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Buy Fran Bow
$14.99 USD
"A harrowing journey and an exploration of what the mind does when it witnesses the unspeakable, Fran Bow looks to tell a complex tale..."
Read the full review .
Recent updates
Hello super friends!
We just wanted to share with you the Fran Bow demo! We just released it on Steam and it's ready to go!
I hope you can give it a try and please share if you think it's worth it! &3 All help is super appreciated!
Have a lovely time!
Natalia and Isak
About This Game
Fran Bow is a creepy adventure game that tells the story of Fran, a young girl struggling with a mental disorder and an unfair destiny.
After witnessing the gruesome and mysterious loss of her parents, found dismembered at their home, Fran rushes into the woods, together with her only friend, Mr. Midnight, a black cat that Fran had previously received as a present from her parents.
In the forest, Fran goes into shock over the loss of her parents and when she recovers, she’s at Oswald Asylum, an oppressive mental institution for children, and Mr. Midnight is nowhere to be found.
After having a dream about her beloved cat, Fran decides to escape from the mental institution to find him and go back home to Aunt Grace, her only living relative.
Story driven creepy psychological horror adventure game.
Unique and peculiar hand drawn 2D Art-Style and 2D animation.
Self administer medication to open the terrible hidden world that will help solve puzzles and find objects.
A big variety of puzzles designed with different levels of difficulty and specifically based on the story.
Three arcade inspired mini-games all with different art style to be part of the transitions in the story.
Interactive and occasionally playable pet cat, Mr Midnight.
50+ interactive unique characters with unique personalities.
Original Soundtrack.
System Requirements
SteamOS + Linux
Minimum:
OS: 7+
Processor: 1.7 GHz Dual Core
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260, ATI Radeon 4870 HD, or equivalent card with at least 512 MB VRAM
Hard Drive: 600 MB available space
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Card
Additional Notes: May not work properly with some Intel(R) HD Graphics Family!
Minimum:
OS: Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or later
Processor: Intel Core Duo
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 4850, NVIDIA GeForce GT 120, or equivalent card with at least 512 MB VRAM
Hard Drive: 600 MB available space
Minimum:
OS: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS
Processor: 1.7 GHz Dual Core
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260, ATI Radeon 4870 HD, or equivalent card with at least 512 MB VRAM
Hard Drive: 600 MB available space
More like this
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12.4 hrs on record
Just finishied this gem.*Beautiful art style*Both cute and creepy*Great score*Story that makes you want to keep on playing and playing*Puzzles are both easy but can also be challenging*Lots of interesting characters*Heavy themes (abuse, abortion, etc.)I really loved this game. 10/10 would play again.I highly recommend this game.
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10.6 hrs on record
One of the best indie games I have every played. This game is a piece of art. The story, the music, the characters, the events, the chapters. Everything is just so beautifully well crafted.
The story is so weird but beautiful at the same time. You'll want more even after you complete the game.
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10.2 hrs on record
I just completed this game today. I was originally interested in purchasing this game myself after seeing one of my favourite Youtubers play through the demo. In the video they said the full game release date which happened to be the day before I watched the video, so I decided then that instead of simply watching the let's play, I'd actually play the game through myself - and boy am I glad I did! I love games which have a little 'something' that makes them different, and this game had just that. I really like Fran as a character and I think it's very easy to want to be on her side. Speaking of characters, there are tons of really creative personalities in this game who really keep you interested, change things up and keep you on your toes. As far as the game itself goes, it was a real pleasurable journey to go on overall (even with all the gore and disturbances!) and I only had one issue with it which was being unable to ''continue'' if you happened to save the game right where the demo left off, but I understand that has been fixed by the time I have written this review which shows how speedy the ones in charge were to fix little mishaps like that, which is always good. Either way it wasn't such as big deal as the opening section did not take too long to repeat. Fran Bow has a real good story and is certainly a challenge in parts (thank God for the discussion hub here!) but that only added to the experience for me in the sense that it was something that in some instances you really had to think about and get involved with. On the other hand it was equally as good when the answer has been staring you in the face and you finally get it and have that ''Oh, duh!'' moment! As you can probably tell by how fondly I speak of this game in this review - it's obvious to anyone that I love it. However, one of my only criticisms is that the ending left a little too many loose ends. I appreciate that the game leaves the player to decide what they think about the whole thing as there's nothing more disappointing than when a game gives you a set in stone ending which you're kind of ''eh'' about and leaves a bad feeling over your experience however I would have encouraged just a few of the open-ended questions to come to a definite conclusion. That being said, that may just be the nature of this very game. It's mysterious and nobody really knows what the truth is in the House of Madness. Plus, this is one of those games where I really wouldn't mind discussing ideas with others and coming up with a personal ending that feels right in your own heart which is endearing in its own way as well.Aside from that I really have nothing bad to say about this game, I love psychological horrors, I love interesting stories and cool characters in video games and Fran Bow ticked all the boxes for me. It instantly reminded me of ''Alice in W Madness Returns'' which is a similar game in terms of story / characters that I love dearly so I knew that I wouldn't be going wrong if I bought this game. I do feel that it may be inspired by Alice in Wonderland, especially given the photo of Fran and her friend Alice in chapter 5 inside of her wardrobe. That little reference made me really quite happy, actually. Probably more than it should of. But yeah, although the two games share aspects that I love they're also different enough for each other for both experiences to be refreshing. I mean, I could honestly play the two one after the other and not get the feeling that it was tedious. My heart was in this one, I loved every second of it, well done to the creators! I'll definitely be doing a fan art of this game soon!
Was this review helpful?
8.9 hrs on record
I backed Fran Bow two years ago, because it looked interesting and the campaign was actually well done, they had a demo and everything. In retrospect I wished I backed it for more than 10 bucks just for the game, because it’s a damn fine game. Fran Bow is a lot like Dream Machine and Kentucky Route Zero in that the three are adventure games made by two person dev teams and are beautiful labors of love. The devs of Fran Bow even said that they were putting their hearts and souls in it and they clearly weren’t lying.Fran Bow’s atmosphere is fantastic, it’s got a sort of Edward Gorey-esque aesthetic but it still has its own identity. The puzzles for the most part are all pretty well done, it mostly avoids the usual adventure game pitfalls aside from an instance or two and while they are a few surreal solutions they still do make some sort of sense so they’re aren’t cheap. The writing is pretty good, though a bit wonky here and there, mainly in the beginning. Overall it hits all the right notes to make a great adventure game.Fran Bow is a really humble game and it deserves more exposure. Killmonday did a great job and I hope that they do well, I’d be sure to back them if they go for another campaign. Devs with this kind of passion, dedication, and skill should always be rewarded.
Definitely pick this up.
Was this review helpful?
7.5 hrs on record
While suffering from some of the flaws that are common to the genre - such as the &randomly use everything with everything& syndrome - this is a solid adventure-type game. It also has an intriguing mechanic of changing reality at will (for want of a better word) by using 'Pills'. P neither feindlishly hard or too easy, with some arcade-like sequences (which can be skipped) and getting through the game is likely to take a few hours.The main strength of the game is not, however, it's gameplay. Where the game really shines is in overall design: story, art, sound & music and how those interact with each other. It's as if someone wrote a script inspired by one part 'Alice in Wonderland', one part 'The Shining', and some parts just general weirdness of a child possibly (probably?) going (or being) insane, and then had Tim Burton direct the screenplay. It's at times creepy, somewhat disgusting, funny (albeit in a rather weird way), and sometimes even a bit trippy (looking at you chapter 3). Beyond all that it is a sad and slightly disturbing tale of a tormented child's psyche, where we at the end are left with more questions than answers.It may not be the best ever adventure game, but it is original in both presentation and subject matter. It also has a poignant story that is likely to make you think. The game can be enjoyed on the surface layer, but the deeper layers and metaphors are there to be deciphered, but do not expect to get any completely clear answers. It is also a good example of games as art, without at any time becoming pretentious or complex for complexity's sake.When you get down to it, it is - at the core - simply a good game, and well worth playing.
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Languages:
Full Audio
Includes 17 Steam Achievements
Title: Fran Bow
Developer:
Publisher:
Release Date: 27 Aug, 2015
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View mobile websiteto add this item to your wishlist, follow it, or mark it as not interested
Buy Fran Bow
$14.99 USD
"A harrowing journey and an exploration of what the mind does when it witnesses the unspeakable, Fran Bow looks to tell a complex tale..."
Read the full review .
Recent updates
Hello super friends!
We just wanted to share with you the Fran Bow demo! We just released it on Steam and it's ready to go!
I hope you can give it a try and please share if you think it's worth it! &3 All help is super appreciated!
Have a lovely time!
Natalia and Isak
About This Game
Fran Bow is a creepy adventure game that tells the story of Fran, a young girl struggling with a mental disorder and an unfair destiny.
After witnessing the gruesome and mysterious loss of her parents, found dismembered at their home, Fran rushes into the woods, together with her only friend, Mr. Midnight, a black cat that Fran had previously received as a present from her parents.
In the forest, Fran goes into shock over the loss of her parents and when she recovers, she’s at Oswald Asylum, an oppressive mental institution for children, and Mr. Midnight is nowhere to be found.
After having a dream about her beloved cat, Fran decides to escape from the mental institution to find him and go back home to Aunt Grace, her only living relative.
Story driven creepy psychological horror adventure game.
Unique and peculiar hand drawn 2D Art-Style and 2D animation.
Self administer medication to open the terrible hidden world that will help solve puzzles and find objects.
A big variety of puzzles designed with different levels of difficulty and specifically based on the story.
Three arcade inspired mini-games all with different art style to be part of the transitions in the story.
Interactive and occasionally playable pet cat, Mr Midnight.
50+ interactive unique characters with unique personalities.
Original Soundtrack.
System Requirements
SteamOS + Linux
Minimum:
OS: 7+
Processor: 1.7 GHz Dual Core
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260, ATI Radeon 4870 HD, or equivalent card with at least 512 MB VRAM
Hard Drive: 600 MB available space
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Card
Additional Notes: May not work properly with some Intel(R) HD Graphics Family!
Minimum:
OS: Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or later
Processor: Intel Core Duo
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 4850, NVIDIA GeForce GT 120, or equivalent card with at least 512 MB VRAM
Hard Drive: 600 MB available space
Minimum:
OS: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS
Processor: 1.7 GHz Dual Core
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260, ATI Radeon 4870 HD, or equivalent card with at least 512 MB VRAM
Hard Drive: 600 MB available space
More like this
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12.4 hrs on record
Just finishied this gem.*Beautiful art style*Both cute and creepy*Great score*Story that makes you want to keep on playing and playing*Puzzles are both easy but can also be challenging*Lots of interesting characters*Heavy themes (abuse, abortion, etc.)I really loved this game. 10/10 would play again.I highly recommend this game.
Was this review helpful?
10.6 hrs on record
One of the best indie games I have every played. This game is a piece of art. The story, the music, the characters, the events, the chapters. Everything is just so beautifully well crafted.
The story is so weird but beautiful at the same time. You'll want more even after you complete the game.
Was this review helpful?
10.2 hrs on record
I just completed this game today. I was originally interested in purchasing this game myself after seeing one of my favourite Youtubers play through the demo. In the video they said the full game release date which happened to be the day before I watched the video, so I decided then that instead of simply watching the let's play, I'd actually play the game through myself - and boy am I glad I did! I love games which have a little 'something' that makes them different, and this game had just that. I really like Fran as a character and I think it's very easy to want to be on her side. Speaking of characters, there are tons of really creative personalities in this game who really keep you interested, change things up and keep you on your toes. As far as the game itself goes, it was a real pleasurable journey to go on overall (even with all the gore and disturbances!) and I only had one issue with it which was being unable to ''continue'' if you happened to save the game right where the demo left off, but I understand that has been fixed by the time I have written this review which shows how speedy the ones in charge were to fix little mishaps like that, which is always good. Either way it wasn't such as big deal as the opening section did not take too long to repeat. Fran Bow has a real good story and is certainly a challenge in parts (thank God for the discussion hub here!) but that only added to the experience for me in the sense that it was something that in some instances you really had to think about and get involved with. On the other hand it was equally as good when the answer has been staring you in the face and you finally get it and have that ''Oh, duh!'' moment! As you can probably tell by how fondly I speak of this game in this review - it's obvious to anyone that I love it. However, one of my only criticisms is that the ending left a little too many loose ends. I appreciate that the game leaves the player to decide what they think about the whole thing as there's nothing more disappointing than when a game gives you a set in stone ending which you're kind of ''eh'' about and leaves a bad feeling over your experience however I would have encouraged just a few of the open-ended questions to come to a definite conclusion. That being said, that may just be the nature of this very game. It's mysterious and nobody really knows what the truth is in the House of Madness. Plus, this is one of those games where I really wouldn't mind discussing ideas with others and coming up with a personal ending that feels right in your own heart which is endearing in its own way as well.Aside from that I really have nothing bad to say about this game, I love psychological horrors, I love interesting stories and cool characters in video games and Fran Bow ticked all the boxes for me. It instantly reminded me of ''Alice in W Madness Returns'' which is a similar game in terms of story / characters that I love dearly so I knew that I wouldn't be going wrong if I bought this game. I do feel that it may be inspired by Alice in Wonderland, especially given the photo of Fran and her friend Alice in chapter 5 inside of her wardrobe. That little reference made me really quite happy, actually. Probably more than it should of. But yeah, although the two games share aspects that I love they're also different enough for each other for both experiences to be refreshing. I mean, I could honestly play the two one after the other and not get the feeling that it was tedious. My heart was in this one, I loved every second of it, well done to the creators! I'll definitely be doing a fan art of this game soon!
Was this review helpful?
8.9 hrs on record
I backed Fran Bow two years ago, because it looked interesting and the campaign was actually well done, they had a demo and everything. In retrospect I wished I backed it for more than 10 bucks just for the game, because it’s a damn fine game. Fran Bow is a lot like Dream Machine and Kentucky Route Zero in that the three are adventure games made by two person dev teams and are beautiful labors of love. The devs of Fran Bow even said that they were putting their hearts and souls in it and they clearly weren’t lying.Fran Bow’s atmosphere is fantastic, it’s got a sort of Edward Gorey-esque aesthetic but it still has its own identity. The puzzles for the most part are all pretty well done, it mostly avoids the usual adventure game pitfalls aside from an instance or two and while they are a few surreal solutions they still do make some sort of sense so they’re aren’t cheap. The writing is pretty good, though a bit wonky here and there, mainly in the beginning. Overall it hits all the right notes to make a great adventure game.Fran Bow is a really humble game and it deserves more exposure. Killmonday did a great job and I hope that they do well, I’d be sure to back them if they go for another campaign. Devs with this kind of passion, dedication, and skill should always be rewarded.
Definitely pick this up.
Was this review helpful?
7.5 hrs on record
While suffering from some of the flaws that are common to the genre - such as the &randomly use everything with everything& syndrome - this is a solid adventure-type game. It also has an intriguing mechanic of changing reality at will (for want of a better word) by using 'Pills'. P neither feindlishly hard or too easy, with some arcade-like sequences (which can be skipped) and getting through the game is likely to take a few hours.The main strength of the game is not, however, it's gameplay. Where the game really shines is in overall design: story, art, sound & music and how those interact with each other. It's as if someone wrote a script inspired by one part 'Alice in Wonderland', one part 'The Shining', and some parts just general weirdness of a child possibly (probably?) going (or being) insane, and then had Tim Burton direct the screenplay. It's at times creepy, somewhat disgusting, funny (albeit in a rather weird way), and sometimes even a bit trippy (looking at you chapter 3). Beyond all that it is a sad and slightly disturbing tale of a tormented child's psyche, where we at the end are left with more questions than answers.It may not be the best ever adventure game, but it is original in both presentation and subject matter. It also has a poignant story that is likely to make you think. The game can be enjoyed on the surface layer, but the deeper layers and metaphors are there to be deciphered, but do not expect to get any completely clear answers. It is also a good example of games as art, without at any time becoming pretentious or complex for complexity's sake.When you get down to it, it is - at the core - simply a good game, and well worth playing.
Was this review helpful?
Loading reviews...
Languages:
Full Audio
Includes 17 Steam Achievements
Title: Fran Bow
Developer:
Publisher:
Release Date: 27 Aug, 2015
You can use this widget-maker to generate a bit of HTML that can be embedded in your website to easily allow customers to purchase this game on Steam.
Enter up to 375 characters to add a description to your widget:
Copy and paste the HTML below into your website to make the above widget appear
Share:& & &
VAT included in all prices where applicable.&&
View mobile website