Fran Bow

I've platinumed this game, and honestly, I'm quite impressed by how trauma can fracture your mind. This is perfectly illustrated in Fran Bow. There are many sensitive themes that you can infer through the scenarios, camouflaged with a unique, recognizable, and macabre art style due to the events of each scene. It's a universe presented in a twisted way, and how she, being just a child, masks it with a hostile mindset. It's a world that shows what madness can do to an innocent being, leaving you to reflect on how, both in the game and in real life, we live in a world of evil people. Many of the grotesque things that happen in this game still occur today, serving as a critique of society. In Fran Bow, we're in a poor psychiatric facility with few resources, where morally wrong procedures are performed without regard for the consequences. The tension and the desire to escape from that establishment are very well expressed. There are many puzzles, but they are interesting because they give us details about the other patients or characters. When Fran takes the pills, we fall into the macabre hell they live in at the psychiatric hospital. It is shocking because every detail of the room gives more details about everything that happened to the children. There is a lot of talk about lobotomy and how it worsened the quality of life of those children to the point that they feel disconnected from their reality and are in agony. Once Fran is released from the psychiatric hospital, her mind begins to deteriorate, to the point where she reflects on things that happened and things that continue to happen. It's worth noting that this point is particularly impactful since the game is set in the 1940s. The combination of objects is 6/10; some are very elaborate mixes. One brilliant aspect is how the real world and Fran Bow's imagination blend together. If we look at it from a more psychological perspective, we're talking about her conscious and subconscious mind, to the point where Fran's brain can no longer distinguish between what is real and what isn't. Undoubtedly a good game to play in an afternoon. The game is short, but the plot is excellent (10/10). The ending was incredibly powerful, and I honestly feel I didn't fully understand the conclusion of this story.

In my view, Fran Bow deliberately blurs the lines between reality and imagination. The trauma of her parents death causes Fran to see the world differently, but that does not mean everything is merely a delusion, characters such as Remor seem to represent her fears and traumas, whilst Itward serves as a source of hope and protection. The ending is also left open, suggesting that she may have died or simply discovered another reality, I think the game aims to show how the mind and reality can become intertwined following a deeply traumatic experience.

Wow…..only a little way in, but you can tell from the word go it’s going to be a rollercoaster ride of a game/story. Put a good headset on, crank up the volume and get really sucked into the atmosphere and tragedy…..pretty gruesome stuff and not for the faint-hearted. Very raw topics…. One of the best point and click games I’ve played in a long time. Just superb. Update - finished the game, incredible. Couple of tough puzzles in there. Stepping away from game for an hour or 2, then coming back helped. Great story and really glad I pushed through the puzzles! Massively recommended.