Mixing elements of visual novel and 2D adventure, The Mildew Children tells the player a distressing story set in a village with strong pagan beliefs. Brilliantly drawn, it promises hours of deep dialogue, requiring patience and attention.
The Mildew Children was developed by The Growing Stones and published by Valkyrie Initiative on April 17, 2024. The game is available for PC, Xbox One/Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. It is a visual novel with very dark tones, whose events unfold in a medieval dark fantasy setting. We follow the story of the witch Kryphel and her sisters, guardians of a terrible secret and burdened with an onerous task.
A pagan village
Most of The Mildew Children’s events take place within the village, where the inhabitants follow pagan traditions and acknowledge the presence of witches among them, although they look upon them with fear and suspicion. Already from the first minutes, the clear inspiration from many elements and legends of European pagan folklore, including fairy tales and folk tales, is noticeable. The artists realized the environments in the utmost detail, and it is simply pleasant to stop and observe what is happening around us and in the rich backgrounds.
It would be excessively cruel to spoil the surprise for the players, so I won’t dwell too much on the splendid yet gloomy plot. I will simply state that the progress is well-paced, and the writing never falters, displaying long and sumptuous dialogues with abundant choices left to the player. This is the work of highly talented writers, and the care poured into the construction of the characters and the events manifests itself even in the most banal exchange of words.
In fact, each character has a well-defined and peculiar personality, leaving an impression from the very beginning. The portraits are full of life and the expressions believable, never exaggerated or dull. Despite the massive amount of dialogues, it’s hard to get bored, and instead, there’s a strong interest in discovering the backstory and characteristics of those we encounter. Some small flaws and writing errors easily go unnoticed. In addition, the title’s continuous updates ensure their rapid resolution.
A succession of works of art
Take The Mildew Children and try to find a bland or flat environment. Good luck. We will follow our witch Kryphel through the village streets, fields, interiors, or forests, and each and every setting is masterfully drawn. Skilled and confident hands have brought to life vibrant yet dark glades, pallid and pale fields, and shadowy cemeteries, and the effort to make every scene unique and memorable will never stop to amaze us. Special mention goes to the interiors of buildings and houses. They feel real, vibrant, believable. Clearly the result of hours and hours of research into European history and folklore; this is not the work of beginners or amateurs, it is a true interactive decadent and impressionistic painting.
I’m not exaggerating, try to believe it. The graphical style of this game is hauntingly beautiful, in the sense that it remains fixed in the player’s mind like a spell, just to stay on theme. And the ambience sound is no less. Take a moment, and take the time to listen to the chatter and laughter of children, the flow of a stream, the wind caressing the leaves, the call of a distant bird. The quality of the audio catapults you into the scene, ensuring constant and powerful immersion, especially with the help of a good pair of headphones.
The audio aspect is managed judiciously, diminishing during the most tense dialogues and taking center stage in certain scenes. A good variety of sounds ensures that they practically never repeat, even in the most advanced sections of the adventure. The combination of these elements makes The Mildew Children a moving work of art, multifaceted and strong in its identity, despite the European pagan cultural heritage and the extensive presence of competitors in the modern gaming market.
Keep your guard up
Initially, we might think that during dialogues we only have to, reasonably, read. But it’s not like that: The Mildew Children incorporates quick time events and real-time interaction during conversations. The difficulty of these events is configurable at any time, but I recommend leaving it at the standard setting to fully enjoy its power. Especially during the most hectic moments, we will have to perform movements with the mouse or keyboard, such as chanting a spell in time. In case of failure, the result can be more or less disastrous, thus always keeping attention (and anxiety) high.
The integration of such a system has a dual effect on gameplay: it breaks the rhythm of long dialogues, avoiding the approach of boredom or heaviness, and always leaves the player on edge, with the threat of consequences in case of inattention. For some, it might seem discouraging or inadequate, which is why the developers added an option to reduce or disable this system. Although, as I repeat, I don’t recommend it: it’s a great feature of The Mildew Children, and it serves to further increase immersion, making us really feel the pain, joy, and anguish of Kryphel.
And even from this point of view, they did an astonishing job: it takes little to become attached to Kryphel, thanks to her commendable characterization and development throughout the plot. The other characters are no less, but the writers did a special and breathtaking effort on her, being the protagonist of the events. Although we choose how she behaves during conversations, every possible choice seems plausible and in line with her character, often leaving us quite undecided. A result that we should not take for granted, and rather difficult to achieve in writing fantasy characters.
An unforgettable dark journey
Yes, The Mildew Children loudly demands a place in the player’s mind, after we have let it in. A bit for the artistic style, a bit for the distressing events, a bit for the quality of the writing… there are several reasons to ensure memorability to this game. Of course, it demands absolute attention and dedication from you, but it reciprocates with expert management of dialogues and characters, almost never assuming heavy or burdensome tones. You don’t need to be a great consumer of visual novels to enjoy this splendid journey, nonetheless I would not recommend it to hasty players or those more oriented towards action. By now, in 2024, developers explored a plethora of themes and ideas with visual novels, yet The Growing Stones team has respectfully shown that they can still amaze and come up with relevant projects. Warmest congratulations.
The Mildew Children, the review: a dive into a dark adventure
PRO
- Impeccable artistic and sound direction
- Deep and well-written plot
- Peculiar and believable characters
- Absolute attention to detail
- Will delight fans of European pagan folklore
CON
- May be heavy and verbose for some
- Rare flaws and imperfections in dialogues
8.7/10
