Misha is a short visual novel that takes only a few minutes to play. Players take control of Helen, who is looking forward to some cosy Christmas time with her cat. Sadly, your time will be short, not just with your cat, but with the game as a whole. As a result, this review is more of a comment on short stories that attempt to shock the reader or player and leave a lingering feeling of that shock reverberating in your mind long after playing.
A shocking short story can be impactful, but the shock, payoff, and emotional impact of something needs to feel earned or connected. If a player or reader is dropped into something and the rug is pulled immediately, it leads to confusion and disconnect, and that’s how I felt playing Misha. The game has multiple endings, but many of them require a very specific event to occur after the first minute or two. I’m pussy footing around with that event, but it’s fairly obvious in the game description what to expect. The issue is that I spotted the narrative error early by accident that causes the big shock event, and thought it was a poor game design, only to realise it’s the main catalyst for the narrative anyway.
Once the event occurs, the game leans into ambiguous emotional distress for a bit… and then… it ends. No resolution. No morality discussion. Nothing. It’s all very well having a character wallow in despair afterwards, but by ending the experience there, it loses the overall impact of what the game is trying to highlight. Repeated playthroughs to see all the eventualities do not add to the experience or deepen the characters of Helen and her kitty either. It all feels very empty.
Misha does have some nice artwork, and Helen has such a soft voice that I’d recommend the voice artist has an ASMR creator future ahead of her. I was done in 10 minutes. With no lasting impact or replayability, it is difficult to recommend this title. One for the gamers who must play all of the cat-related games out there possible perhaps, but I suspect others will find this obtuse and awkward.
Higher Plain Games is part of the Higher Plain Network. If you like what I do, please consider supporting me via Patreon for as little as $1/£1 a month. There are additional perks for supporting me, such as behind-the-scenes content and downloads. You can also share the website or use the affiliate buy now links on reviews. Buying credit from CD Keys using my affiliate link means I get a couple of pence per sale. All your support will enable me to produce better content, more often. Thank you.
