In the wake of Sam Barlow's wonderful and masterfully executed Her Story—PC Gamer's Most Original Game of 2015—I expected the FMV genre of games to undergo a renaissance of sorts. To my surprise it hasn't, however indie developer Jaydeb's Morph Girl is an FMV game inspired by Japanese horror flicks.
Pulling upon familiar tropes—hamfisted acting, awkward camera angles, odd long haired girls with their hair covering their faces—Moprh Girl has players assuming control of widowed protagonist Elana Pierce who's struggling to come to terms with the loss of her wife Rebecca.
A so-called "mysterious supernatural being" has descended upon Elana's lonely home, and now plays upon the memories of her departed spouse.
"She must make the decision to embrace or reject the creature," reads a statement from the game's creator. "Will you reject its invitation? Or embrace it?"
Having watched the above, I sort of feel this way about the game itself. It seems Morph Girl is intentionally crude so as to reflect its B-movie inspiration (similar to, perhaps, Until Dawn), however I can't decide if what's on show looks promising or, well, like B-movie horror. Her Story showed us that FMV done well can be excellent, yet the games that filled the genre in '90s are stark examples of the opposite.
In any event, here's the skinny as per Jaydeb:
"Morph Girl is a Point and Click/Visual Novel whereby your choices incur consequences. Make decisions that could save or endanger Elana's life from an entity of unknown intent - and her own grief.
"Inspired by low-fi Japanese horror movies of the late 90's, Morph Girl adopts an FMV, family VHS tape inspired aesthetic to evoke the most intimate and invasive fears and anxieties surrounding the invasion of one's home.
"Morph Girl's branching story means that your decisions meaningfully impact and change the course of the game's narrative, as well as events long passed. Explore and interact with Elana's life to unearth (and alter) the details to a deeply troubled past and relationship. Unlock all 6 endings and find your conclusion to Morph Girl and Elana's story."
If that sounds interesting, Morph Girl is due August 30.
