My Beautiful Paper Smile

My Beautiful Paper Smile is a horror with elements of adventure game, emphasizing the storyline and the detailed creation of the presented world. The game is distinguished by its cartoon-like, black-and-white design in a 2.5D perspective, emphasizing a depressing story. Two Star Games studio, founded in 2017, is responsible for creating the game. Before the actual release, the game could be tested in early access.

Plot

The game takes place in a dystopian country controlled by the madman's regime. He wants all the children in his country to be perfect. He understands this perfection as a huge, happy smile that never disappears from their faces. The protagonist of the game belongs to the Joyous, i.e. young people with masks attached to their heads, expressing happiness that is "not boring". Together with others, he is constantly watched by representatives of the Authorities. It is the job of these officials to make sure that none of the joyful ones face sadness ever appears on their faces, only to show eternal joy of life. If someone is caught feeling sad, they are taken to an unknown place, from where they never return.

The main hero's task is to escape from the centre where he is being held. He was encouraged to do so by the voice of the Lost Child heard in his dreams. During his journey he will also discover what led to the creation of the regime and why all children are treated this way and not differently.

Mechanics

During the game we don't have too many possibilities to fight with the enemies we meet. Instead, we have several ways of escaping: we can avoid enemies, sneak between them, manoeuvre or use our surroundings to our advantage. However, if there is a fight, we use primitive weapons found in the game world to defend ourselves. The available levels offer many opportunities to plan our activities, but sometimes they force us to solve environmental puzzles in order to travel through an area.

During the journey, we must take into account the lighting of the area where we are currently staying. Moving in full light we can see the board well, which makes navigation easier, but it also increases the probability of being detected by the Authorities. Being in the dark is safer - at least to some point. If we avoid light sources for too long, we can be found and eaten by a mysterious faceless monster chasing us from the very beginning of our escape.

During exploration, we will collect a variety of objects, kept by the protagonist in his equipment. Some of them serve as finders extending our knowledge of the universe, and some of them we use in appropriate places to unlock further passage or obtain something from independent figures. Often on our way we will meet NPCs, who will enter into a dialogue with us and help (or hinder) the hero to achieve his goal. All interactions are done in the traditional point-and-click form. Its type is communicated to us by the dynamically changing shape of the cursor, corresponding to our actions.

Technical aspects

Unreal Engine was used to create the game, and the graphics were kept in black and white drawing style. All the models in the game have been made in 2D format, but they may seem three-dimensional thanks to the proper work of the camera.