“The Mildew Children” is a haunting blend of 2D adventure and visual novel elements that plunges players into a world shrouded in darkness and mystery. Set in a village with no adults, where only children roam and practice savage pagan rituals, the game takes you on a grim journey through the eyes of Kyrphel, a young witch tasked with a chilling duty to save her village.

This game immerses you in the world with a haunting soundtrack that helps set the tone at every turn. The amazing hand drawn art style just adds to the creepy atmosphere of the game. Getting to know the characters and unraveling the story through the twist and turns was so enjoyable. This game will definitely leave a lasting impression on you.

Gameplay

This game does a great job at blending adventure mechanics with visual novel storytelling. You walk through the village and woods interacting with other children, solving puzzles to help unravel the secrets hidden inside. The developers did a great job with the difficulty level, so if you wanted a smooth playthrough but with some challenge you were able to do so. If you were up for the challenge and harder puzzles they have that experience for you as well. The choices you make throughout the game have real consequences. They shape the narrative and lead to multiple branching paths and endings, enhancing replayability.

Storytelling At It’s Best

You start the game is Kryphel, 1 of 4 witches, whose duty is to save the village from a truly ill fate. As you navigate through the village, players uncover layers of unsettling truths about the children’s existence and the sinister forces at play. The ritual that looms over you as you playthrough game, gives you a sense of urgency and dread. As Kryphel and others, you will have to make impossible choices, tell lies and find other ways to resolve issues. Not a long game but the warnings of the foreboding ritual and trying to get more story details will have you not wanting to put this game down.

Overall

I really enjoyed my time and experience with this game. There wasn’t a lot I didn’t like about this game. I played the game on Switch, had few lag issues where everything would slow down and no game crashes. Not a long story but there were some things going on that we don’t get a resolution or find out a reason why it’s like that. I did love the 2d art style, the atmosphere set by the games sound and the central story is really good.

“The Mildew Children” is a wonderful game that offers puzzles, great atmosphere, a creepy dark story, a beautiful art style and replayability. This is a game I think everyone should experience, especially if you love visual novels, where your choices matter. Getting to know Kryphel and her sister and see how the other kids in the village treat them, makes their story so much more meaningful. I’m giving this game an 8!

This review was done on the Nintendo Switch and we were given a code from the developer.