Halloween Month: Mad Father Review (PC)

Mad Father is a Wolf RPG Editor game made by Sen (The Miscreant’s Room) and translated by vgperson. It has quite a following among the fans of horror games and RPG Editor enthusiasts. There is even a novel, but sadly it isn’t translated into English.

 

 

 

The main protagonist is Aya Drevis, an eleven year old girl whose father, Alfred Drevis, is a mad scientist. One night she can’t sleep as she thinks about her deceased mother. Tomorrow marks the day her mother died a few years ago. She eventually falls asleep, but the loud screams from her father’s basement laboratory wake her up. She fears for her father and decides to investigate. From there on she discovers that there is a curse that makes the ones killed in the laboratory come to life. Of course, most of them are out there ready to take their revenge.

 

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The game spends a lot of time to explain character’s motivations and their backstory. Along the way you meet some intriguing characters like Ogre, a mysterious figure that shows up when the mayhem ensues and Maria, father’s assistant. Even some of the undead characters are willing to offer Aya much needed help.

 

I know father’s secret. My father is a scientist.
He loves research and is always locked up in the lab in the basement.
And I’ve always heard things from that lab…
Animal and human screams…
Even at a young age. I knew what my father was doing.

But what will Aya do? Is she strong enough to go against her father, or will she overlook the dreadful things he has committed in order for them to be happy again? Mad Father will make you question your every move. It might as well be regarded as a psychological horror. Aya is not only trying to help her father, but is on a journey of self discovery. She is aware of her father’s wrongdoings, but at the same time she still loves him and wants to help him.

 

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There are some tense moments which require you to repeatedly push a button in order to get away from an imminent danger, but most of the time you will be exploring the mansion and solving puzzles. Although most puzzles aren’t really that original they are nicely set up. Some of them even serve to explain some of the story, which is quite a refreshing approach.

 

There is a frustrating section which makes you run and trap an enemy that is moving extremely fast. Other than that most other sections don’t require superhuman reflexes. On the other hand, notable is a section where you must hide and sneak around patrolling dolls.

 

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There are gems hidden throughout the whole mansion. In order to acquire some of them you will have to solve mini puzzles which involve rescuing those who died at the hands of your father. If you collect all 21 of the gems you will get an extra scene after the true ending.

 

So I pretended I wasn’t looking.
That I didn’t know or hear anything.
I feigned ignorance the whole time.
Because I loved father.
That’s not the only secret I know.
When mom and I weren’t around. He and his helper…

A handy crow that follows you everywhere serves as your save point, so there is no worry about missing your progress. At the start of the game you will carry your rabbit, Snowball, around. He will even help you to solve a task as he is small enough to get into some really tight spaces.

 

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There are three distinct endings with a special scene depending on if you managed to collect all the gems. Thankfully, none of them are missable, so if you didn’t acquire them first-hand you can always try again before the big finale of the game. All the endings can be achieved through a single two to three hour playthrough.

 

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Mad Father was made in Wolf RPG Editor and the graphics are nicely detailed for the engine. Characters have anime-like feel with different emotions conveyed well and it all fits in with the theme of the game. The backgrounds serve as a good backdrop for all the creepy and unsettling things that has happened in the mansion.

 

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There is a surprising amount of well developed characters. Aya is being torn between her love for father and her knowledge of who he is. It makes for a far more compelling story than what most horror games can offer. Even Maria, who at first comes off as an overly shallow and obedient character shines through with all the things we find out about her relationship with the mad scientist.

 

Mad Father comes as another one of the horror games that are highly recommend for the fans of horror and dramatic, thought-provoking stories.

 

English translated version can be downloaded here. The official site is here.

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