The Witch's House

The Witch's House[lower-alpha 1] is a freeware puzzle-oriented horror game by the Japanese game creator Fummy (ふみー), created using the RPG Maker VX game engine. The game was first released in October 2012 for Microsoft Windows.[1]

The Witch's House
RPG Maker MV version of the original game from Steam artwork
Developer(s)Fummy
Publisher(s)
  • Orig.: Fummy
  • Rem.: DANGEN Entertainment
EngineRPG Maker VX, RPG Maker MV
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release
  • Windows
    • JP: 3 October 2012
  • Remake
  • Windows/macOS
    • WW: 8 October 2018
  • Nintendo Switch
    • WW: 13 October 2022
  • PlayStation 4
    • WW: 13 October 2022
  • Xbox One
    • WW: 13 October 2022
Genre(s)Survival horror, Role Playing Game
Mode(s)Single-player

Fummy later released a prequel novel titled, "The Witch's House: The Diary Of Ellen," serving as the in-game diary of the game antagonist Ellen.[2] Starting in 2017, the novel was adapted into a nine-part manga series of the same name illustrated by Yuna Kagesaki, and then condensed into two tankōbon volumes.[3]

Gameplay

The game is a survival horror game in which the main goal is to solve all puzzles correctly and escape the witch's house. It contains a creepy atmosphere, complex riddles and jump scares. This game is played from bird's-eye view using ornate 16-bit graphics, and controlled via keyboard.[1][4]

A black, talking cat can be met at various places in the house, serving as a save point, as well as something of a companion. Throughout the vast majority of the game, the cat is the only source of conversation, usually talking in a casual, nonchalant manner.[1][4]

The player character, however, doesn't have any response until the ending the game, Fummy stating they were influenced by the previous RPGMaker game Ib.[5]

Plot

The main character of The Witch's House is Viola, a young girl who wakes up in the middle of a forest, soon discovering that her only way out of the forest is completely blocked off by roses. Her only option is to enter a mysterious house nearby in hopes of finding some means of escaping. Accompanied by a black cat, Viola must try to survive the magical and dangerous house, which is possessed by the spirit of the former witch.

During her stay in the house, Viola encounters many strange phenomena inside the shape-shifting house. She also finds diary entries written by the current house's resident, a witch-girl named Ellen, detailing her past and how she killed her parents due to their mistreatment of her. To progress further into the house and hopefully eventually leave the forest, Viola must solve various puzzles, unlocking doors and other sections in the house. If Viola manages to leave the house, there are two possible endings depending on her actions.

The two endings, commonly referred to as the "Good Ending" and the "True Ending", are essentially identical, with the True Ending requiring the player to revisit a cabinet found early in the game to unlock extra dialogue, shedding light on Viola and Ellen's relationship. Both the good ending and the true ending reveal that Viola and Ellen switched bodies before the events of the story, and that "Ellen" (Viola in Ellen's body) attempted to trap "Viola" (Ellen) inside her own house to regain her body. Ellen's reasoning for this was to cure herself of a terminal illness. In both endings, Viola's father appears to rescue his daughter, not knowing of the switch, and shoots "Ellen" to protect his "daughter". Not being recognized by her father causes "Ellen" to die from despair as "Viola" goes home with her father. The third ending is a "pseudo-ending" achieved by not saving once in the game, and gives some extra context to the story's lore such as Ellen's contract with a demon, previous details of how she mutilated herself before the switch, and other details; either ending is achievable by this point.

A separate ending is also attainable by simply waiting in the starting area of the game for an hour and letting the roses fade away due to "Ellen's" body dying from the wounds previously inflicted on it.

Remake

A commercial remake of the game, titled The Witch's House MV and developed in RPG Maker MV with completely remastered visuals, was released by DANGEN Entertainment for Windows and Macintosh computers in October 2018, with a port to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One following in October 2022.[6]

Legacy

Clockwork Prince's 2016 Lavender, lists The Witch's House in its dev room as inspiring the game's dual endings.[7]

Notes
  1. Japanese: 魔女の家, Hepburn: Majo no ie

References
  1. Fummy. "Majo no Ie Gēmu Gaiyō" 魔女の家 ゲーム概要 [Witch's House Game Overview]. The Witch's House (in Japanese). Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  2. Fummy (31 December 2019). The Witch's House: The Diary of Ellen. Translated by vgperson (2nd ed.). Fummy.
  3. "The Witch's House". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  4. Dora (17 November 2012). "The Witch's House". JayIsGames. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  5. "The Witch's House MV - Fummy Interview Answers! - Steam News". store.steampowered.com. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  6. "The Witch's House MV Hitting Consoles in October". rpgamer.com. 29 September 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  7. "Lavender by Clockwork Prince". itch.io. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
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