What parents need to know
The Hungry Fly is a surreal first-person narrative horror game in which the player takes on the role of a fly in search of dead flesh to devour. Visually, the game is reminiscent of PlayStation 1 games, with simple geometries and very rough lighting, but its game mechanics are more modern. The fly wakes up in a gloomy marsh in which, according to its inhabitants, “nothing ever dies”. What a misfortune for the fly, who feeds exclusively on corpses! Starving, she wanders the marsh and encounters several eccentric characters, including a caterpillar that is playing yo-yo and a spider that is too weak to catch its prey. As the player acts and interacts with these characters, they must make choices that will influence the story, since the game has three possible endings.
Finally, after searching for a while, the desperate fly encounters a carnivorous plant that invites her into its belly to feed on what is rotting in there: memories belonging to an unknown monster. By devouring these memories, the fly changes her environment and the characters that inhabit it and slowly reveals many secrets. The game is narrated in the third person with text, somewhat reminiscent of children’s books. Don’t be fooled, though; The game depicts scenes of bloody violence and self-harm. It is therefore a game for a mature and informed audience. It’s hard to say more without revealing the end of the game. Fans of surreal games like What Remains of Edith Finch, Rule of Rose, and How Fish is Made, to name a few, will understand how difficult it is to describe this kind of game without ruining the plot! The Hungry Fly is a kind of spiritual sequel to The Repairing Mantis, also developed by the independent studio Erupting Avocado. The game is metaphorical and thought-provoking, and addresses the themes of mental illness, disability and mourning in an original and little-exploited way in the field.
*This game was given to us for review purposes, but that doesn’t influence our opinion.*
Details
Level of experience required
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The game features violent acts and self-harm, as well as disturbing themes. The graphics are not realistic, but there is blood.
There is no nudity or sexual content.
The texts are very short and simple, written in the style of a children’s book. However, you need to have a fairly developed maturity to fully understand the second degree of the texts.
The endings are troubling, including the presumed good ending. It leaves us a little perplexed long after playing, so don’t expect a fully happy resolution.
The controls are very simple, but making the fly take off and sometimes controlling more than one character at a time is a bit difficult. Sometimes there are fixed camera angles, and sometimes the camera also needs to be controlled. It requires some dexterity, but there are no enemies or fights, and no time limit, so it’s not stressful and the player can take the time to familiarize themselves with the mechanics.
Local game modes
There is only one mode, the story mode. The game makes automatic saves at the beginning of each chapter.
Online Game Modes
None.
Expansions/Add-ons (DLC)
None.
Our opinion
The Hungry Fly is a fairly short game, easily completed in an hour or two. It’s a game with a difficult theme and very grotesque visuals, with three endings that send shivers down your spine. Fans of surreal games will definitely find what they are looking for, as long as they are not too turned off by the retro graphics. It is a very interesting and inventive game, deserving of all the attention it’s getting. The choice of very raw and unrealistic visuals seems wise to me, considering the contrast it creates in comparison to the horrifying events that take place throughout the game.
On the accessibility side, the game offers an option for people who get motion sickness easily. Riding a spinning fly can cause discomfort for some, and this option is welcome. In the end, The Hungry Fly is a confronting and original game that makes you think. If you like games that are a little twisted and approach the theme of mental illness from a creative angle, you will undoubtedly like The Hungry Fly. At a very fair price for the duration of the game (about $13 on Steam, for about 3 hours of play to discover all the endings), it’s definitely worth the detour. It was a disturbing and poetic experience that left us speechless.
Featured photo@Erupting Avocado
Screenshots @Myriam Baulne (Steam ID : ComeToMomma)
