Let's play "Good Mita, Bad Mita"! One of us will keep you going, and the other one will break you- Hey, this is supposed to be scary! Why are you laughing?

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Let's get this out there - I'm not good with horror. Proper horror will leave me a wreck of nerves (and probably tears!), so much so that just putting me in a dark room with some noises will creep me out. But, introduce a cute anime girl - bloody and psychotic as she may be - and I'll be mostly right as rain. MiSide caught my eye back when it was a demo on itch.io, and I've been anticipating its full release ever since. Enough chatter, let's get on with it.

MiSide's main premise centers around Mita, who drags you into her game's world to make you fully hers. Everything seems normal at first (let's just forget about what happened AS you make your way to Mita) - it's even very playful, but peer too far behind the curtain and you'll see the undulating mess of horror that keeps this world afloat. Treat carefully, now...
You'll venture through different versions of the fictional world Mita resides in, meeting many different Mitas along the way - having a grand ol' time with them! They're all very fun to interact with, but there's always a sense of dread at the back of your mind. After all, as you're the only one aware, it could all, ALL, come crashing down.

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Across your adventure, you'll encounter various Mitas with their own personalities, and spending time with them is a very nice break from the horror segments. They've all got their own unique way of living and going about things, and while they're not extremely deep characters (it's all skin deep, eh?), they're cheerful enough that you'll turn to them for respite after running away from the last sequence. None of them were even close to being annoying for me - they're all adorable in their own way. The fact that we can't headpat Small Mita is what I deem mortal sin, but development budgets aren't infinite...

Also worth pointing out here, the game's native language is actually Russian from what I can tell. While the Japanese VA (Kana Hanaiwa) is VERY good given how little experience she has, but the Russian voice setting pairs up very nicely too. I couldn't find her name, but her voice lines are also very well delivered!

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With that aside, the game is also half horror, so how does that stand up? Well, as mentioned before, I was a pretty nervous wreck whenever I was put in a dark room with no light. The game also has both proper creepy moments as well as some campy horror moments. If you ask me, chainsaw chases should never go out of style. But, if you're a horror veteran, this is about as scary as a puppy barking at you. Don't come in expecting anything on the level of The Human Centipede .

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What MiSide has at a level unseen in any other game I have played in this genre is the sheer amount of POLISH that's been put into it. Every edge is sanded and rounded - not a bump in sight. No bugs I've encountered, beautiful expressive animations - hell, even the little things like the loading screen jokes. It genuinely feels like the developers have curated this experience to be one of quality over quantity, and it shows. Every moment, even while you aren't actively playing, is a marvel. I was idling just trying to watch Mita's idle animations, and my player character pulls out a game boy with its own minigame - brilliant fun!
It goes to show that polish and charm can go a very long way to making an experience more enjoyable.

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Gameplay: Enjoyable - Meeting Mitas is a very fun break from the horror segments that put your life at stake. Both complement each other well in a way that doesn't feel jarring.
Ambience and Aesthetic: Top Notch - Mita and the environment she occupies are meticulously crafted to detail.
Story: Very Enjoyable - The adventure itself is fun and a bit spooky. It's charming and gripping. The writing really makes you start to care about the Mitas you spend time with.
Competence: Top Notch - With only a few extremely minor nitpicky hiccups here and there, MiSide is polished to basically perfection. No challenge too daunting, no feeling too minor.

Overall: Highly Recommended. Anyone can enjoy this experience, even non-Horror fans (if I can get through it, anyone can). If you're stuck in a dark room and you know something's there with you, take a deep breath, and do it for her. The cute anime girl REALLY helps.
Runs on Linux/Steam Deck without issue!
If you liked this, you might like: NARAKU
Cappie/Cool Mita is a good egg. Very energetic with an infectious smile that was a sight for sore eyes after what I've been through. I'd love to hang out with someone like that sometime. Plus, the hat is extremely cute.