The House in Fata Morgana

The house in Fata Morgana is the greatest game -and novel, for that matter- I have ever played. The story and characters are easily my all time favorites and even impacted me as a person. Go read it right now or I will put a curse on your soul of eternal suffering. I wonder, which will hit you first - the regret, or the curse?

This is a story of redemption, forgiveness, regrets and love. If you are having doubts whether you should read this game or not, I highly suggest that you do coming from me. I had personally held off from reading this because I had the perception that it attracted a certain kind of audience and did to want to waste my time and be disappointed so I gave it a chance and it turned out to be a great experience. 🟩 Pros 🟥 Cons ✅Masterful story ✅Amazing OST ✅Artistic masterpieces that captures the atmosphere of the era and style of the VN. ✅The Story deals with issues that is caricatured in modern day political discourses without forcing any biases towards the reader. It maintains a neutral stance while being as realistic as it can keeping in mind the era, the struggles of the individual and everyone around them. ✅Not woke, no DEI, just a masterpiece ⛔️No voice acting ⛔️Pacing can be a slog at times especially when we go through the backstory of each character which is a retelling of events from a different point of view. It may seem repetitive but the culmination of it all is rewarding. Game length ▰▰▰▰▰▰▱▱▱▱ on average about 32-40 hours depending on read speed. I rate 10/10 [table] [tr] [th]💢Trigger warning💢[/th] [/tr] [tr] [td]The story can get extremely dark, it is not for the faint hearted[/td] [/tr] [/table]

I have mixed feelings about the game and a lot of criticism to offer, but ultimately believe that this story is worth reading. Rather than calling this the perfect story as so many people do, I want to share my personal detailed thoughts here, no spoilers. The first 4 chapters are referred to by the game as an extended prologue, and they are vastly different from the rest of the game by writing quality and plot direction. They were my least favorite part of the game. I was struggling to see why so many people consider Fata Morgana as the best story ever while reading these chapters. I felt like they included many unnecessary scenes and the storytelling was overall kind of naive and cheesy. The dialogues were often repetitive and longer than necessary to make their point, or contributed very little to the plot aside from some comedy. These chapters often introduced a shocking plot twist to get the reader's attention back and keep them interested. This is something that happened throughout the game as well, with the game's whole idea being "subverting expectations and presenting people in a different light compared to how you thought of them initially". To be fair, this is an interesting plot device, and those twists had some buildup and foreshadowing. Still, I felt like it wasn't enough and plot twists were too sudden, changing the tone for the rest of the beginning chapters. Or perhaps I just got used to it over time? It did happen a lot. The soundtrack of these early chapters felt mostly annoying to me because of how one song I'm not even a fan of would often loop throughout a whole scene. I also disliked how many songs featured vocals with clear lyrics, it was distracting me from reading. Eventually I got used to all this but it took a bit of time. Later chapters gave me more music that I actually liked. In the early chapters the game used old-timey English to keep the atmosphere but dropped it around chapter 5 and switched to modern language with lots of colloquialism after that. Perhaps it had plot reasons and was a narrator's choice, but it was a strange change considering that the setting's time and circumstances remained the same. For better or worse, it contributed to separating the early chapters from the rest of the game. All this considered, it's best to give the game time to develop and grow on you. I found small points of interest all throughout this "extended prologue", but chapter 4 was what really inspired me to keep going, and it only got better with time. The plot and themes discussed in the story became much more interesting, I enjoyed both the setting and the characters, their roles, conflicts and emotions. Knowing the events from previous chapters gave the characters more meaning; placing pieces on the chess board in the beginning like this allows you to feel more connected with them as the story progresses. The game handles difficult topics and sensitive matters respectfully. All characters have their struggles and wrongdoings, which are presented very well. Though the story features dark, mature themes and contains plenty of suffering, the tone is neither endlessly gloomy and hopeless, nor overly sweet and forgiving. Be prepared for both a lot of pain and a lot of fluff. It's a collection of love stories, love in its various shapes and emotions emerging from it. There are happy times even in this tragedy. The visuals are gorgeous here, many beautiful sprites and CGs as well as user interface. I appreciated the detailed adjustability of text speed and auto scroll. The history log can be scrolled very far back, which is an excellent feature for looking back so far as the previous scene. I liked the visual choices the game took to present its narration differently depending on the chapter. I also respect the composers for creating songs in such different genres and moods to support the storytelling. I enjoyed my time here. It may not be a perfect game but it is still a very good one. Give it a try.

The House in Fata Morgana isn’t your typical game—it’s a visual novel, and one of the finest examples of the genre. While some may find the early chapters slow, I was captivated from the start. The first three chapters lay a gripping foundation, weaving intriguing mysteries and dark themes that only deepen as the story progresses. By the later chapters, the narrative becomes utterly mesmerizing, and the emotional payoff is beyond words. What makes this experience truly unforgettable is its masterful storytelling, hauntingly beautiful soundtrack, and the way every plot thread is carefully tied together. Each chapter peels back another layer, revealing unexpected truths and emotional depth that hit with incredible impact. The dark atmosphere might feel heavy at times, but it’s all part of a larger, deeply rewarding narrative arc. In the end, I loved every moment—how each event built upon the last, how the characters' fates unraveled, and especially how everything came together in the finale. It’s an emotional, thought-provoking journey I won’t forget anytime soon.

It left an unquenchable terrible void in my soul and I feel entirely blessed to have experienced it in this life time.

This game has been a real good experience. Even though at first I didn't know exactly where it was going, it started drawing me in and I enjoyed it so much I will now buy its companion, A Requiem for Innocence. It was a great story and I recommend it to you all!

Amazing experience like no other. Gripping, beautiful story, topped only by beautiful art style, amazing music. Oh the music, you can never get enough of the OST. Perfect game in every sense of the word.

disappointing i liked the stories of door 1,3,4&5 so much but after that i didn't like it much but kept playing because i wanted to know how it will end but after door 7 i couldn't continue playing because the story took a really different turn and i didn't like it at all everything seemed meaningless and out of nowhere so i stopped. the game has so MANY unnecessary dialogues that you could just skip and you won't miss anything 4/10

Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. I ask of thee, o Father... to bestow upon the creators thy blessings overwhelmingly.

Good music, beautifully written and plot twist.

Really great if you like long stories with deep characters. The art work is amazing too.

I finished door 1 and then entered door 2. It's just a story book. It does not play like a game. I played many visual novels. There are choices. This game has very little choices, if at all. They should not have advertised it as a game, but rather a picture book.

the best visual novel of ALL TIME!! it exceeded all expectations i've had in this game.

Just play it man........i cant do this game justice without spoiling anything........ So as much as I want to talk about this game......... i would hate to be the one to spoil someone's experience of this game......

Absolute cinema. Made me cry like 10 different times. Perfect story of trauma, love, and forgiveness.

A fantastic story The story is amazing with great plot twists and loved the prose The character portrait are also great tho some of the background are a bit lacking in the artistic direction Must read if you like stories (Around 30-35 hours in length)

what can i say? absolute cinema. must read for any vn enjoyers

Magnum Opus of Literature

Peak Fiction with great osts

It's a slow burn, but it's beautiful.

10/100

my head hurts from cryign

Peak fiction

read #jacopodeserveslove

"One day, I'll show you the world."

Beautiful

yes

PEEEEAAAAAAKK

yeah

You play fata morgana because its a literary masterpiece, I play fata morgana because I want to crack Jacopo. We are not the same.