All of us loved to engage in various pranks and outside activities in our childhood such as playing hide-and-seek and catch-up. Frequently, such endeavors were supported by jovially chanting various counting rhymes. Harmless by ear and perception, those always seemed to be something of a mini-game for kids, nothing more.
But what if they were some kind of an ancient ritual?
Enter Tiny Bunny, a non-linear horror visual novel from Saikono, available in Steam Early Access with Overwhelmingly Positive reviews from the community. The developers note that they plan on releasing the complete game some time in 2023 with the full version including complete story told in 5 episodes and featuring at least 10 hours of gameplay.
The current version includes the first two episodes, roughly amounting to 4 hours of gameplay, and telling a chilling story of a certain Siberian forest and a mystery it hides.
The events of the game are based on the story of the same name by Russian writer Dmitry Mordas. The story begins in a small village in the ‘90s.
The protagonist of the game is a boy named Anton that recently moved to a quiet Siberian village with his family, to live in a house that belonged to his late grandmother. There is an unsettling forest surrounding the family’s new place of residence, a scary site that hides something behind black trees and snow-covered paths.
There are rumors of mysterious tracks in the snow and voices calling you into its depths. While it could be written off as being a local folk tale, the number of “Child missing” posters and the powerlessness of police do not lie.
But first, we are getting introduced to the family of our young protagonist: his mother, father and a younger sister Olya. Anton (also called Tosha) doesn’t like the new place, and little Olya complains to her brother about an owl watching her through the window at night. Some time later, a boy of Tosha’s age goes missing. Our protagonist decides to find his friend and to become a hero hailed across the city.
Gradually the game involves you more and more with the secrets of the region and the mysterious forest. With each new action you take you can change the course of a given event. The interactive moments are very diverse and use a lot of old or unfamiliar words. For such terms, the developers have come up with the glossary.
From the first few minutes after diving into the story, we can understand what kind of relationship Tosha has with his family, how he thinks and what he enjoys through introspection. At the same time, the game also evolves the outside world, including the character of other heroes of this novel.
Classmates are not always accepting of new kids, frequently they try to pick on the new person getting into “their territory” and try to jab, hurt or even beat them up.
The overall atmosphere of the game was achieved by a well-developed visual style using black and white colors, excellent voice acting of the characters and the musical accompaniment (noises, rustles, laughter of children at school, etc.). It plunges you into the world of Tiny Bunny, sometimes deceiving your senses and frightening in the most unexpected places. The game possesses a mythical, even partially gloomy atmosphere.
If you like visual novels and don’t mind a few screamers along the way, Tiny Bunny is an exciting and frightening adventure to take.
Note: the game is a verified purchase by the author.
Pros:
- Visuals
- Story
- Animation
- OST & ambient sounds
Cons:
- You have to save frequently if you want to see various plot lines
