Don't Toy With Me

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

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. 

Is there a "good ending"?
Seems like no matter what I do things always go wrong in the end.

funky clown man make brain go brrrr

Unique story with a good plot. A visual novel game with pretty good horror elements, perfect for players who don't like jumpscares.

I made a video on Youtube, you can watch it if you want.

Just discovered this and I'm loving the vibe of it so far! 

will this game ever get a sequel?? or an update??? i love this game very much :)

This game is wonderful until you have to pick favourites. Now I'm just sad :(

This story...is the first thing in a long time to bring me to tears. I must say, I admire the dark beauty of the ending(s) I reached first, though as I type, I have another two to seek out, on the opposing side. Incredible work.

the game is so cool, I was expecting something a bit more scary to be honest but otherwise,, this is a masterpiece. I love the artstyle too, it's adorable!!

The arts are so cute. I enjoy the story.  I hope to see a good ending or an ending about the toymaker.

Hey, your game is great and I hope you continue to put as much love into your future games too. I love visual novel/text based type horror games and Don't Toy With Me was almost perfect. I think it was very good and the lead up was interesting but very tame for the big endings at least for me. 

Hi. This is my first time writing a review and I hope I get all I wanna say in here.
I loved this game. It's my kind of horror game. It has amazing plot and adorable characters. Please don't take this as an offense but I like horror games like these where it's not too scary or has jumpscares that will scare the living life out of you. This game inspired me to keep practicing coding and as well as drawing. I hope to see more from you soon!

This game was really enjoyable to play. I do feel bad for Huxley. I felt like he deserved a happier ending. I have a bit of sympathy for Dahlia, but she clearly has issues but the true villain in this store was the toy maker.

I really enjoyed playing through every ending in this game, and it makes me wish there was more. I hope maybe we will get a happy ending for these characters someday, I do like Dahlia and just as in the game, Huxley grew on me going through it.  This is amazing for a free game. A little short, but that doesn't mean I like it any less. Hope to see more!

Hello! I've been meaning to write this for a long time now. I came to know your game through Manlybadasshero's playthrough on YouTube, and let me tell you when I say it was love at first sight! Of course, I'm probably biased. As a kid, my dolls and toys were my best friends and I spent my childhood deep in the thralls of my own imagination. In a funny way, the toymaker in the game has accomplished my childhood dream! 

I've watched Manly's playthrough at least a dozen times, and because of my love for this game and storyline, (and perhaps I've grown just a wee bit obsessed coming up with my own headcanons and theories) I always told myself I'd find time to sit down, open a document, and write down all my own personal theories, perspectives, and details I noticed throughout the storyline. Needless to say, I think I've found that time now! 

I just want to say right out of the gate, I'm no professional reviewer by any stretch of the word. I'm just a random passerby that has a passionate affinity for creative writing, worldbuilding, and character development and creation. I’ll try to organize my thoughts into categories and then expand on them as I go along:

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One of the things that I really loved about this game was the way you introduced scenes, characters, exposition, and the environment. Starting at the very beginning of the game we get a perfect beautifully executed example of "Show Don't Tell" writing. The Owner tapping on the glass in response to dahlia gave us an understanding of where 'we' are, and 'who' we are in contrast to the toys. I also see that the "narrator" of this story is the owner as well, and we only get insight into the dollhouse and the toy’s lives when "we" the owner are watching. This is kind of meta, considering how we all are the "observers" of a story when playing a game.

_The Owner_

Undoubtedly the most important character of the game is the Owner. (Even though the Owner’s gender is ambiguous, I may refer to them as he/him just to make things a little for myself and to avoid confusion in this part) As the game goes along, we come to realize the owner is unapologetically “Playing God”. For a reason that’s not fully explained to the audience, the owner tries to have as little contact with Dahlia as possible. The only contact the toys really get from the owner is in the form of taps from the outside, reaching into the dollhouse with their hand, or receiving gifts through the box. From my own observations, I presumed he was doing this either because he was creating space between him and Dahlia or he simply wanted to cement himself as the role of the Observer. “It took a lot of compromising to get her(dahlia) to do what they wanted. Perhaps too much compromising-” This Is a very interesting and important quote. The owner is more concerned with keeping control and power above anything else. He also isn’t willing to endanger himself when Huxley was being attacked by Dahlia, really showing how much he really “cares” about the toys. He doesn’t. The toys in his eyes exist to entertain him, and though he might grow attached to Huxley or Dahlia, he cannot sympathize with them as people. 

The owner also consistently thinks of the toys as inferior to him in terms of intelligence and awareness. When Dahlia asks for something that can help Huxley move, the Owner remarks on how the mechanism must be easy enough for even them to understand. This could just be a throwaway line that I'm reading too much into, but the more I thought about this line, the more I thought about something else. In real-world cults, cult leaders will withhold information from their members. There was one cult I learned about once where a fully grown man was learning how to read and write alongside his daughter who was in early elementary school. With this in mind, I came to the conclusion that the owner has not only created his toys but has also taught them how to read, write, speak, and do everything that one would do in the dollhouse. (if someone else hadn’t done so already, referencing the beginning where it mentioned Huxley was “purchased”. In addition, it's mentioned that Huxley is not a bookish person because of homework he had in the past, but not much is divulged more than that) If someone wants to be in control of someone else, being smarter than them would be important to that someone. 

Also, at the beginning of the game, he also remarks on how the passage of time must be different for the toys compared to how he experiences it. Although this bit is true based on what Dahlia tells us later about her memory loss and the ‘days-blending-together’, it further encourages the idea(to me) that the owner thinks of himself as the only one who’s fully cognizant. The owner is the smartest, knows how much time has passed(and will keep passing), and he has absolute control over everything that goes in and out of the dollhouse. 

At the end of the game, the owner reaps what he sows and has to face his lack of control over the situation. Although The Owner is no doubt a genius when it comes to his artistic endeavors, his lack of emotional intelligence toward Huxley and Dahlia was his downfall. 

_Dahlia Vs. Huxley_

Dahlia is introduced to us as an antique. She's a very tragic character that was doomed to lose from the beginning. No doubt her “love” for the owner was built through manipulation and unhealthy co-dependence. The dynamic between her and Huxley is one of my favorite things in this game. Huxley on the other hand is a finger puppet. (I'm immensely curious because although I want to call the owner the "toymaker" it's not lost on me that the owner mentioned they purchased Huxley, which is so curious because it opens up a new onslaught of questions). They are not only built differently but are also built for entirely different purposes. 

In short, Dahlia is fragile, ornate, and classy. She was the Owner’s favorite and was made to be a shining gem among his creations. Dahlia is like a royal princess kept in a pretty glass cage. Huxley is not like that. Huxley was created to be an “entertainer”, like a jester in a royal court. Huxley has no legs, preventing him from running. He has no hands, preventing him from doing anything himself. He’s given one thing, his voice, and that voice was only given to him to entertain others. 

At the beginning of the game, Huxley is despondent and hardly responsive. His only choice in his own life was not to do anything. It's uncertain if the Owner made Huxley specifically for Dahlia or if he was an extra toy just laying around with a singular use. Either way, he was used in ways that traumatized him and made him close himself off from everything, even hope that could be used to crush him. The second Huxley could move with the spring did he start to come alive again. 

I found it very curious how Huxley understood and even lectured Dahlia about how the owner didn’t give them purpose. Assuming that the owner taught Huxley everything he knows, Huxley either deduced this bit of wisdom himself, learned it from an outside source such as a book, or was told about the concept of independence by another party. I imagine the owner would choose Huxley’s teaching materials very carefully so as not to give him any conflicting ideas. Like freedom. So did Huxley stumble upon rebellious ideas in places he shouldn’t have? Or was it all on his own? How long has Huxley the puppet been around? It makes me wonder about Huxley’s past even more, what it looked like, what he went through, and 

_Whiskers_

It's truly something watching how Dahlia treats Whiskers at the beginning of the game after reaching the other two endings. It's eerily similar to how Dahlia started treating Huxley down the line, especially in her own route. It's kind of funny because even in the first playthrough before I even knew anything about Dahlia or Whiskers, I was inclined to side with Whiskers for some reason. I had no real reason, just when Dahlia said, "You're not making it any easier for yourself." It's a very manipulating thing to tell someone, even without any context. (this is similar to how the owner manipulates, it's almost as if Dahlia is projecting a treatment that's being imposed on herself) Also, when Dahlia offers to cut his mouth he flees, giving more suspicion toward Dahlia. 

I realize now that Whiskers mouth was perhaps sewn shut by the owner to silence him about what happened to the previous toys, namely his friend Theodore who we learn about in the diary the owner also tampered with. Dahlia's eroding memories are either a symptom of being a toy or are induced intentionally by the owner. Huxley doesn’t seem to have this same amnesia, as far as we can tell with the time we’re given with him.

_Unorganized ending thoughts_

There are just a few tidbits here and there that I have questions or just general thoughts about. 

The Owner went through many different types of toys, dollhouses, and housemates with Dahlia. There’s Rose the wooden doll in the first dollhouse we know nothing about. Perhaps it's the “Training dollhouse” or a “test house.” (also rose could paint, do some toys have special talents? Or is it learned) Then there's Lucille in the dollhouse we know. I hadn’t thought about it before, but maybe Lucille was the ‘jealous’ one when she pushed Dahlia off the roof. Then Dahlia became the one to do the same to Huxley. Anyway, lastly are Theodore and Whiskers of course, and it's mentioned they were stuffed animals. Many different types of toys, almost like the owner was experimenting. What's more frightening though is that at the end of the game, it's revealed Dahlia or Huxley was all the owner had left. So, all those other toys really are gone. 

Dahlia’s sewing is brought up but not really used in the grand scheme of the story even though it was referenced very early on. I thought it was curious how Dahlia didn't have a sewing room if it was something she liked to do, though of course, it wasn’t her house originally, so maybe there wasn’t a room for that. I felt that would have been a good element/hobby to include with her character. She made a dress for Rose as mentioned in her Diary, and Huxley even brought up her sewing skills (or lack thereof) just before the scene with the spring. 

Dahlia using a knife at the end felt a bit off. The picture of Huxley’s body torn down the middle was horrifying (but in a good way!) but I also felt like Dahlia using a knife at the end was a bit too typical(?) Sorry, I genuinely don’t mean to offend you in any way shape, or form. I personally thought Dahlia was going to turn Huxley into a dress or something, or boil him on the stove, or break him so that the owner wouldn’t want him anymore. Stabbing is scary to a person, but what's really scary to a toy?

The story’s narrator is The Owner, but that also means we only get so much insight into the other character’s thoughts and what goes on inside the house when the owner isn’t there. There were time-skips that we the audience didn’t see that showed Dahlia’s descent. Although we do see when their relationship really takes a nosedive, we don’t get to see that character development. 

CGs of Dahlia being put out in the sink or Huxley being torn in half, even if just a little snippet — would have really added to the scenes. It also takes us out of the dollhouse, we don’t know what the world outside the dollhouse looks like. In my head, I always pictured some sort of workshop filled to the brim with paints, materials, and tools. Not having those CGs isn’t a huge deal in all seriousness, but it is something I wanted to point out. 

Whisker’s story and background aren’t expanded on. Although, most of the previous residents are a mystery as of right now. Since whiskers escaped in that one ending, was there anywhere he could have gone? Or would he live in the mouse holes or wilderness until he met an unsightly fate? I had the idea that if this game’s story was told through the eyes of the owner, what if we saw the same story through the eyes of Whiskers? That’s just a shower thought of mine. 

In the part where Dahlia and Huxley are making crepes in the kitchen, it's mentioned that they cut strawberries. How does Huxley hold a knife? Does he tape the handle to his arm? And are the strawberries genetically altered to be tiny? Or does the owner pre-cut them and put them in tiny Tupperware for them to cut later? Or are the dolls bigger than average dolls? Like on a scale of Polly Pocket to American Girl dolls how big are they? 

How does the owner get to the dollhouse without making any noise? There's no sound of footsteps or stomping? Or even the vibration of footsteps they could see in the subtle waves in a teacup?

Of course, there's no reason to overexplain everything, sometimes the answer is just simply, “because they can,” But can the toys taste? Do they have preferences? How much do they know about the outside world? Can they comprehend space and that there are entire worlds beyond the stars? Because stars in the sky could be just lights on the ceiling. Do they know what a human is? That there are more out there? How much of the world can they comprehend?

Ahh, I’m so sorry, ill stop myself there before I completely overload you with stuff. Sorry for so many tangents. I know my thoughts went all over the place in so many sections. There's so much I know I missed but I think I'm all typed out for the moment, haha! If I offended you at any point throughout this, I am genuinely and deeply sorry, for that was not my intent. I hope my words were good ones and I really just want to emphasize how much I love this game and the characters. Why do we have Emily in Paris when there could be a full-fledged “Don’t toy with me” series? Oh, wait, no no they’d just live-action it — never mind!! I'm happy with what I have! But in all seriousness, this story is a complete masterpiece and I mean that with every ounce of my beating heart! <3 If I think of anything later on that I missed, I'll be sure to add it to this already gargantuan list. Thank you again! I can’t wait to see what you make next \(^-^)/

I streamed this and my followers got a kick out of it. They did force me to "do the voices" but we all loved it! I am recommending all around to other streamers I know now!