Fran Bow

Last updated

FranBow
FranBow Logo.png
Developer(s) Killmonday Games
Publisher(s) Killmonday Games
Designer(s) Natalia Martinsson
Composer(s) Isak Martinsson
Engine GameMaker Studio [1]
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, iOS, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4
ReleaseWindows, OS X, Linux
27 August 2015
Android
16 February 2016
iOS
5 March 2016
Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, PS4
28 April 2023
Genre(s) Point-and-click adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

Fran Bow is a graphic adventure game with psychological horror elements developed and produced by Killmonday Games, a Swedish indie game studio. The game was released in 2015 for PC and in 2016 for mobile. In 2023, it was ported to the Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, [2] Nintendo Switch [3] and PlayStation 4. [4]

Contents

Gameplay

Similar to other adventure games, the gameplay involves seeking various objects in the game world in order to combine and use them to solve puzzles, and speaking with non-player characters to learn more about the world and how to progress. In one scene, the player controls the protagonist's cat. Additionally, a small portion of Fran Bow consists of minigames situated within the broader narrative that present more complex logical challenges.

Plot

Set in 1944, the game tells the story of Fran, a ten-year-old girl struggling with mental illness after witnessing the murder of her parents. She is then found alone in the woods and admitted to Oswald Asylum, separating Fran from her black cat and only friend, Mr. Midnight.

Under the care of psychiatrist Dr. Marcel Deern, Fran is administered pills. The pills cause vivid hallucinations of a phantasmagoric parallel universe, filling Oswald Asylum with smears of blood, mysterious messages, grisly torture, human subject research in psychiatry and neurology, and otherworldly shadow beings, along with the culprit behind her misery, an evil creature named Remor, who supposedly killed her parents.

Driven to escape her imprisonment, find her cat, and return home, Fran escapes and flees into a nocturnal forest in which she encounters ghostly nature spirits. Fran then finds herself and Mr. Midnight trapped together in a haunted house that belongs to conjoined twins named Clara and Mia Buhalmet, who claim to have kidnapped the pair to force Fran to complete a ritual that would separate them. Fran eventually tricks the two, taking her cat and escaping. When the girl attempts to cross a bridge of roots, it frays and collapses. She awakens to discover that she has been transformed into a tree in a brighter world called Ithersta, a land where vegetables, insects, pine cones, and roots live in harmony. There she meets Palontras who helps her return home. After departing Ithersta, Fran meets Itward, a giant skeletal creature. She discovers that it was Itward who had helped her in her search for Mr. Midnight. Itward tries to take Fran back home in his flying machine.

However, the flying machine is sabotaged into crashing by evil spirits, and Fran Bow and Itward are separated. Fran awakens near her home where she is taken away by Dr. Deern. After visiting Fran's parents' grave, Remor appears and captures them. She is trapped in a hell-like dimension, ruled by Remor's mother, Mabuka. It is revealed Fran's aunt, Grace, and Dr. Oswald, who experimented on Grace and Fran's mother, had Remor possess Fran to murder her parents believing Fran's suffering is key to his experiment. After Oswald shoots her, Itward and Palontras come to save Fran, killing Grace and Oswald. After being revived, Fran, Mr. Midnight, Itward, and Palontras fly away with Fran resolving to be happy.

Premise

Throughout the game, Fran and other characters grapple with psychological trauma, survive the abuse of parents and doctors, and learn what it means to live amongst many types of beings and spirits.

Development

Fran Bow was developed by Swedish studio Killmonday Games, composed of Natalia Martinsson (née Figueroa) and Isak Martinsson. The plot of the game includes autobiographical elements from Natalia's life, and she described the process of creating the game as therapeutic. [5] The game was part-funded through an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, raising $28,295 in August 2013. The game was released for desktop platforms in 2015, and mobile versions followed in 2016. [6] [7]

Reception

Fran Bow sold 10,000 copies in its first month. [1] The game received a score of 70/100 on reviews aggregation website Metacritic, indicating a mixed response. [13] Adam Smith, writing at Rock, Paper, Shotgun , gave the game a positive review, describing it as a game that "sits alongside Wonderland and Oz – imaginative, strange, unsettling, intelligent and charged with a rare and beautiful sense of hope". Smith felt however, that some plot threads were not satisfactorily concluded. [14] Joel Couture, in an article for Gamasutra , used Fran Bow to discuss the merits of an ambiguous ending; Figueroa responded that she preferred to "give the answers in a metaphorical way", allowing players to interpret those signals through their own experiences. [15]

The Sorrowvirus: A Faceless Short Story

Fran Bow also appears in The Sorrowvirus: A Faceless Short Story as an animate doll, used with the permission of Killmonday Games. Fran Bow in The Sorrowvirus: A Faceless Short Story holds no canonical connection to its parent title and is instead a guest-star in a separate video game universe. [16]

Related Research Articles

<i>Paper Mario</i> (video game) 2000 video game

Paper Mario is a 2000 role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 home video game console. Paper Mario is the first game in the Paper Mario series. First released in Japan in 2000 and then internationally in 2001, Paper Mario was later re-released for Nintendo's Wii Virtual Console in July 2007, the Wii U Virtual Console in April 2015, and the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack on December 10, 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adventure Game Studio</span>

Adventure Game Studio (AGS) is an open source development tool primarily used to create graphic adventure games. It is aimed at intermediate-level game designers, and combines an integrated development environment (IDE) with a scripting language based on the C programming language to process game logic.

<i>Strange Adventures in Infinite Space</i> 2002 video game

Strange Adventures In Infinite Space is a roguelike video game created by the indie developer Digital Eel and released for Windows and Mac on March 15, 2002, by boardgame developer-publisher, Cheapass Games. Releases for Pocket PC and Palm by British developer-publisher Astraware followed. In 2020, the game was updated to run on current computer operating systems of the day. It remains free to download and share.

<i>Pathologic</i> 2005 video game

Pathologic is a 2005 survival game developed by Russian studio Ice-Pick Lodge. The game was released in Russia by Buka Entertainment in June 2005, followed by a localised English release from G2 Games and GMX Games in 2006. An updated version, Pathologic Classic HD, was developed by General Arcade, published by Good Shepard Entertainment, and released in October 2015. A remake was developed by Ice-Pick Lodge in the Unity game engine and released as Pathologic 2 in May 2019 by tinyBuild.

<i>Botanicula</i> 2012 video game

Botanicula is a point-and-click adventure game developed by Amanita Design. The game was released on April 19, 2012, for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. The game was later ported to iOS and Android.

<i>Rampage Knights</i> 2015 video game

Rampage Knights is a 2015 roguelike video game by Czech developer Rake in Grass.

<i>Resident Evil: Revelations 2</i> 2015 video game

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 is an episodic survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom as part of the Resident Evil series. The game is a follow-up to Resident Evil: Revelations and Resident Evil 5. It marks the return of Claire Redfield as the protagonist, and the first time Barry Burton is a playable story character in the main series. It is also the first Resident Evil game to not feature Alyson Court as the long time voice of Claire Redfield. The first installment was released in February 2015.

Steve Jackson's Sorcery! is a series of interactive fiction adventure video games developed by Inkle for iOS, Android, Windows, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, first released on May 2, 2013. The games are based on Steve Jackson's Sorcery! gamebook novels: a four-part spin-off series of the larger Fighting Fantasy series.

<i>Beyond Eyes</i> 2015 video game

Beyond Eyes is an adventure game developed by Tiger & Squid and published by Team17.

<i>Hot Tin Roof: The Cat That Wore a Fedora</i> 2015 platforming video game

Hot Tin Roof: The Cat That Wore A Fedora is a 2015 action-adventure platform game created by American indie studio Glass Bottom Games.

<i>Sea of Solitude</i> 2019 video game

Sea of Solitude is an adventure video game developed by Jo-Mei Games and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released for Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in July 2019. A director's cut version of the game was announced at The Game Awards 2020, unlike the original version, the game is published by Quantic Dream and was released exclusively for Nintendo Switch in March 2021.

<i>Bear with Me</i> 2016 video game

Bear with Me is a point-and-click adventure game developed by Exordium Games. It is described as an "episodic noir adventure game", and was released in three episodes, first in August 2016, final in October 2017. A prequel, The Lost Robots, was released in July 2019. The game draws inspiration from film noir and features Amber and her friend - detective Ted E. Bear, who are set on an adventure to find Amber's missing brother Flint. Bear with Me: The Complete Collection, a compilation of the first three episodes, was released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Linux, MacOS, and Microsoft Windows on July 9, 2019.

<i>Kathy Rain</i> 2016 point-and-click adventure video game

Kathy Rain is a point-and-click adventure video game developed by Clifftop Games and published by Raw Fury. The game is set in 1995 and follows a college girl named Kathy who returns to her hometown to look into a mystery related to her recently deceased grandfather while confronting her troubled past.

<i>The Willoughbys</i> 2020 film

The Willoughbys is a 2020 animated comedy film directed by Kris Pearn and co-directed by Rob Lodermeier, from a screenplay written by Pearn and Mark Stanleigh. Based on the book of the same name by Lois Lowry, the film stars the voices of Will Forte, Maya Rudolph, Alessia Cara, Terry Crews, Martin Short, Jane Krakowski, Seán Cullen, and Ricky Gervais, who also narrates the film. The story follows four children trying to find new parents to replace their self-centered and neglectful ones.

<i>Little Misfortune</i> 2019 dark fantasy adventure video game

Little Misfortune is a 2019 horror adventure video game developed and published by the independent Swedish studio Killmonday Games. It released for Linux, macOS, and Windows on September 18, 2019, for Android and iOS on February 13, 2020, and for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on May 29, 2020. Set in the same universe as Fran Bow, the game's titular character is Misfortune, an eight-year-old girl with a childlike naivety and a dark sense of humor. Misfortune, a self-described "little lady", is guided by a voice in her head, which she names Mr. Voice, in a game to seek the prize of eternal happiness for her mother. She is smitten with Benjamin, a non-verbal anthropomorphic fox whom Mr. Voice strongly warns Misfortune against interacting with.

<i>In Other Waters</i> 2020 video game

In Other Waters is a 2020 adventure game for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Nintendo Switch. Players take on the role of an AI that assists a xenobiologist in exploring an alien world.

<i>Chinatown Detective Agency</i> 2022 video game

Chinatown Detective Agency is a 2022 point-and-click adventure game developed by General Interactive Co. that was released on April 7, 2022 for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One. The game launched a Kickstarter campaign in March 2020, with a demo being released in September. The game is set in a cyberpunk version of Singapore in 2037.

<i>Blacktail</i> (video game) 2022 video game

Blacktail is a 2022 first-person shooter developed by Polish studio The Parasight and published by Focus Entertainment. It was released for Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S on December 15, 2022. In the game, players take control of a girl named Yaga, as she attempts to hunt down memories of her past that have come to life as spirits. The game received generally positive reviews on release.

<i>Planet of Lana</i> 2023 puzzle-platform game

Planet of Lana is a 2023 puzzle-platform game developed by Wishfully Studios and published by Thunderful Publishing for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. In the game, the player assumes control of teenage girl Lana and her cat companion Mui, as they explore a fictional planet invaded by hostile alien machines. The game was inspired by cinematic platformers such as Inside, while its visuals were inspired by films from Studio Ghibli.

References

  1. 1 2 "Fran Bow and the Mortem-Post". Killmonday Games. 2 October 2015. Archived from the original on 28 September 2016.
  2. ↑ "Fran Bow". Microsoft Store . Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  3. ↑ "Fran Bow". Nintendo of America . Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  4. ↑ "Fran Bow". PlayStation Store . Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  5. ↑ Co-founder, John Walker; Walker, John (22 August 2013). "Interview: Killmonday On Fran Bow, Mental Health, Beauty". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  6. ↑ Walker, John (22 August 2013). "Interview: Killmonday On Fran Bow, Mental Health, Beauty". Rock, Paper, Shotgun . Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  7. ↑ Figueroa, Natalia (1 July 2013). "FRAN BOW : A Very Creepy Point & Click Adventure Game". Indiegogo . Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  8. ↑ "Fran Bow on GameRankings". Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  9. ↑ "Fran Bow for PC Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  10. ↑ "Fran Bow Reviews". OpenCritic .
  11. ↑ Smith, Katie (5 October 2015). "Review for Fran Bow". Adventure Gamers . Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  12. ↑ Bambi (4 December 2015). "Рецензия на Fran Bow". Riot Pixels . Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  13. ↑ "Fran Bow". Metacritic . Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  14. ↑ Smith, Adam (4 September 2015). "Fran Bow Is A Worthy Heir To Wonderland". Rock, Paper, Shotgun . Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  15. ↑ Couture, Joel (4 September 2015). "Fran Bow and the appeal of the ambiguous ending". Gamasutra . Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  16. ↑ Sklar, Adam (23 February 2017). "Fran Bow in Faceless". IndieDB . Retrieved 11 July 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.