Fran Bow

 PC
User Score
8.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 170 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 131 out of 170
  2. Mixed: 25 out of 170
  3. Negative: 14 out of 170

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  1. HippieAura
    Jan 2, 2016
    6
    I have seen about three different YouTubers play this game, and it looks like a fantastic game, so I buy it on Steam. The game doesn't work on Windows computers apparently. I have look on every Steam forum I could find, and there is no solution. I feel like I would love this game more if I would play it, but since I can't I'm thinking about getting a refund. THANKS STEAM FOR WASTING MY MONEY!!!!!!
  2. Mandulum
    Nov 9, 2017
    6
    Five Word Review: A twisted romp with Fran.
    Favorite Thing: Just how demented the ultra-reality can be.
    Least Favorite Thing: The ending. I don't like the direction they went.

    Date Completed: 2017-11-08
    Playtime: ~ 6h
    Enjoyment: 6/10
    Recommendation: Yes, if you are a point-and-click adventure fan.
  3. PublicNuisance
    Jul 8, 2021
    6
    I tried to enjoy Fran Bow. I did end up enjoying a lot about it but at the end of the day I didn’t enjoy the puzzles and in a puzzle game that just can’t work. The art style was great. I liked the story and characters. The music was well done. There were specific puzzles I can say I was never going to like, such as the slide puzzle because I hate slide puzzles on principle, but other thatI tried to enjoy Fran Bow. I did end up enjoying a lot about it but at the end of the day I didn’t enjoy the puzzles and in a puzzle game that just can’t work. The art style was great. I liked the story and characters. The music was well done. There were specific puzzles I can say I was never going to like, such as the slide puzzle because I hate slide puzzles on principle, but other that it just seemed like my logic and the game’s logic weren’t on the same page and I often felt like I had little way of knowing what the game wanted me to do without going into random trial and error type of logic.

    I played Fran Bow on Linux. It never crashed on me and I didn’t notice any spelling errors or bugs. The game has toggles for shaders; V-Sync and resolution. Alt-Tab doesn’t work. The game uses an auto save feature.

    Game Engine: Game Maker Studio
    Disk Space Used: 536 MB

    Game Settings Used: V-Sync on; Shaders on; 1920x1080
    GPU Usage: 2-7 %
    VRAM Usage: 344-482 MB
    CPU Usage: 9-10 %
    RAM Usage: 2.2 GB

    I tried to soldier on to advance the plot but once I got to that slide puzzle I was at my limit anyway and quit. I am going to say that I don’t think Fran Bow is a bad game. Outside of the puzzles the game gets a rave review from me. I just think it isn’t my type of puzzle game is all. I would try the demo first to see if you feel the same way.

    My Score: 6.5/10

    My System:

    AMD Ryzen 5 2600X | 16GB DDR4-3000 CL15 | MSI RX 580 8GB Gaming X | Mesa 21.1.2 | Samsung 970 Evo Plus 500GB | Manjaro 21.0.7 | Mate 1.24.1 | Kernel 5.12.9-1-MANJARO    … Expand
  4. sarahlee123
    May 20, 2020
    6
    If you’re the type of person who enjoys gratuitous and highly stylized gore, much of it involving the mutilated corpses of small children (and I know I am such a person, whatever that says about me), you’ll probably get a kick out of Fran Bow. The game’s aesthetic is one of its strong points, and its painterly visuals are as gorgeous as they are (oftentimes) disturbing.

    Clearly inspired    If you’re the type of person who enjoys gratuitous and highly stylized gore, much of it involving the mutilated corpses of small children (and I know I am such a person, whatever that says about me), you’ll probably get a kick out of Fran Bow. The game’s aesthetic is one of its strong points, and its painterly visuals are as gorgeous as they are (oftentimes) disturbing.

    Clearly inspired by Alice in Wonderland (or perhaps some of its darker reimaginings), at times playing Fran Bow felt almost like reading a children’s storybook, although there is way more gore in this game than you’ll find in anything targeted at actual children. Perhaps adding to that feeling is the innocence and sense of whimsy that the titular Fran brings to the game. Indefatigable in her quest to find her beloved kitty, her optimism in the face of hardship and pep make you want things to go well for her.

    Creepy sound design adds to the effectiveness of the visuals, particularly when the shadow creatures known as kamalas are onscreen.

    Those are the good parts, but Fran Bow isn’t without its flaws. While it has all of the elements of a good mystery, the story has too many loose ends, which are never tied up in a satisfying conclusion. While I can appreciate ambiguity in a story’s conclusion, Fran Bow left too many questions unanswered. Even after building an expansive world inhabited by all kinds of unique creatures and characters each with their own lore, the game’s ending makes it all feel a bit inconsequential.

    Another one of Fran Bow’s weaknesses is the dialogue. Judging by the awkwardness of some of the sentences, it seems that the conversations were written by non-native speakers of English. Awkward syntax aside, many of the conversations just aren’t very engaging, but I still skimmed through them rather than clicking the, “Okay, bye,” option because I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss any nuggets of information that might advance the story or provide clues as to how to solve the puzzles. The branching dialogue choices also felt pretty arbitrary, considering that most of the options were quite similar and didn’t seem to have much impact on the conversation.

    As far as actual gameplay goes, the puzzles are well designed—challenging enough so the answers aren’t immediately obvious, yet intuitive enough to have you kicking yourself after figuring out the solution (or if you’re like me, consulting a walkthrough because you’re too lazy/impatient to actually figure out puzzles on your own). The level design is a little convoluted, and I sometimes found myself running in circles looking for a specific item required to advance., but at least that gave me plenty of opportunity to admire the pretty backdrops.

    All in all, Fran Bow is an imperfect but enjoyable game. If you’re into the gothic style and think you might enjoy this specific combination of cuteness and horror, it’s probably worth playing just for the aesthetic alone. Also, the cat is very cute.    … Expand
  5. RagingPoet
    Oct 13, 2018
    7
    Fran Bow got great main characters, nice visuals and interesting story, charming and creepy at the same time.
    Messy pixel hunting was the main drawback for me: a lot of interactive objects looked a lot like background objects just near them.
  6. Crimert
    Mar 7, 2021
    7
    To be honest, the atmosphere wasn't creepy at all. However, the puzzles were good and the story-telling was interesting. 8hrs on record.
  7. Jerg4n
    Apr 30, 2023
    5
    Weird but not in a good way, puzzles are more annoying than fun, didn't really feel anything after the game ended
  8. dunuch
    Aug 31, 2023
    6
    I have seen about three different YouTubers play this game, and it looks like a fantastic game, so I buy it on Steam. The game doesn't work on Windows computers apparently.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
70

Mixed or average reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. Riot Pixels
    Dec 23, 2015
    53
    Fran Bow is chaos in its purest form. A stream of gibberish. A classic example of a story written on a napkin.
    Read full review
  2. CD-Action
    Nov 14, 2015
    70
    Despite an average story Fran Bow was an interesting journey that even left me feeling uneasy in dark places. [11/2015, p.40]
  3. SpazioGames
    Oct 22, 2015
    85
    Disturbing yet adorable, full of violence but at the same time tender, Fran Bow is an adventure with a compelling and sad story that we utterly recommend. The final part of the game might seem confusing and chaotic, but it's still a great moment that will hit you right in the guts.
    Read full review
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