A quiet little village with a sinister curse looming over it. This is where Elf Games Works and Luna2s’ newest title, Children of Silentown begins. A point-and-click game that twists the typical notions of a traditionally casual gameplay style and turns it creepy. The game borrows a storytelling style like kids’ books and seems that way early on, but from the first subtle jump scare, shows there’s more than meets the eye.

Walking in the shoes of Lucy, one of the children of Silentown, you are tasked with pointing and clicking through her daily activities. It seems simple enough to interact your way through chores and sing sweetly beside your mother until it reaches bedtime. This is where the nightmares begin to set in; the fear of what lies in wait in the forest. Once it’s dark, going outside is a surefire way to never come back.

Gameplay is very simple; point-and-click to interact with items or to add them to Lucy’s inventory for later use. Lucy is tasked with helping her mum prepare dinner, which feels like a chore at the start, but when the work is done, it’s time to play for real. Leaving the house, it’s time to explore the town.

The visuals by the art team at Luna2 capture exactly what the game is; a town that is creepy but somehow charming. Like something out of the 2000s Tim Burton-era, characters look as if they were sketched out by a kid with some nightmares of their own. Vacant eyes and faces that show no emotion wander around a town that looks as if it was painted in subdued tones, and a sense of macabre lurks in the devoid villagers despite their relatively unassuming town.

Children of Silentown started off as an animated short film and evolved into a game. The cutscenes are dynamic, dark, and terrifying, delivering the nightmares. Intense red and black scribbled scenes of the forest accompanied by a shaking camera made me really scared to go outside. Once the music hits, the fear kicks in, and the once soft, relaxing piano is replaced with unnerving discordant strings. I was very relieved when Lucy woke up. It’s effective in inducing the feeling of impending doom as it should.

Music becomes important throughout Lucy’s investigation, being a way to gather more information to solve the mystery. The ways the melodies reveal information made for a better time than the initial monotony of interactions. Reading thoughts and mending memories through mini-puzzles added a little extra that I felt was missing earlier on.

The slow-paced opening involved a lot of backtracking so I was keen when puzzles became crucial. The mini-games require sewing paths and adjusting mechanisms, which was nice for a little while, but I came to dread them. A certain type of puzzle often left me more confused and frustrated than entertained. I would have loved a hint system and a journal with crucial information for whenever I was lost.

The mystery of the lost townspeople is what kept me invested more than the gameplay. The foreshadowing of the worst being yet to come made me want to solve the mystery even more. This isn’t a joyful, casual game though. Be prepared for some discomfort and tears, but these moments, coupled with strangely endearing art, music, and characters, hits just the right notes.

Children of Silentown is a bittersweet tale that balances tension, sadness, and a decent pinch of heart. While the gameplay isn’t action-packed, the story, art, and music bring it together into something a lot more expressive. Presenting a unique take on the creepy stories of what goes bump into the night, I wouldn’t venture into the forest after playing this, and that’s a cautionary tale effectively told.

Written by: Yasmin Noble