Featuring a blend of 2D adventure and visual novel, The Mildew Children is a grim tale about a village inhabited only by children who follow savage pagan traditions. A young witch named Kyrphel, along with her sisters, are bound to perform a macabre Ritual in order to save their village.
The experience blends 2D adventure and visual novel elements, tasking players with exploring detailed environments, interacting with characters through dialogue choices, and completing minigames during key story moments.
Players navigate over 30 unique locations, from the village streets to the burial ground, interacting with the environment and NPCs to uncover clues and progress the narrative.
Dialogue choices significantly impact the story and relationships between characters. The game features over 100 unique character portraits that reflect the emotional states of NPCs during conversations, encouraging players to carefully consider their responses.
Challenging minigames and quick-time events (QTEs) heighten the drama and tension of important story moments. These include memory-based puzzles and timed button presses that test the player's reflexes and decision-making skills. An optional mode allows players to bypass these interactive elements.
The narrative features multiple endings driven by the player's choices, incentivizing repeated playthroughs to explore alternative paths and uncover the full scope of the story. With an estimated length of around 8 hours, the game offers significant replayability for those seeking all possible outcomes.