The Butterfly – itch.io Horror Game – Name Your Price to Free

I must be in the October Halloween mood as I’ve downloaded a few horror games that were recently released on itch.io. itch.io features games made by independent game developers and when I visit the site, it’s usually horror based games that I’m looking for.

In todays review, I review The Butterfly. The Butterfly is a short cosmic horror themed game with a bittersweet ending that I absolutely enjoyed playing. Independent developers have a knack for developing short form horror games. What I mean by this is they put together complete games, usually, that can be finished in the space of an hour or so. I enjoyed playing The Butterfly for a variety of reasons and I’ll touch on some of them below.

Above all, what makes any game good, not just horror, is a good story. The Butterfly excels in this department. The different chapters of the game, of which there are four, are named after the stages of a butterfly’s life cycles’. First there is the egg stage. The egg stage is followed by the larval, or caterpillar stage. Next is the pupa, or cocoon stage. The final stage of course is the butterfly stage. As you progress through the game the chapters mark milestones for advancing. You’ll find notes throughout the game which slowly build up the story.

Without giving too much away, we have a couple in love. There is Leila, and her unnamed companion. You are trying to help Leila who has fallen ill. You play the part of the unnamed lover and I think it’s a little bit of genius to leave the companion unnamed. Most people will assume of course that her lover is male, but because of not having a name, it leaves it very much ambiguous. I thought that was a nice bit of sensitivity within the game. I of course assumed the role of a male character, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Without being “woke” it’s a masterful stroke that I think will appeal to gamers of all kinds.

One of the things I enjoy while playing any kind of game whether it be survival horror or other, is navigating the 3d environments. Depending on the game these could be as simple as a one story house with a few rooms to extra large environments like that of Resident Evil 7 which encompassed an entire compound of multiple story buildings including a large research vessel which needed to be searched. It’s the maze like quality of the building layouts I enjoy forcing one to remember navigation routes and the house floorplan to get from one place to another. The Butterfly is not your run of mill point A to point B walking simulator. In games where one is being pursued it becomes doubly critical to use your pathfinding skills to make it to various locations. In The Butterfly, the environment you’ll be navigating through is a multiple story house with an attic as well as a couple of outdoor sections. There are locked doors for which you’ll need to find keys, the trope of bolt cutters to break a certain lock, and an interesting combination lock structure which will require you to pay attention to all notes. You’ll need to keep track of the locations of certain doors and the placement of items around the environment as you look for clues to advance to each of the stages. You’ll need to pay careful attention to the notes you discover as well as take cues from the environment as you thoroughly search all area’s.

It took me a little less than an hour to complete the game. The pacing of the game is perfect in my opinion and though the graphics are of the low res variety, the excellent storytelling that goes along with the game will have your imagination filling in details which really helps with the gameplay immersion.

Finally, a good game at some point will subvert your expectations. This happened a couple times throughout gameplay. It occurred to me with a manikin that seems to teleport randomly as you make it through the stages. Sometimes it’s at the dinner table, sometimes it’s next to the dog. Was that the ominous shadow framed in a lowly lit door area at the bottom of the stairs? Is it chasing me? Do I need to be careful. stealthy, and on guard as I open doors and turn corners? I’ll leave this up to you to find out should you decide to pick up the game and give it a go. Subverting of expectations will be found in most games but it can done poorly, or it can be done in a way that makes the game more interesting. Hint, it’s the latter.

I mentioned above the story had a bittersweet aspect to it. As you play and discover the stories horrors and try to figure just what the hell is going on, you’ll ultimately be paid off by the end of the game. I don’t think you’ll see the ending coming. You’ll discover what I mean should you take up the challenge of The Butterfly and make it to the ending.

You can pick up The Butterfly for a small donation or for free here -> https://kerineia.itch.io/the-butterfly. Most itch.io games are setup in a way where you can name the price (including free) should you find something you like and want to reward the developer for the good time so they continue to make these fun little games.