This game definitely deserves more attention from the adventure game fans. I liked everything about it: the setting, the story, the humor, the challenge, puzzles, characters, voice acting, style and visuals, and about everything else. Great deal of love was put into this game, nothing feels rushed, the game is full of small details, that all add up to make an unforgettable experience: be it pink boxers of a garbage dealer, number of clickable hotspots or possible actions just for the fun of it. I loved the lighthearted humor. That being said, it sometimes actually goes pretty grim, which makes it even funnier. Take a "reunion" of scientists... with the decapitated head of their comrade. Doesn't sound funny when I put it this way, but they actually make it work in the game. The additional characters are all lovable and just the right amount of crazy. There is quite a lot of dialog in the game, and not only I didn't mind it, I absolutely loved it! Voice is done especially well, with everyone having their own unique accent, and the dialog not only gives hints, but delivers some funny stuff all the time. Puzzles are just awesome. Sometimes I had to brute force and try everything on everything to find the solution, but never they felt unfair. Expect classical stuff here: in order to progress you need to get itemZ, but to get itemZ, you need itemY, itemX and itemW, but to get those 3 you'll need itemV and itemU, but to get those you'll need... and so on. Nothing too hard, nothing you haven't seen before, but enough challenge to add some new neuron pathways into your brain and to keep things interesting. The game should take about 4 or 6 hours to finish if you're a master of adventures, or if you don't mind using a walkthrough once stuck. It took me about 12 hours to finish without walkthrough. There is a built in hint system, but I haven't tried it. Highly recommended for those who look for classic style, puzzle heavy games with humorous edge!
Fran Bow is a wonderful dark tale, with beautiful graphics, fitting sound effects and music and some truly great puzzles. It’s a journey through 5 unsettling chapters of dread and horror, on which the main protagonist travels bravely in search of home and answers. The story begins with our main protagonist Fran at a children asylum where she ended up once her parents were brutally murdered and she was found alone in the woods. Fran escapes to find her beloved cat Mr. Midnight and to go back home to her aunt. From there we begin to question if the things we see are real or just delusions of mentally sick child. Through her journey, Fran meets numerous interesting characters that we’re never sure if we can trust. Most of the creatures are in fact good willing towards Fran and that gives some balance to otherwise very hostile environment. Where Fran Bow really delivers is puzzles: they hit the golden spot on the difficulty. Not a single puzzle is out of place or lacking in logic. Thus I managed to figure out the game without using the guide, however puzzles are difficult enough to leave me feeling good about myself for cracking them. I especially enjoy the ones that at first it is not even clear what I am supposed to do. The gameplay has an interesting approach: Fran is able to see other realities using her pills from the hospital. Taking a pill opens a new world of clues, items and characters and combining them is essential to progressing further and trying to make sense of the world Fran is living in. Overall Fran Bow is simply great in all aspects,it’s unique adventure game that already has a cult following and is destined to become a classic. It’s definitely not without flaws: ambiguous story could have been explained a bit better, and the chilling atmosphere is strongest in the opening chapter and goes a bit downhill from there, but these things do not get in the way of it being a truly enjoyable and great game.
