Background: The eponymous Misfortune begins her story playing alone in her room when an inscrutable entity, self-entitled, “The Humble Narrator”, intrudes upon her solitude and addresses the player, informing them that the naïve, unfortunate eight-year-old girl they see before them will die later on that day. Unexpectedly, Misfortune indicates that she can hear the Narrator and his infelicitous prediction, though simply dismisses him as a voice inside her imaginative mind, aptly named, “Mr. Voice”. With the promise of attaining “Eternal Happiness”, Mr. Voice successfully convinces Misfortune to follow his instructions and play his game while avoiding the influence and advice of a fox named Benjamin, whom he contemptuously refers to as conniving and untrustworthy. Along their journey, “Little Lady” Misfortune sprinkles glitter on the melancholic and oft grotesque scenes she witnesses in order to spread happiness and project her lighthearted perceptions onto her dismal surroundings. She wanders cheerfully past nonsensical images and creatures that have suddenly blended into her categorically prosaic world, until she encounters her beloved Benjamin and confirms her mounting suspicions about Mr. Voice’s true intentions. As a demonic being from another reality, Mr. Voice lures children to his realm with his affable persona and tantalizing offers of happiness, and Benjamin has consequently been trained as an agent of Death to safely shepherd these lost souls to their final resting place, Senersedee. Benjamin dramatically repels the demon in battle and guides Misfortune towards the harrowing realization that had long eluded her distracted, jocular mind; her abusive, alcoholic father drunkenly sped into their family’s lot, colliding with her small body and instantly killing her. With resigned acceptance, Misfortune utters an unheard farewell to the mother who never wanted her and follows Benjamin to the open doors of eternal rest.
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There’s always something ineffably unsettling and depressive about witnessing how an innocent, imaginative child attempts to reconcile the immutable depravity of their familial situation with the paltry extent of their emotional maturity and ability to comprehend the true gravity of their circumstances. The implementation of a soft voice with a youthful intonation to portray Misfortune’s thoughts effectively elicits a profoundly jarring and starling contrast when such a melodious cadence is heard bluntly commenting on topics of an extraordinarily adult and grim character. This intentional discordance is replicated visually in the externalization of the upbeat, fanciful images that Misfortune conjures to mitigate the severity of the tribulations which she can’t yet fully understand or contend with in any alternative manner. It seems this game is rather adept at conveying the harsh realities of Misfortune’s life as viewed through the lens of a skewed, puerile perspective, for instance, when Misfortune notices obvious drug paraphernalia and offhandedly states that it reminds her of her father’s “science projects”. The innate quality of the malleable, young mind to demonstrate some unexpected perspicacity and vocabulary, yet still harbor notable limitations to their mental faculties is rather accurately represented through Misfortune’s interactions with her surroundings.
Little Misfortune’s intentional directorial decision to present a foundationally horrific tale about the abuse, neglect, and death of a child through layers of fantastical imagery and an occasionally farcical tone helped to make Misfortune’s circumstances somewhat mercifully digestible. Stories entrenched in unrelenting darkness and portrayed with the uncompromising bleakness of their reality are decidedly evocative in the sincerity and resonance of their subject matter, however, tempering this harshness while retaining the perspicuity of the underlying message is a rather laudable accomplishment as well. As I mentioned earlier on, much of the instances of mitigating levity are derived from Misfortune’s own irreverence and the oft absurd observations and remarks she bluntly expresses, which seem to accurately capture the randomness and inquisitiveness of youth. I suppose it can therefore be argued that the grimly comedic elements are purposeful in allaying the heaviness of the paramount themes as well as augmenting the players’ understanding of Misfortune’s intrinsic personality and perspectives.
Concerning these aforementioned themes, there appears to be a rather comprehensive lesson precipitated from the events and symbolism comprising Misfortune’s journey through her purgatorial state. Essentially, Misfortune is somewhat anomalous in her response to the execrable situations which surround her life, considering that many children her age would potentially internalize the abuse and, given their emotional immaturity and impressionable young minds, learn that such behavior is a permissible and salubrious way of contending with pain. Victimized children may be more desperate to achieve an idealistic, “Eternal Happiness”, thereby rendering them susceptible to the malicious manipulation of their own personal demons. Misfortune, in her categorical, talkative cheerfulness, subverts the intentions of her own "Mr. Voice" and possesses sufficient strength to remain contented with the inner warmth she personally emanates. In a sense, Misfortune’s dispersal of glitter not only demonstrates her capability to mentally transmogrify the depravity around her, but also represents the infectious joy she desires to spread to others. She is a source of effulgence, a single light amidst the shadowy, depressive atmosphere which densely overhangs the lives of everyone in the town. For example, each adult dons a plastered mask of feigned happiness that is advertised and sold in stores, which can be interpreted as symbolic for society’s exhortation to conceal all emotional tumult. The repression of suffering seems to be a rather pervasive problem in Misfortune's neighborhood that has apparently contributed to reliance on alcohol, partying, drugs, criminality, and other pernicious means to attain some semblance or transient experience of that ever-elusive happiness. Eventually, the damaging influence of these "adult demons" begins to affect the lives of their children, and the perpetual cycle of trauma is fed anew. When Misfortune’s mother receives (or is influenced by) the love and happiness that her daughter was able to coax from the recesses of her imaginative, optimistic mind no matter her current situation, the grieving woman finally removes her mask and faces her future with the sense of hopefulness that Misfortune had tried to earn for her all along. I suppose, in summation, Little Misfortune, despite the implications of its title, is a game about resilience and perceiving life’s tribulations with the same ardor and vivacious spirit as a certain odd, charming little lady.
Though many of the notably bizarre visuals could be viewed as manifestations of Mr. Voice’s illogical realm that have bled into Misfortune’s reality, certain pieces of imagery are also evident depictions of the world in which she resides, for instance, the hamsters committing crimes, making and using drugs, and partaking in lude behaviors, as well as the drunk duck and profane bird. The design for Mr. Voice himself and the circumstances of his demise were perhaps a bit too comical or tonally incongruous with the reveal that succeeds it, and the fight with Benjamin could have been visually obscured to maintain the mystery and intimidation of the demon. Considering Benjamin’s notes mentioned being “rewarded with new levels, tools, and more steps” after each successful escort mission to Senersedee, it seems this altercation was intentionally exaggerated to appear as a final boss battle between an RPG hero and his mortal enemy.
Lastly, Mr. Voice’s actor was particularly adept at modulating the timbre of his line delivery in order to convey generosity and compassion or incorporate exasperation, curtness, and volatility as necessary.
Little Misfortune’s inauspicious journey through the mysterious limbo realm that she unknowingly wanders yielded moments of levity often at her expense, however, the eventual culmination at the gates of death was satisfying in a way that imbued her story arc with a sense of both pathos and purpose. Though the various forms of gameplay were truly quite sporadic and minimal throughout the entirety of this game, the centralized focus on dialogue interchanges, aesthetics and overall design of the environments explored, and the structure and flow of the overarching narrative were sufficient to cultivate a taut and continuously compelling experience.