colors that could take away from the game’s eerie and suspenseful atmosphere. Every now and then you’ll look at a character and realize that you are actually interacting with a child and the dark theme of the game comes through in those moments. That said though there isn’t much else happening in terms of graphics. Though being more of a visual novel it is expected and doesn’t take away from beautifully the well-drawn characters.
There is very little sound in The Mildew Children, there is no voice acting of any kind, and in essence, relies on ambient sounds, subtle footstep effects, and occasional mood music to establish its atmospheric presence. However, a little bit of spoken dialogue could have added a lot more depth to the game and brought the characters to life.
With a game that aims to build suspense and intrigue the small details of things like tone of voice can add that little bit more that is needed to immerse yourself fully into the game. Hearing that a character is afraid, in pain, apprehensive, or even excited helps you build a connection with those characters. It always feels like there is more at stake when you are emotionally invested.
For someone who is a big fan of the horror genre, in general, I was excited to play The Mildew Children and while the premise of the game is good, some things take away from the overall experience. The storyline is intriguing but does feel like the creators have taken ideas from different movies and games and thrown them all together. Though I am not saying this is a bad thing, The Mildew Children has enough originality in it to not feel like a direct copy and adds its own unique elements to the plot.
The puzzle mechanic would have greatly benefited from a small tutorial and perhaps not having minigames occur during important dialogue scenes. The decision to either concentrate on the dialogue or the puzzle is not ideal and removes you from the atmosphere of the game. I am sure that I missed out on a good amount of important information during those times. Maybe, having the minigame happen after some dialogue would have helped, in that way, you could fully concentrate on what is happening.
Despite encountering those previously mentioned challenges, The Mildew Children has a compelling plot, an eerie setting, and an intriguing premise. However, unlike a captivating novel or a highly replayable game, I struggle to envision revisiting The Mildew Children. Nevertheless, the game has a considerable amount of potential, and I believe that with some adjustments to certain elements and mechanics, it could have stood out in the visual novel genre.
Moving to a different aspect and something that I feel must be mentioned is that The Mildew Children might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Its exploration of themes like witchcraft and Pagan rituals could potentially be unsettling for certain individuals or people with different beliefs. Additionally, considering the inclusion of scenes depicting human sacrifice and suicide, it might be a good idea for the game to include a trigger warning.
Sensitivity to such content varies among people, and a warning could help those who are more sensitive to these types of themes decide if they would like to continue with the play-through of the game. It’s evident that The Mildew Children is crafted with an adult audience in mind, considering the dark storyline and occult references yes it is an 18-rated game as far as I could see but even so, some adults might find some of the content disturbing. Thus a warning at the start of the game may have been an important inclusion.
Overall, The Mildew Children had a lot of potential, and the atmosphere, art, and plot of the game are all very well crafted, There are however some elements of that game that could have been done with some more thought and maybe some more work. Though, if you are a fan of this genre I would still say this game is worth a look, it doesn’t bring some interesting ideas to the table.
