📢 WE ARE ABOUT TO EMBARK ON THE MOST SADISTIC GAME EVER MADE! 📢
No, for real, this ish is crazy. 😁
I am a fan of horror. And usually connect more with darker tales and experiences. I will tell you this much - This is the most fXXXed game I have experienced. And that's saying something. Naturally, I had a strong inclination to share it with you all.
Because if I had to suffer then you all have to suffer, that's how this works!
And so❗️ In this edition of Through the Lens 🎞, we'll be taking a look at Miro Haverinen's (yes this was developed by one man) dark and twisted turn-based RPG from 2018: Fear and Hunger. ◀️
(I hope you are not squimish, because this game takes no prisoners)
Roll it! 📽
The soundtrack here is nothing to write home about. But it does its job and it does it well. The sound mixing in this game is all over the place btw, because as I mentioned before, it was all done by one man. The fact that the music is decent and does its job is very impressive to me.
This game came out in 2018 but was largely ignored apart from some countries like Russia. It was not until a couple of years ago that gaming influencers discovered it and started making videos about it. Ever since then, it has become the next cool indie game to like. I have heard it being compared to Undertale and I feel like that is a very apt comparison. The two games are very similar in a multitude of ways. However, Fear & Hunger I'd say is more Undertale meets Berzerk. 💯
This game was developed in RPG Maker. As such it has a lot of the quirks found within RPG Maker. A lot of bugs and glitches and also a lot of just jank all around. If you like your games to be polished then this is not the game for you. 😅
But also, I'd say this game has a singular vision that can only be achieved when it's done by a very small group of people. Or, in this case, one man. Same thing happened with Undertale and the same is true for Fear & Hunger.
This person, Mr. Miro Haverinen, developed his own unique lore, did most of the art, composed the music, and developed this twisted game all by himself. That is very commendable however you slice it. Yes, he used RPG Maker and not his own coding language/engine. But at the end of the day, who cares?
I personally connect heavily with someone so devoted to their craft that they forsake all logic and just go for it. This game was made with passion. It's kind of freaky that said passion is so messed up though. 😅
When I say messed up I mean messed up. This game has some of the most twisted character designs you will ever see. Grotesque figures with phallic
imagery everywhere. There is a censored version that replaces all the bad parts with pinecones 🍍 (don't ask me why) that helps but not really. Even censored this game is disturbing.
For one thing, there are mechanics in this game that are just... unspeakable to some. There is a limb system, both in battle and by character, that is just wrong. For instance, sometimes the viable course of action is to chop off the arm of the little girl in your party. Ain't no compassion here, you do it and you move on without a second thought. The world doesn't care.
The scenes you bear witness to range from body horror to Lovecraftian insanity. The premise of the game is you go into this dungeon to find a certain someone. either to kill him or save him. The twisted tale picks up from there, but each of the four playable characters has different endings associated with them. Getting each true ending takes a lot of time and luck.
Luck? Yes! If this game wasn't sadistic enough, it has a lot of RNG elements that can end your run super quickly. Not to mention the game doesn't tell you anything and requires the use of a wiki or guide outside of it. That, or spending hundreds of hours just figuring out each demented part by yourself. 😢
Each run starts you in the same outside area of the dungeon Fear & Hunger (yes the name of the dungeon is the name of the game). Once you enter said dungeon however the layout could be different. Not only that, but the items you loot are also procedurally placed. So you could theoretically get all the OP items in the first room. Or spend hours upon hours playing without seeing them. 'Tis the beauty of procedural generation.
That ain't enough RNG for you? I thought not. There is also a coin flip mechanic in this game. Fail a coin flip and you fail. Failure in this case can range from not getting the desired item, to straight-up death. And more often than not it's the latter. 😂Yes, this game has no chill and is proud of it. 😭
The legacy of this game only grows by the day. More and more people get introduced to this twisted game and more and more people seem enthralled by it. It's unfair, it's janky, it's dark and depressing. Yet there is something so alluring about a work of art that is unabashedly itself.
I think with time this game could have the same impact as Undertale. Only in a more depraved manner of course. The second game is even more deranged than the first. And you guessed it, we're gonna cover that one as well. The creator says he intends to make this a trilogy, so I guess the legacy is still being written. So far, so good - or evil, I guess. 😁
Thank you for reading, you rock! (and maybe roll) 👏👏👏
🖼️ Image Sources: 01, 02, 03, 04 🖼️
Shout-out to the 🍕PIZZA🍕 gang, 🤙 gang. 🤙
Like I said, next we'll cover Fear & Hunger 2. An even more crazy experience than this one. But one that has some cool and interesting twists to the established formula. Hope you all join me for this descent into madness!
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I hope you are having an amazing week! 🙌
