The House in Fata Morgana

amazing

i am in severe emotional pain

The House In Fata Morgana is most likely the best modern Shakespearean story in the world and will likely stay that way.

This is a tragic tale from top-to-bottom, it does not hold back anything and will make you observe the cruelest of fates, but, it does make it all worth it in the end. In this story; no visualized character will be forgatten, no untied end will be allowed, no song will escape the perfect scene and no effort will go unrewarded. It is a story that I concider to be extremely close to a masterpiece. It does not linger much like the longer VNs either, it is comperatively short in its full-lenght VN market, where a game could demand 50 to 100 hours.
The few shortcomings for me was some character conclusions felt hollow compared to rest, but that is to be expected if you don't want to leave any character unconcluded.
I would like to share that there seems to be a console remake of this game already released in 2021. And, with a bit of google search, you could find a way to port that version to this one. It does seem to be a much higher quality with renewed visuels, added cg, story... etc. I was not aware of this until the end of my playthrough, yet, it did not bother me and still gave me one hell of a story to share.

This is one of the best written visual novels that I have ever played with multiple stories that appear self-contained but blend into a larger overarching narrative. The writing is beautiful and emotive. Be aware, the story explores themes of abuse. I won't say anything else here for fear of spoilers but if you like gothic stories with dark, twisty mysteries at the center, you will definitely enjoy this game!

this was the first vn game to actually stab me in the gut, twist the knife, shoot me point blank 70 more times, and toss my body out a window into the ocean with how brutally devastating this story was. this was the first piece of media to ever make me cry, sob, get on my knees, and scream and wail like a banshee and i mean that 100% seriously.
this story will never leave my heart

though, i do want to warn that the first few chapters may seem a bit bizarre, dramatic, and wild, but they are meant to be like that. it will all unravel itself, it will all make sense, and all the pieces will put themselves together if you just keep digging further.

with that aside, everything about this was beautiful. the art, the music, the writing, and especially how realistic the characters were. god i've never been slapped in the face with the most gut tearing writing before, hitting me in the back of the head with, "We cry at tragedies because we draw parallels with our own lives" and goddamn it they were right.
my words alone won't do this story justice, but you'll have to trust me that this experience was more than just worth it. this game's narrative and writing is fairly similar to regular book novel writing so even if you aren't familiar with visual novel games, i guarantee you'll be able to enjoy this.

truly, the house in fata morgana has changed my life and perspective entirely for the better

The greatest story of all time please bless yourself by playing it

Its A visual novel

Fataing my morgana rn

This certainly wasn't the happiest story to read over Christmas, mistakes were made.

(originally posted on my backloggd)

the house in fata morgana surprised me by being truly as beautiful and powerful as i've heard many say. the art feels like something from a storybook (so many facial expressions on its delicately drawn sprites!), its music will stay with me for the rest of my life, and the care poured into its characters and intricate story completely won my heart. *so* lovely. as others have said, it is definitely a visual novel that's best experienced without knowing too much of what's ahead. still, you should know some of what you're getting into.

the basic premise is that you awaken in a dark mansion with a maid kneeling at your feet. she somehow knows you, although you don't know who you are. so, to help you regain yourself, she walks you through a series of memories that take place within the house.

the house in fata morgana is a genuinely brutal tragedy. it has themes of grief, relationships, martyrdom, misogyny, patriarchy, power, isolation, religion, ideas of normalcy, forgiveness, and obsession. there are men being awful. you will see characters in their lowest places, struggling with mental health and who they are. even when it's a little on the nose or theatrical, fata morgana handles these themes with impressive grace. this visual novel is easily a favourite of mine.

for content warnings, there is also torture, murder, gore, sexual assault (mainly off screen, but still intense), and abuse. there are more warnings you can look up, at the risk of spoilers! as well, the authors note that not all the language they use they agree with, but that occasionally makes it hard to tell what words are used intentionally or not. (so, a reminder that words like 'w**re' and 'savage' aren't to be used as insults, and to call sex workers what they are - sex workers, etc.) later in the story, i was also surprised by someone leaning hard into bioessentialism. but! i'm glad i kept reading. many characters in fata morgana deserve a chance to grow. considering their circumstances, they often have so much working against them.

it was the story's tenderness that caught me off guard moreso than the brutality, however. what a relentless, heartbreaking examination of seeking a better everyday life! the story as a whole just has so much love, patience, and respect for its characters and the trauma they carry. one scene depicts someone experiencing gentle touch at the hands of a lover after knowing only violence - i had to take a break afterward. i will never forget the beauty of that scene.

in terms of accessibility, fata morgana includes extremely photosensitive characters while unfortunately ignoring any readers who might be similar. there are a few white screens and many intense rapid flashes of white as the story unfolds. some can be predicted, but definitely not all of them! they were effective, i guess? they didn't make me feel good.

but. otherwise. some things quite close to my heart fata morgana has spun into words and set to one of the most stunning soundtracks i've ever heard. its characters truly seem to breathe, grounded by the music and brought to life by lovely prose and detailed art - with its cheesier moments being easy to forgive. and, while the story may not get everything right, it's powerful to find characters so well written that you see parts of yourself reflected back to you even if you took your own path and live a different identity. the moments i couldn't strongly relate to also had such emotional weight that i could still appreciate everything very much. the story felt quite long, but it is all so expertly woven together that in the end i didn't mind.

so, if you're okay with its themes, i'd recommend the house in fata morgana again and again and again. it's worth the time for something this beautiful! i would adore if, perhaps, we both fell in love with this flawed masterpiece.

Story & artwork are overrated in 2025. Much better visual novels out now. It also hard crashed on me and had to power off then restart an entire chapter.
Just because it's the highest rated game on the Switch, doesn't mean it's the best one.

This is one of the best stories that have ever been created. I aint lying, its peak. Im literally still crying while writing this review. This has the best narritive and is the best game I have ever played. I dont know if there will ever be another story that will impact me that much in the future than this one.

The Art has a great gothic style that I dont see often, which is perfect for the theme of the vn. The music is so unique and fits everytime in any scene. This music felt like an angel made it.

I cried multiple times at the end. Big fat ugly tears and I dont regret that shit. This is my first review, but trust me. Buy it. Even at full price. Finish it. You will not regret it. (If one of my close friends are reading this, hit me up, imma buy it for you for free)

I haven't read it while, but I felt obligated to share this piece
https://youtu.be/Kdg7T42s2I0?si=fQIru6SFNwU-G41_
included in the bundle version of this game's monstrous 6 CD-long soundtrack, included in the collector's edition I own. I put this on one day while doing some work, and after listening to probably 5 hours worth of material, this was on the last disc. In my 20 years of life, I'd never thought a simple piano-only arrangement would be the first song to ever make me cry, but it did. I just thought that was a good enough reason to give this game a review. The prior 5 hours of absolutely submerging myself in the thick atmosphere of this incredible OST might've helped, but it really stirred up emotions and memories in me of playing the original for the first time in 2016; the first VN I truly connected with, start to finish, from its incredibly unique direction in art and soundtrack. Like most of the VNs I've dabbled in, the story could be tightened up a bit and gets too melodramatic at times, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't fully engaged in literally every chapter, barring maybe the 4th door (Ch. 4 of 8~10?). I care about these characters. What a cathartic ending. I owe it a reread.
P.S. I might as well share this cover of Cicio I stumbled upon on YT as well, it's great
https://youtu.be/vOlX9AGBHXg?si=0vFFBKhMWV95gCsW

Music: Good.
Story: Verbose, boring and overrated. The only commendable plot is the face reveal of Bestia.
Artwork: Ancient.

yeah this is one of the best vns out there. goated story, characters, music, atmosphere. peak

perfect

Pretty much a masterpiece, and lived to every expectation said by the visual novel community. The characters and the whole journey through time periods were spetacular. I feel like the latter part kind of reminds me of Eternal Darkness, even if both are nothing alike.

I'll rarely see a story of this scope ever again, maybe in indie games, perhaps?

It is the best everything I've played, reducing it down to just simply a visual novel doesn't do it justice. The art, the writing, the music, the characters— and the meaning it holds, some of the stories are very dear to me. 10/10

Great game.. Amazing pacing for a visual novel

damn...

Incredible game. Although it starts off slowly, once you get to the good part--you'll know when you see it--you'll be crying. However, please be aware that there are flashing lights throughout the game. If you have a condition prohibiting you from being exposed to such things, do not get this game.
Besides that, the game itself is not for everyone, which should be obvious enough. If you don't like it, then suit yourself. More sorrow for me haha ^_^

What drew me into this game was that out of all the visual novels ever created, this one is the highest rated on Metacritic. At the time of writing, The House in Fata Morgana is the 25th highest rated game of all time on Metacritic, beating out games like Elden Ring, Skyrim and Persona 5 Royal. Although that release of the game is actually the Nintendo Switch version (a newer release that is much better quality than the steam release), I recommend downloading a free patch called THiFM: Remaid of Dreams so that you can play the Nintendo Switch version of the game on the steam release. Anyways,

What makes this game the 25th highest rated game of all time on Metacritic?

The Story: 10/10
The first 3 chapters (or doors if you played the game), were slow at times, but the game rewards your patience with absolutely brilliant storytelling in the last 4 chapters of the game. If you have the patience to read for ~10 hours, then you will be rewarded in the 2nd half of the game.

The Characters: 10/10
Undoubtedly the strongest aspect of the game. The characters are well written and sympathetic given the tragedies all of them had to go through.

Art: Subjective
This visual novel stays away from the usual anime art style of the genre and adopts a more naturalist art style. I think the art style is why the game is able to be so highly rated on Metacritic; other highly rated visual novels like Umineko or Higurashi are nowhere to be found presumably because of their usual anime art style.

The House in Fata Morgana is a well-written visual novel that I would recommend to people who have already played a visual novel. If this is your 1st visual novel, then perhaps you will be disappointed since visual novels are for people who like reading novels with some very minor gameplay. This game supposedly being the 25th greatest game of all time can be misleading because of it's medium, but as a piece of fiction, it's fantastic.

The most tear shedding, anxiety inducing, suspense building, drama bombing, guilt tripping, mind altering, eye twitching, bladder grabbing, leg shaking, spine tickling, nerve wrecking, hope shattering, closure providing, life changing story I have ever played. Please try to go into this visual novel blind.

The House in Fata Morgana te abre las puertas de una mansión perdida en la eternidad en cuyos pasillos y habitaciones resuenan las historias de quienes alguna vez tuvieron el infortunio de habitarla.

Es una novela visual que trasciende lo narrativo, conmovedora y tan bien escrita que sin duda marcará un antes y un después en tus recuerdos.

This is one of the best God dang stories I've ever read.

Art: 10/10
Music: 100/10
Characters: 1,000/10
Themes/ Moral: 10,000/10
Gameplay: Book/10

Peak

A masterpiece.
If I had to describe it in just one sentence, "Characters are complicated", is probably the most fitting one.
Fatamo broke me, and it were some of the best 30-40 hours I spent in my life.

This is the best visual novel I have ever played in my life. Everything is 10/10. The music. The art. The characters. The plot. The writing. My life is now divided into two parts: before THIFG and after THIFG. This changed me fundamentally. I played this three years ago and not a day goes by where I don't think about it. Fight through the first three doors for the love of God I'm begging you. Play this game. If you ever listen to a review on anything let it be this one. Play The House in Fata Morgana.

I love everything about this game. The music, the art, the writing, the characters are just all so peak

Happy people build their inner world and unhappy people blame their external world

This game has inspired me to build my happy world, no matter what other unhappy people say in an attempt to tear it down.

Thank you Michel

the most beautiful game i`ve ever played, i love this game with all my soul, thank you for this masterpiece

The Best story I have experienced in any medium.
I did my research how they came up with the story and it seems it was influenced by Tanith Lee's books, and the films Millennium Actress (2001) and The Best of Youth (2003).
Must Read Visual Novel

This visual novel tackles timeless themes, most notably the cyclical nature of history. While this is a refreshing departure from typical visual novel fare, especially the prevalent nukige genre, it feels less innovative compared to broader media. The audio and art style, reminiscent of Saya no Uta, share a similar fate: unique, but not necessarily compelling. The writing, while functional, failed to truly engage me for extended periods.

- - -

-Themes-
The Cyclical Nature of History: This is perhaps the most central theme. The tragedies within the mansion repeat across different eras, with characters and situations echoing each other. This suggests that human nature, with its capacity for both love and cruelty, remains constant throughout time. It also explores how past actions and unresolved issues can continue to haunt the present.

The Enduring Power of Love and Loss: Love, in its many forms (romantic, familial, platonic), is a driving force in the story. However, it is often intertwined with loss, grief, and regret. The story examines how love can inspire both great acts of kindness and terrible acts of desperation, and how the loss of loved ones can leave lasting scars.

The Complexity of Human Nature: The characters in Fata Morgana are not simply good or evil. They are complex individuals with their own motivations, flaws, and strengths. The story explores the gray areas of human behavior, showing how people can be driven to do terrible things by love, fear, or despair. It emphasizes that everyone is capable of both good and evil, depending on their circumstances.

The Weight of the Past: The past is not something that can be easily forgotten or ignored in Fata Morgana. It has a tangible presence, influencing the present and shaping the destinies of the characters. The story suggests that confronting and understanding the past is essential for moving forward and finding peace.

Forgiveness and Redemption: Despite the darkness and tragedy, Fata Morgana also offers a message of hope and redemption. It suggests that even the most flawed individuals are capable of change and that forgiveness, both of oneself and others, is possible. The story emphasizes that breaking free from the cycles of tragedy requires understanding, empathy, and a willingness to forgive.

The Search for Identity and Meaning: Many of the characters in the story grapple with questions of identity, memory, and the meaning of life. They search for their place in the world and try to understand their own pasts.

Best Visual Novel, dont hesitate, be patient and enjoy the ride

greatest story ever told

This shit beautiful

ive been looking forward to playing this game because of the gorgeous art and the wonderful ost but the incestuous relationships were a deal breaker. if you like incest then this game is perfect for you

This is peak fiction, please read it. If you are new to visual novels then this one is the best one to start with, it will keep you hooked the whole way through.

This game is everything to me
i cannot simply put it in words how much this game means to me
its the greatest novel of all times
notice how i just said novel
cause it bypasses william Shakespeare and franz kafka
the art is something i am aiming for
the literacy
the story telling
the art
the SOUNDTRACKS!!!!
i never disliked anything in this game
and all of the soundtracks are an absolute favourite
this game genuinely changed my view to the world
i feel like it speaks to me
if a game can understands one soul
then this game understands me
it teaches you lessons
the house in fata morgana isnt just a game
its life
please never let me stop obsessing over THIFM
if you want to play it then what are you waiting for?
live laugh fata morgana
i want everything in my life to be fata morgana themed
i love everything in the game
even the characters that were written to be hated are written so well that i cannot help but admire the writing
i am genuinely being overstimulated by how i cannot form my thoughts and use the right words to to


id die for this game

however i am a huge gatekeeper of it

gospel so good i cannot spread it and cant help but to keep it to myself

happy new years

changed my life. kept putting it off for years and suddenly decided to go for it. i feel like a different person before and after playing it. the plot and characters drive you mad to tears, keeping you guessing and twisting and turning while not breaking immersion.

music is phenomenal. at several times, given how dark the game is, i was tempted to close it and leave the next scenes for tomorrow... but the music just kept pulling me in.

phenomenal and one of the best VNs ever. i wish i could relive the experience all over again.

I read this VN from start to finish in a single 24-hour marathon session. I doubt my critical and analytical faculties were functioning at 100% that whole time, so it's not impossible that the latter half of the story has problems I missed. I can say, though, that it was compelling enough to make me do a 24-hour marathon VN reading session, and it left me satisfied afterward. I RECOMMEND this VN but DO NOT RECOMMEND reading it in one sitting.

I've just finished this game, it is a beautiful game with heart wrenching stories and unexpected twists and turns. The game is a fair bit longer than expected and has a beautiful soundtrack that adds a lot to the general ambience of the game.

I wholeheartedly recommend you to buy the game, just be prepared to cry a fair bit.

It's somewhat important to note this game was released in 2012.

First, because technically it's dated - there's no 16:9 support and you'll be experiencing the story in 4:3. If that worries you, you can stop reading here.

Second, there are some topics here that are divisive. I won't go into spoilers, but I noticed two. One of them is central to the story and (at the time of writing in 2024) is not welcomed by many. However, I do not think the authors of the story intended to preach when the visual novel was released in 2012 and it doesn't really feel that way. Again, if this worries you, you can stop reading here.

Now, for the real review. To get it out of the way - I don't think the art is generally great. A lot of the time you'll be staring in a background while stuff are happening and they are not depicted. It looks like a watercolor paintings and sometimes you have no idea what you're looking at, you'll need some imagination to figure it out by the text description.

Music is stellar. I loved the soundtrack and it fit the atmosphere to a T. I can definitely see myself listening to it outside of the game.

Last, but not the least - story. I liked it a lot, but I felt it dragged a bit. The closest way to describe it without spoiling is a very dark fairy tale, where everything and everyone are f***ed up. Every time I believed I'm closing to the end there was yet another tragedy to be told. Depending on reading speed you're looking at 30+ hours (it took me 60 on auto with a cup of tea in my hand). There's a degree of suspension of disbelief that you'll need to apply to enjoy the story - not everybody enjoys fairy tales, and this is a fairy tale. But if you do this one is for you.

Mudou minha vida.

Pretty good

This game is about many things: veneration, identity, conflict, but the most important one is Love.
And love can be wholesome, scary, and often exhausting. This game explores all of that to, in my opinion, sometimes unnecessary detail.
Up to act 6 everything is very good in pacing and content, a great mystery lingers on the atmosphere during these chapters. However, by act 7 the pacing just starts feeling a bit... exhaustive. A lot of repetition of what happened, like A LOT of times. I'm of the opinion that the developers wanted this game to be longer than it actually is.
The ending itself is fine though, pretty satisfying for it's own sake. I just wish that it was less bloated.
Great story, okay narrative. Leaves almost no plotholes, which if very surprising for a game this long.

This feels like a light 8

absolute cinema

Despite going through over 30 hours of misery and tragedy, there are brief pockets of happiness and joy found in this visual novel! I recommend this visual novel if you can stomach a lot of pain and suffering. The music is top notch 100%

Everything in this game is amazing, I truly loved it and recommend it.

A tragic but also beautiful story.

this is pretty good