Fate can be cruel, as Little Miss Fortune and I have just found out. It’s not a point and click but more a side-scrolling psychological horror from the folks at Killmonday Games, who brought us the menacing Fran Bow – and also an incredibly dark tale from the perspective of a little girl.
That’s inaccurate, as Fran is a child while Miss Fortune is a little lady. Charmed, I’m sure. Following the same approach as its predecessor, something sinister is brewing, introduced through ‘hearing voices’. Not the type to whip out a knife to say, ‘They made me do it’, or eat your daughter’s half-eaten Easter egg, but an antagonist named Mr Voice who wants our heroine to partake in their little game.
Said game is for eternal happiness, which Miss Fortune wants to gift to her struggling mother. Unsurprisingly, it’s not as straightforward as expected, and it doesn’t take a well-endowed reader to clock that Mr Voice might be taking her down the wrong path. Cue some spirit animals, the supernatural, and some very real tragedy. Thank the heavens for glitter.
Miss Fortune Review
Miss Fortune and Mr Voice will nonchalantly smash down the fourth wall, communicating back and forth about putting a fork in a live plug socket or jumping off a cliff. Thankfully, this little lady isn’t completely naive and, though taken on a wild goose chase, may be able to identify these insidious intentions before it’s too late.
The game has no cursor, so interacting with people and objects will mean walking up to them and pressing a button. There’s also no inventory or puzzles to solve. Instead, Miss Fortune will throw glitter about willy-nilly, sometimes glossing over something a little girl should not have to witness. Typically, death.
She’s a bit of an oddball, too. Where Fran was more nuanced and presented plenty of questions, Miss Fortune is simple, with some contradictory, pithy statements. She will often trip over, which has zero impact on gameplay or storytelling, and the way she engages with the world is, at times, innocent, and then we have Mr Voice speaking of her bleeding vagina and the little lady issuing some NPCs an out-of-context ‘fuck’.
From The Eyes Of A Child?
Miss Fortune is voiced by only two actors – one of the developers who plays the titular weirdo. Delivery from her is a bit hit-and-miss and doesn’t sound natural, whereas Mr Voice was well cast and does the job.
A few years after Fran Brow, this game has a better-looking aesthetic with brilliant cinematics – undoubtedly a highlight. However, that’s as far as advancement goes, as the game is significantly lighter in terms of content and themes.
You can’t polish a turd, but you can cover it in glitter. Miss Fortune is far from a turd, but it’s way too abrupt. While there’s an alternate ending and poignant themes that might etch into your skin between plays and perhaps after, it lacks the depth of Fran Bow. With the latter, each time it seemed like a conclusion was on the cards, it opened up a new arc, getting even more absurd.
Miss Fortune Review Summary
Miss Fortune covers some profound themes, but it’s too much on the rails and lacks the punch to deliver by its premature conclusion. Visually, with the excellent cinematics and juxtaposition of cute, sparkly wonders from the eyes of a child to the rotting carcases and nutty faeces that litter the real world, it works well – I just wish the end was as meaningful as the build-up.
