Played from – to: (2021-12-19 – 2021-12-21) – PC keyboard.
‣ 8/10 –
‣ Game Audio / Soundtrack - 7/10
‣ Graphics – 7/10
‣ Atmosphere – 9/10
‣ Main Story / Characters – 9/10
‣ Final notes: It’s incredible what a couple of talented and ambitions people can create. Fran Bow is a very disturbing but unique game. The story is very confusing and does not make a whole lot of sense however that is what the writer tried to capitalize upon. You don’t have to understand what is happening just enjoy the psychedelic ride. The art design makes the visuals in this game very disgusting I don’t think I was so put off even my DOOM. Overall, you get to explore unique and different places and meet great characters. The level design here is also great. The puzzles make you think but don’t drive you insane and solving them makes you feel like a genius. I say don’t go into this expecting anything, just boot up the game and experience it.

This game has fantastic art direction and takes the best bits of point-and-click adventure games to create an unsettling and at times outright terrifying atmosphere. However, the ending undercuts a lot of the interesting storytelling work that was done. I think the creators were going for a story where the lines between reality and fantasy get increasingly blurred to the point where the player has to come up with their own interpretation. However, that same divide becomes so muddled at the end that the "you decide if this is the real ending!" insinuation felt like the creators didn't want to commit to a definitive ending, rather than creating an opening for speculation. Regardless, Itward gets to join the Skeleton Bro Hall of Fame, and Mr. Midnight is the best kitty.

TL;DR: A great point & click psychological horror inspired by Alice in Wonderland with an interesting story, design and decent puzzles.

Pros:
Art style - simple but effective, a great fit for a "children's book turned horror"
Character design - once again, simple but memorable, from the main villain Remor to the mysterious skeleton Itward
Overall story and worldbuilding - done so well, letting you decide what's real and what's not, while not being overly confusing
Sound design

Cons:
Ending felt rushed and unsatisfying - it is left up to the player to decide what has actually transpired throughout the story. But it is done in a way that felt like all the good stuff from the game was thrown together in a matter of seconds creating a confusing and unsatifying mess
No voice acting even for the main lines - should've been included with the improved version. It would've enhanced the game greatly by giving you a break from constantly reading stuff. Somewhat like what Disco: Elyisum did with it's Final Cut
No way to skip walking to places if there is no "eye" - making double click teleport the player to location/next scene would help greatly

Neutral:
Puzzles are decent, not too hard, nor mind-numbingly easy
OST is decent, but repetitive at times
Chapter transition mini-games - while somewhat interesting, felt a bit out of place especially since you can just skip them. This gives off the feeling the developers wanted to include something more but didn't feel confident in their execution making the whole experience of them a bit cheap

If you're a fan of American McGee's Alice and like (or don't mind) point & click adventures, this is a game for you. And since EA not only refused to do anything with their franchise, but actively burned it to the ground, this is possibly the only game that can scratch that itch right now.

Overall I rate it huge mellons/10

Fran Bow was a point and click adventure that went off the rails. It had a wonderful childlike artstyle that was sweet and horrific all at once, and dealt with heavy topics like mental illness and abortion, as well as psychological and physical abuse. Talk about morbid.

I loved the dual worlds—switching at will between normal reality and its disturbing counterpart that was full of blood, death and frightening creatures. I've some minor complaints though, like how some puzzles required a lot of back and forth, and the way the whimsical style of speech got on my nerves, but overall it was endearing. It was one of those games that stayed with me, and I still think about it.

On ps4 the game seems to have been upscaled in a way that makes it a little blurry and pixilated. Moving between rooms leaves you on a black screen for a few seconds as it loads which doesn't sound too bad until you're trying get from one side of the stage to the other. The game was often laggy when first entering a room and many of the puzzles were obscure or poorly explained. I needed to have a guide tabbed for whenever I got stuck.

The games art style is lovely and I did sort of enjoy the whole thing... kinda. The story doesn't really explain itslef all that well so the ending feels pretty unsatisfying. I really didn't enjoy the 3rd chapter and found it slow and boring.

Overall it's okay. It's pretty short and if your only playing it for the art and story then there's no shame in just following a guide the whole time. If your here for the puzzles... eh? Maybe look somewhere else.

finished this today. what an incredible game. unique concept reminiscent of alice in wonderland (but much, much bloodier - and much more disturbing), but with so much unique storytelling & lore with it. the art style is amazing, and for a "point & click" type of game (which i usually don't enjoy), it's exceptional. the score is also noteworthy, with world-building notes of doom & dread making up the soundscape. the concept of realms and ultrareality is so creative and original, i have to applaud all the artistry. the humor is also great, my friend & i laughed a lot throughout this game. i can without a doubt say that it's a journey that became one of my favorite experiences with a video game. the puzzles are pretty challenging, and i'm someone who is really good at puzzle solving, so being stumped is something i usually don't have to work through so much. 10/10 amazing video game. if you can handle the gore & the disturbing aspects of it, then you definitely won't be disappointed with the quality level fran bow achieves. highly recommend.