I adore this visual novel. I think it's a beautiful story combined with n absolutely gorgeous artstyle, forming a one-two punch that leads into the wonderful storytelling. Now, I'm an absolute sucker for clowns and dolls, so this game really stuck out to me when I saw it in the VN section. I just finished one of the endings about 15 minutes ago, so I want to give my fresh thoughts on it.
Like I mentioned before, the artstyle of this game is a knockout, yall nailed the toy look, not to mention the fashion design for both Huxley and Dahlia is mwah mwah, fantastic. You nailed the dialogue for Huxley, witty and charming, his jokes are funny in a way that inspires how I want to be a clown. Dahlia is trifling at times, but in a way that you can understand why and what led to these emotions. Her motivations are clear and well-written. I feel like there's a lot of history in Dahlia, and I hope to see more of it explored as I finish the rest of the endings. I can almost see Huxley's history written on his character, and it's phenomenal. You really crafted characters like an artisan toymaker. There was a lot of very well written dialogue throughout the story, especially in some of the monologues, and some of the scenes with Dahlia almost made me cry. It's a good thing I didn't play this game when I was younger, because with this and Toy Story, I think I would have been too scared to own any toys.
All in all, you nailed the dollhouse aesthetic perfectly, with great writing, great art, and lovely characters. I hope to see much more from you real soon!
I felt such a strong attachment to Dahlia. I wanted so bad to tell her that I love her back, maybe then things would have worked out better. MC is cruel and detached.
Also, I learned that I adore this setting and I wish there was more like it.
This game is so well written! It's incredible, with how short it is, how well realized the characters really are. In your time with them they're rlly fleshed out in a way that makes it clear the author understands what makes them tick very well, and not only that, but the way the characters interact with each other shows they're capable of a similar understanding too.
This feels like a story about three broken people each trying to "fix" the others in their own way, and all of the main characters' flaws and worldviews shine through so well in every little moment the game peels back the facade of their toy house. The fact I felt so strongly for all of them, tearing up multiple times, is a testament to how powerful the writing here is, especially coming together with the wonderful art to make these characters feel expressive and alive!
And at the end of the day, the game didn't feel gratuitous or mean about its violence or the characters' flaws at all. It felt earnest and like it was almost as kind as it COULD be, when telling such a sad story.
This was wonderful, thank you so much to karmic punishment for making it! Also oh god Wisker pls he's so tragic
This game is short but kept me hooked the entire time. The character sprites are so emotive and I love the poses that Huskley does (very rag doll like). The story has a clear message it's trying to tell with how the toy owner treats their toys. Never truely understanding that their power over them is the cause of every conflict and believing they can fix everything by playing god. It's just so good and it left me feeling unerved and empty (to be clear enjoyed it) . Spoilers there is no truely happy ending and it is better for it .
something i had noticed is that this game kills off the characters you like for example when it make you choose if you lik e dahlia or huxley it kills the one you chose at the end
I could make them get along if I tried hard enough as their owner.
But NO!! Why would I do that?!
Why would I raise them to love each other when they could fight to the death. I'm sure the owner sleeps at night with a clear conscience holding their children's broken bodies.
Real talk though while I was editing I started coming up with a theory that the owner is trapping the souls of the 30 people that crashed in the middle of nowhere into the dolls. Because I couldn't find the reason for that joke I'm fully convinced or I edited too much and am now going insane.
If so then Keep up the good work and stay safe!! 👍
(Subscribe and Like) - This is optional, Thank you😁
Play sims music in the background to become more immersed in the game universe, good game, nice story, it all makes sense why it the events happened in the first place...
Don't Toy With me was an awesome experience! Thanks for putting it together! Just finished and got ending 1b, and I'll soon get back to it to see the other endings! I loved the combo of Disney-esque visuals and horror/thriller mood! Great work overall!
Eyo, thanks for linking to a presskit! That's handy. I mean, not for me, but I'm sure it's handy for someone else! And you know, you gotta appreciate these little things which people do to make life a bit easier, right? Thanks for that!
Oh, and the game is very good too, of course! Goes without saying.
This is a great game! Has a really potent tale about how emotional manipulation, abuse, and hierarchical power interact with each other to force someone into violence. As a game, it's very well made. Amazing!
I thoroughly enjoyed the plot and ideas that this game brings. The complexity of such a simple idea of toys interacting in a dollhouse is very well done. I bought this game for a friend because I think this game is fantastic and I'd like to help support future games. :)
I very much enjoyed the designs of the characters, there's this pose that whiskers would make that would make me crack up every time like :l I enjoyed the personalities of dahlia and huxley they kept me invested to the end! The art direction was consistent throughout and It was really nice to play a horror game that didn't make me feel grossed out with over the top shock value type things.
ahhh i love this game so much >w<~~~ *cough cough* S...so hi, i enjoyed this game a lot, i managed to get all four endings in an hour or two, its really unique and has a special story, i really like all the charecters and i really feel attached to them~^_^;. the tension created during the gameplay is also remarkeble, i would say this is probably the best game ive played for a while. the gothic dark art style is eerie and adorable at the same time the dolls are just so cute (｀▽｀) btw i simp for dahlia (also my heart sank when dahlia said 'i love you' to the owner i..t just s...shes so cute~ also also the first ending i got was a1 so....yeah..... :( anyway i had an amazing time playing this game so thank you and also keep up the good work~~!! ill be looking foward to your next project~!!
← Return to visual novel
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Man, I hope these lil dudes get a happy ending!
I adore this visual novel. I think it's a beautiful story combined with n absolutely gorgeous artstyle, forming a one-two punch that leads into the wonderful storytelling. Now, I'm an absolute sucker for clowns and dolls, so this game really stuck out to me when I saw it in the VN section. I just finished one of the endings about 15 minutes ago, so I want to give my fresh thoughts on it.
Like I mentioned before, the artstyle of this game is a knockout, yall nailed the toy look, not to mention the fashion design for both Huxley and Dahlia is mwah mwah, fantastic. You nailed the dialogue for Huxley, witty and charming, his jokes are funny in a way that inspires how I want to be a clown. Dahlia is trifling at times, but in a way that you can understand why and what led to these emotions. Her motivations are clear and well-written. I feel like there's a lot of history in Dahlia, and I hope to see more of it explored as I finish the rest of the endings. I can almost see Huxley's history written on his character, and it's phenomenal. You really crafted characters like an artisan toymaker. There was a lot of very well written dialogue throughout the story, especially in some of the monologues, and some of the scenes with Dahlia almost made me cry. It's a good thing I didn't play this game when I was younger, because with this and Toy Story, I think I would have been too scared to own any toys.
All in all, you nailed the dollhouse aesthetic perfectly, with great writing, great art, and lovely characters. I hope to see much more from you real soon!
Loved this!! Only wish it was longer so I could play more of it!
I felt such a strong attachment to Dahlia. I wanted so bad to tell her that I love her back, maybe then things would have worked out better. MC is cruel and detached.
Also, I learned that I adore this setting and I wish there was more like it.
Huxley is sooooo cute xD
IKKKKKK :D
shame is short but you should do a physical book version like same images but something fun to read as the art is very well done
I loved this game, it has a very beautiful art and is very well written. Surprised me a lot, I hope you make more games.
This game is so well written! It's incredible, with how short it is, how well realized the characters really are. In your time with them they're rlly fleshed out in a way that makes it clear the author understands what makes them tick very well, and not only that, but the way the characters interact with each other shows they're capable of a similar understanding too.
This feels like a story about three broken people each trying to "fix" the others in their own way, and all of the main characters' flaws and worldviews shine through so well in every little moment the game peels back the facade of their toy house. The fact I felt so strongly for all of them, tearing up multiple times, is a testament to how powerful the writing here is, especially coming together with the wonderful art to make these characters feel expressive and alive!
And at the end of the day, the game didn't feel gratuitous or mean about its violence or the characters' flaws at all. It felt earnest and like it was almost as kind as it COULD be, when telling such a sad story.
This was wonderful, thank you so much to karmic punishment for making it! Also oh god Wisker pls he's so tragic
Everyone in this game deserved better :( (not the person you play as though)
side note; Huxley is hot
FRFR
I didn't know what I wanted to do with this clown so I did both :)
omg im so sad for wisker:(,this game have an amazing plot twist btw
My guy Huxley deserved better 💀
so did wisker :/
Would you make a android port of this ?
Hey there! The APK file is the Android release. It installs directly on your phone.
This game is short but kept me hooked the entire time. The character sprites are so emotive and I love the poses that Huskley does (very rag doll like). The story has a clear message it's trying to tell with how the toy owner treats their toys. Never truely understanding that their power over them is the cause of every conflict and believing they can fix everything by playing god. It's just so good and it left me feeling unerved and empty (to be clear enjoyed it) . Spoilers there is no truely happy ending and it is better for it .
Great story! Love the game!
something i had noticed is that this game kills off the characters you like for example when it make you choose if you lik e dahlia or huxley it kills the one you chose at the end
way to spoil the game
comments are full of spoilers dont read the comments if you haven't played the game
Comments are a solid way to gauge a game's quality, so that's not a very clever take.
I could make them get along if I tried hard enough as their owner.
But NO!! Why would I do that?!
Why would I raise them to love each other when they could fight to the death. I'm sure the owner sleeps at night with a clear conscience holding their children's broken bodies.
Real talk though while I was editing I started coming up with a theory that the owner is trapping the souls of the 30 people that crashed in the middle of nowhere into the dolls. Because I couldn't find the reason for that joke I'm fully convinced or I edited too much and am now going insane.
If so then Keep up the good work and stay safe!! 👍
(Subscribe and Like) - This is optional, Thank you😁
Play sims music in the background to become more immersed in the game universe, good game, nice story, it all makes sense why it the events happened in the first place...
Don't Toy With me was an awesome experience! Thanks for putting it together! Just finished and got ending 1b, and I'll soon get back to it to see the other endings! I loved the combo of Disney-esque visuals and horror/thriller mood! Great work overall!
Eyo, thanks for linking to a presskit! That's handy. I mean, not for me, but I'm sure it's handy for someone else! And you know, you gotta appreciate these little things which people do to make life a bit easier, right? Thanks for that!
Oh, and the game is very good too, of course! Goes without saying.
I made an account just to say how much I loved this. I didn't expect a story about sentient dolls to be so interesting, but here I am wanting more.
This is a great game! Has a really potent tale about how emotional manipulation, abuse, and hierarchical power interact with each other to force someone into violence. As a game, it's very well made. Amazing!
Wow!
i don't like dahlia but the owner genuinely deserves death. how do you manage to screw up so horribly that your dolls start killing eachother??
ten out of ten
huxley my beloved
agreed
I thoroughly enjoyed the plot and ideas that this game brings. The complexity of such a simple idea of toys interacting in a dollhouse is very well done. I bought this game for a friend because I think this game is fantastic and I'd like to help support future games. :)
Thanks for making this!
My last episode of this game and this was an excellent game :)
Please go play it. This a fantastic game
I very much enjoyed the designs of the characters, there's this pose that whiskers would make that would make me crack up every time like :l I enjoyed the personalities of dahlia and huxley they kept me invested to the end! The art direction was consistent throughout and It was really nice to play a horror game that didn't make me feel grossed out with over the top shock value type things.
ahhh i love this game so much >w<~~~ *cough cough* S...so hi, i enjoyed this game a lot, i managed to get all four endings in an hour or two, its really unique and has a special story, i really like all the charecters and i really feel attached to them~^_^;. the tension created during the gameplay is also remarkeble, i would say this is probably the best game ive played for a while. the gothic dark art style is eerie and adorable at the same time the dolls are just so cute (｀▽｀) btw i simp for dahlia (also my heart sank when dahlia said 'i love you' to the owner i..t just s...shes so cute~ also also the first ending i got was a1 so....yeah..... :( anyway i had an amazing time playing this game so thank you and also keep up the good work~~!! ill be looking foward to your next project~!!
had a decent time playing it thanks for making it and enjoy yourself
nice game, i love 3 of them !
Played about 30 minutes of this game and I'm liking what I am seeing. :)
When Dahlia said, "I love you" to her (wicked) owner my icy heart defrosted.
I just want all 3 toys to be happy.