Little Misfortune is an oddball, oddly creepy adventure game from Fran Bow studio Killmonday Games about a little girl and her friend, Mr. Voice, who convinces her to embark upon a quest in the woods to discover Eternal Happiness. It looks and sounds kind of cute, as long as you don't pay too much mind to the underlying concept of a young girl being led into the forest by a voice in her head. That's pretty clearly disturbing—and, as far as I can tell, far closer to what the game is actually like.
The list of individual features hints at more weirdness. You can pet a doggy, a fishy, a wolfie, the Kraken, the kitty and the foxy; you can also visit a pet cemetery with a shovel. Fall in love. Commit petty crimes. There's a monster! Despite the often unpleasant strangeness all around her, Little Misfortune herself seems quite nice: She seeks Eternal Happiness not for herself, but as a gift for her mother, who doesn't talk to her and drinks too much "juice."
And remember: There is no right or wrong. Only consequences.
It looks like there will be moments of humor and sadness, and a pretty dark tone throughout, but the art, music, and voices are excellent, and as an exploration-adventure that careens off into unexpected (and also sometimes unpleasant—Little Misfortune's home life is really not good) places, I think it looks promising.
For those who don't share my confidence (or would just like a better idea of what exactly is going on here), a demo is available from Steam and Itch.io; the full game can be had at Steam, GOG, Humble, and Origin.
Random characters kept swearing in Obsidian's font-obsessed murder-mystery when its procedural error system ran amok: 'Naughtiness abounded'
Eagle-eyed streamer spots that Roberta Williams' portrait in King's Quest 4 is based on her author photo on the back of the game box: 'I never noticed it before.'
