Dead Dreams
This is more of a neutral review.
Interesting game, seems like it has some good ideas and promise, though I personally found it difficult to keep track of all the details of what was going on. Like I got a vague idea of the story… Apparently there are 3 endings but I’m not motivated enough to check them out.
– Real player with 7.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best RPGMaker Story Rich Games.
Listen, if you play this game. Play it for an hour or two, and stop. Just stop. The game starts uniquely frightening–despite the exaggerated loud noises everywhere–I’ll give them that they have excellent disturbing imagery and characters you would see in your nightmares.
Beyond that, I absolutely hate the story, yet I know nothing about it. I played this game fully, read aloud all of the dialogue–despite the frequent misspellings and “it is damn”. But I can’t figure out what happened in this story. And if I wanted to go back and try to figure it out, I can’t. Why? Because one of the three endings I got cleared my saves. All of them. Correction, if I load the one save it has left for me, it’s the credits. You will beg for the credits the entire last hour of the game hoping “oh god, is it over yet?” I just don’t know what this story is. Outside the horror elements, it reminds me of a fantasy a 13 year old would write after playing Silent Hill and watching the Matrix.
– Real player with 6.3 hrs in game
Mad Father
I got hooked on these games in high school after playing IB. I’ve always enjoyed Mad Father, such a beautiful art style. (✿ ♥‿♥)
In this wonderful and lavish house, what could go wrong? You play as absolutely adorable 11 year old, Aya. She wakes up at night and hears her father scream in terror. Instead of calling 911 or attempting to escape, she instead goes to investigate the basement where he is always working.
It’s a cute but spook spook puzzle game. It’s not going to give you nightmares but the atmosphere is incredibly chilling. I found myself questioning humanity after this.
– Real player with 12.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best RPGMaker Anime Games.
Want to see more RPG Maker horror games? Check out and contribute to this list of them, including download links!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZW_UcRxveLzCcM3BHDQW1GUp3Pd8CLDrietuKdL1fJw/edit#gid=0
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1/7/21 UPDATE
In light of the refinements made with the latest update, I’m changing my review slightly.
Update Pros
+The updated graphics look spectacular
+New story beats in the Blood scenario make good on foreshadowing in the original game that never got any resolution, and are not retconned
– Real player with 11.3 hrs in game
Blade of Acrimony
Hey people from Steam, Sea Raider here with a new review.
Today I have something special to review, a game from a member of the RPG Community instead of an old game, so let’s go.
Blade of Acrimony is a JRPG styled game with LOADS of symbolism and using delusion and insanity as a main subject. You play as Sora Loyalar, a nice Christian girl that by some coincidence found an evil sword that is actually a fallen angel reduced to a possessed sword.
The game itself takes a nice twist on the “remove all evil” plot and the Sword makes use of this; by making Sora think the sword God via curing her wounds and gifting her armor.
– Real player with 20.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best RPGMaker Female Protagonist Games.
Really fun game, nice and dark with a really fun, challenging combat system. The gameplay is really solid, with a decent progression curve and there’s only one move that becomes kinda redundant late game, the rest are all situationally really useful. It really encourages you to think about every move you make, and I really got engrossed in playing it. Boss fights feel really epic too, with really rad soundtrack!
Plot wise, I’d say it’s pretty good overall. The initial leap from the protag being a harmless nun to a cold-blooded killer does require a bit of suspension of disbelief, but the way her character changes over the course of the game is really interesting to watch. There’s a cool amount of lore and the characters are interesting to interact with.
– Real player with 16.7 hrs in game
Decarnation
Where do you run when the monsters are chasing you from inside your mind?
Explore a haunting world, both real and metaphorical, and find the keys needed to battle inner and outer monsters. Get caught up in an intensely emotional story unfolding in a malignant, elaborate setting. Experience diverse gameplay featuring twisted puzzles, threatening creatures, lovecraftian environments, and metaphorical minigames.
Decarnation takes inspiration from the best 2D adventure-horror and survival-horror games from the past eras, as well as cult movies from Satoshi Kon (Perfect Blue) and David Lynch (Mulholland Drive).
Paris, 1990. Gloria is at the end of her rope. A struggling cabaret dancer dealing with the fraying of her relationships, career, and self-esteem, she takes on a new artistic endeavor sponsored by a mysterious benefactor. Would the generous proposal be Gloria’s lucky break, or something worse?
A survival story with layered psychological stakes, Decarnation explores the contrast between battling limitations in the physical realm, and the subconscious landscapes one can’t escape.
Decarnation is an emotional, startling story-driven experience that will keep you on your toes until the very end.
Decarnation mixes traditional survival horror elements (cryptic puzzle to solve, inhospitable environments to explore, lethal predators to avoid, terrifying boss to defeat, etc.) with a wide variety of symbolic minigames (puzzles, reflexes, rhythm, etc.) accounting for real life situations (performing a cabaret show on stage) or metaphorical ones.
Once uncovered, key elements of Gloria’s life aid her in defeating monsters in her dreams in unique battles that marry the grotesque and the sublime to represent her struggle for survival. Overcoming challenges in her dreams strengthens Gloria against real life difficulties, and her real life issues create new challenges in her dreams.
Aimi
My full play through with edit: (all endings thanks to the creator) and secret room+secret video here:
A pretty well made story about mental health it’s well written there’s not a ton of grammar/spelling mistakes which usually plague most RPG Maker games I’ve played so that’s a huge plus. The game does a great job of executing the narrative that some things you can’t come back from in a dark serious tone. Definitely enjoyed playing through it and all the best to the creator in his future games!
– Real player with 7.6 hrs in game
If anyone wants to watch my playthrough of the game, here is the links to it! I’ve got it split into 3 :D
https://youtu.be/4qX1yfhOGAA (Part 1)
https://youtu.be/djD9_w8s4JM (Part 2, ending 2/4)
https://youtu.be/ja4MnQnZpM4 (Part 3, all remaining endings and the secret!)
I absolutely adored this game, even after re-playing it numerous times (Cause I didn’t make enough save files originally lol) And I wanted all of the endings. It was such a masterpiece, especially for a free game. To be honest, I would have paid to play this game.
– Real player with 5.3 hrs in game
Yume Nikki
Before you read any other review, read these two things:
[olist]
- This is a game that’s best played blind, or not at all, as it’s very experience sensitive. In fact, some of the reviews you read here are already telling you too much about the game. Read this one instead.* Probably the worst game tutorial ever. It doesn’t tell you anything a 6 year old couldn’t figure out by mashing keys until something happens, setting you up to die of boredom and frustration later on. Keep reading and I’ll explain.
– Real player with 34.8 hrs in game
It’s hard to explain why you should play Yume Nikki. On the surface it resembles the dreaded “walking simulator” of the present, yet at its core it’s nothing like them. Despite the fact that all you do in the game is slowly wander through alternately desolate and labyrinthine worlds, it’s ended up leaving one of the most lasting impressions on me that any game ever has.
Saying Yume Nikki is a bit of an acquired taste is something of an understatement. Working your way through the deepest recesses of the protagonist Madotsuki’s mind is an obtuse task, and you’re given no direction or encouragement of any form beyond a vague mission statement of collecting the game’s 24 “effects”. Not that you know what those are supposed to be.
– Real player with 18.8 hrs in game
ALONE
I normally don’t leave reviews, but I just finished making a let’s play of this game, and I enjoyed it so much I had to leave a like. Nice Job DrakeCraft! The game can be both funny and suspenseful and creepy and is just an enjoyable treat. 7/5 pineapples!
– Real player with 5.5 hrs in game
alone’s a sweet one with a nice pacing & concept.
however it’s really short in length, which is kinda sad. would’ve loved to play more of it.
still, a solid indie game that was not lacking in overall quality.
just that kevin macleod song I’ve heared too much in my life kinda disrupted my immersion, complete silence would’ve been more fitting in my opinion.
– Real player with 2.6 hrs in game
Clandestinity of Elsie
Things got off to a bit of a bad start with this game, thanks to it taking me ages to work out that SPACE was the way to choose a menu option, rather than - I dunno - left click or Enter, like most NORMAL games? Guess I don’t play games of this nature (read: old-school, “retro” RPG) too often. I’m going to put it down to that, though many of the other (unremappable?) keyboard buttons seemed like odd choices also: A to equip gun, S to shoot, D to reload? I also had difficulty trying to work out where DOORS and trivial things like that were, but after not TOO long I got the hang of things enough to concentrate on the GAME, per se (hint: always be on the look-out for doormats and red arrows)! I’ve also experienced some crashing issues, but it’s early days yet for the game’s release (so they’ll hopefully be fixed), and the save system is fortunately generous enough to render this not TOO huge an issue (once you hit the first save point, you can pretty much save at any time). Anyway, enough about minor technical issues…with no further ado, let’s get on with the review…
– Real player with 7.5 hrs in game
This is one of the handful of RPG Maker games I like because it focuses on an compelling genre of psychological horror. Since the game follows a similar path of Silent Hill, I was more interested to give this game a try.
There was one major drawback to the game and it involves the combat system. In fairness, the combat system does feel “realistic” in a sense that, it should be harder to see beyond your light until the monsters come close. Also, your gun should take a split second before letting off the next bullet; sadly, realism is thrown out the window due to frustrations of the combat mechanics. Most of the time, it’s difficult to avoid getting hit due to the restrictive movements of the character. The RPG Maker engine only allows you to move up, down, left and right. The character cannot move around freely as in diagonally; although, I have seen other RPG Maker games do that. Running doesn’t help much in the game since the enemies tend to run at you just as fast. In addition, the map layouts are not as open enough to move around with many obstacles in your way, that at times, I find myself bumping into walls or trees. By then, the enemies are already on you. With limited lighting as well, you don’t get many opportunities to take out the enemy at a distance. Again, I think that is how the game is supposed to be. Fortunately, the only remedy in progressing is saving often even if I have to die a lot.
– Real player with 5.0 hrs in game
The Mirror Lied
From the maker of To The Moon and Finding Paradise, The Mirror Lied is a very short game which predates Freebird’s two hit RPGs. Free to play, short and sweet, easy to navigate and progress through. It’s a little cerebral though and the end will most likely leave you wondering what just happened. There are no jump scares, but the game successfully creates an unsettling atmosphere leading you to think there is going to be one just round the corner. If you like a good mystery then this is for you. If you don’t like ambiguous endings, this is not for you.
– Real player with 1.9 hrs in game
This is a cute game but it pissed me off big time. I got it free so all I lost was my time. It is nonsense. I have the same feeling looking at some modern art. I don’t know what it is and I don’t care what the artist thought it was or what it means to them. If I don’t see a point or have an idea what the story is, I don’t have the time to be thinking up possible explanations. I was going to buy To the Moon, but not now. If this guy made it, no way. If I paid for a movie like this game I’d be screaming for my money back! Others might enjoy guessing about the various possible interpretations. It’s free, have at it!
– Real player with 1.2 hrs in game
Cat in the Box
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– Real player with 6.5 hrs in game
This game was incredible. I have always harbored a love for rpg maker games and CTB takes me right back to the early days of Ib and Mad Father. There is an abundance of things I enjoyed with this game, so for clarity sake, I’ll bullet them below:
- Artwork: The in game sprites fit the surrounding area. No colors break the scenes palette and are to scale (which can be a lot to ask with some games like this). The original artwork and character dialogue plates present a style that is both familiar and unique, something smooth to look at put against the harsh nature of the haunted manor. I adored the different cycles of expressions our MC can go through, their eyes in particular were adept at conveying the horror of her situation.
– Real player with 6.2 hrs in game