soo this is a list of the pixel rpgs i've played so far w some additional things like content warnings and dl links bc i'm bored :o

sobs i worked on this all morning please read it

here are two programs you will need to download before playing any rpgs. 99% of rpgs will not launch without one of the two. link,link
they're both free so don't worry

before playing rpgs remember to extract the zip file or your saves will not be remembered. when you get the zip folder you just right click and there should be an option that says extract, after that it'll make a separate game folder.

if it has a star next to it it means it's a favorite of mine!

here is the list!

ib
genre: puzzle, horror, adventure

plot: a little girl name ib visits an art gallery with her parents and a certain exhibit opens the door to another world, basically it's like it was a portal to a "haunted" version of the gallery. the soul of an artist who suffered resides there and the exhibits, which are now living, are vengeful and trying to attack. she finds out she's not the only one who has found her way here and they have the objective to get out of this gallery and back to the normal world. how or why the "haunted" version of the gallery even came to be or is never really explained, many aspects of this game in terms of the plot are open to interpretation and theory, but that kind of makes it fun!

content warnings: mild jumpscares, chases, and an atmosphere than can be considered creepy to first-time players. if you're bad with horror it might bother you if this is your first horror rpg, it's less likely if you've already played others that are more heavy on the horror elements, but it's not impossible so be safe! there's a brief instance of physical child abuse, child death, child distress, a person gets burned alive, creepy dolls (there's an instance where you get trapped in a small room full of them), a lot of messages and imagery throughout the game implying you're being watched, possibly unreality depending on your perception of certain aspects of the game, imagery of people being hanged, imagery of anglerfish, an instance where a character is crying and begging to get out from a certain place, instances of mental breakdowns, an area that gradually gets very dark in one ending, sharp weapons flying at you in one area, an area with multiple eyes

graphics/art: pretty shitty tbh but there's plenty other aspects of the game that make up for it. plus it has a really big fandom so you can at least find a lot of good fan art for it

is watching a playthrough worth it?: this game is relatively plot-focused so watching a playthrough/lp probably won't really take away from your experience, if you want to do that instead i say go for it
link
link it's outdated in terms of the endings but it should suffice if you need it for puzzles and navigating

dreaming mary☆
genre: interpretation, horror, adventure, fantasy, puzzle

plot: the genre //is// interpretation, but the concept/objective is that you're navigating throughout a little girl's dreams that are based on her life and how it effects her, and also supposed to serve as a "safe haven" or a "perfect place" she goes to because she's unhappy with her life in the real world. everything is supposed to be perfect for her, but the underlying truths even in this dream world are quite dark and if you choose to investigate the truths of this world and what it represents you'll start to see the dark side of the game, hence the "nightmare world" that is opened to you when you do choose to investigate.

content warnings: unreality (if you think things that deal w distinguishing dreams from reality will bother you you shouldnt play), the entirety of the "nightmare world" which contains jumpscares, a chase (you get chased by a creepy shadow figure), and a generally unsettling and disturbing atmosphere. indications of pedophilia/rape/csa (child sex abuse), general indications of child abuse, indications of abusive fathers, indications of mother death, general creepy imagery, a possibly epilepsy-inducing flash although very brief

graphics/art: really great actually, if you like cutesy pink aesthetic you'll definitely appreciate the visual aspect of the game

is watching a playthrough worth it?: totally, it won't take away from your experience at all. the gameplay itself isn't anything too remarkable, essentially the point of the game is to interpret it/appreciate what it stands for, if you don't like things that are symbolism-based you probably wouldn't care for this game

link
link

the witch's house
genre: horror, puzzle, adventure

plot: this game... is essentially entirely gameplay-focused but the concept is that you're lured into the "witch's" house full of monsters trying to kill you and you have to run from them and solve various puzzles until you outrun the witch and escape. i can't reveal the concept behind the witch and the residents of the house to you because it spoils the twist at the end. if you want the plot aspect there's a novel spin off that can be found link it explains the entire story behind the house and the two characters, ellen and viola. it's up to you whether you want to play the game or read the novel first. note that if you read the novel first you'll already be aware of the twist in the game/it won't be a surprise to you. this is not a happy story. not at all. both the game and the novel have an incredibly hopeless aura to them but the novel especially will probably make you feel empty and down. major warnings for the novel exclusively are indications of child neglect and it goes into detail with how it takes its toll on said child, murder of parents (and quite brutal at that), drug use, cheating in marriages, detailed descriptions of severe physical illness, child murder, a detailed description of a cat corpse

content warnings: here are the content warnings for the game itself. if you're bad with horror do not play this/watch a playthrough. put your mental health first because this game is very heavy with jumpscares/chases and atmospheric creepiness. animal death including cat death (you're also forced to kill a frog at one point), a possibly epilepsy-inducing image (if you get caught during the final chase), a giant spider, body horror, decapitation, getting eaten alive, strangling, getting crushed, dismemberment, there are LOTS of ways to die okay and a lot of them are pretty gruesome, child death, death by shooting, eye horror/eye trauma, stabbing, a giant snake, skulls, there's an instance where you have to move in pitch black darkness, yeah there's looooots of blood/gore and jumpscares, there are also no characters who accompany you, you're completely alone which tremendously adds to the eeriness, areas with large eyes

graphics/art: pretty great!

is watching a playthrough worth it?: if it's your first time probably not. it's entirely gameplay-focused so it'd probably be pretty boring UNLESS you want to watch an lper's reactions to the jumpscares and such, that'd be the only real benefit of watching a playthrough first

link
link

mad father
genre: adventure, horror, puzzle

plot: the main character's father is a scientist who experiments on living things and turns them into dolls because he's infatuated with the concept of "preserving beauty". one day their mansion becomes cursed and the corpses of his test subjects want revenge on him. aya (main character) denies the bad things that her father does because she loves him and sets out to save him.

content warnings: lots of indications and depictions of murder, jumpscares, creepy atmosphere, unsettling imagery, lots of body horror, gore, animal death including cats, dogs, rabbits and birds, indications of animal abuse, probably demonization of mental illness depending on how you look at it, one character fetishizes mental illness, creepy dolls, ghosts/spirits, stabbing, mother death, family issues, child death, one jumpscare is basically a screamer, decapitation, yeah lots of gore/violence, an area full of rats, eye horror/eye trauma, possible trypophobia in one character's eye socket but he covers it up later, the overall concept deals with curses so if you're paranoid about curses it could bother you

graphics/art: super good!!

is watching a playthrough worth it?: very plot-focused game so i'd say yes if you make the choice to

link
link

misao☆
genre: adventure, horror, puzzle, comedy (probably)

plot: misao, a girl who has been missing for three months, places a curse on the school to get revenge on the people who made her suffer while she was alive. as these deaths are happening to appease her you go about trying to recover her lost body parts so it can be sacrificed and you can help her pass on and be at peace. pretty generic plot but it's actually very enjoyable!

content wanrings: there are a TON of outrageous ways to die in this game, although they're not scary, they're actually pretty funny. this game is actually rather corny in terms of the horror elements. but hey if you're super bad with horror in general you can never be too careful. pedophilia/rape, bullying (like really severe), physical beating, murder, violence, again a LOT of death, body horror, decapitation, dismemberment, necrophilia, ghosts/spirits, curses/superstition, cat death, death by getting run over by a car, abandonment by friends, cheating, you have to fucking find the girl's body parts separately down to her eyes that could obviously gross a lot of ppl out, so yeah.. general gore

graphics/art: the graphics aren't so good but the sprite art/cutscene art is pretty top notch

is watching a playthrough worth it?: sure! it's not only plot-focused but it's also pretty entertaining to see how people react to the ridiculous deaths depending on whether you watch one with commentary or not

link
link

alice mare☆
genre: interpretation, adventure, puzzle

plot: the main character comes to a facility where children whose hearts are in a dark places are taken in, and who are orphans which is a given. the door to a dream-like world is opened to him where he explores the hearts of these children and finds out their stories and why they're despairing and is eventually lead to finding out the secrets of this world and the facility he was taken to which i won't spoil. highly symbolism-based. the worlds/character arcs in the game are based on fairy tales.

content warnings: this game doesn't have any horror elements, don't worry. the concept is just very sad. many indications of child abuse and child distress, indications of suicide and murder, possible child death, mentions of an epidemic, indications of poisoning, food, areas with multiple/large eyes, some minor/low-resolution body horror, mild blood, one character has DID, grandparent death

graphics/art: mediocre

is watching a playthrough worth it?: probably the primary benefit is to revel in the symbolic aspect of it so i'm sure it'll be worth it

link

link

mogeko castle☆
genre: adventure, interpretation(?)

plot: yonaka is a girl who is traveling home by train to reunite with her brother. after dozing off on the train it stops at an unfamiliar station, where she's eventually lead to a place called mogeko castle. main objective is to get out of said castle, content warnings will explain it all. it's a problematic game and it seems entirely gross but some interpretations somewhat make up for it? i think it's supposed to be a symbolization of how abuse and/or mental illness is effecting the protagonist

content warnings: rape, the mogekos, the creatures who occupy mogeko castle, spend practically the entire game chasing the protagonist with the intent to rape her, there are endings in which they get what they want. gangbanging, murder/violence, eye horror, areas with multiple eyes, probably a lot of indications of yonaka suffering from delusions, stabbing, incest, fratricide, indications of abuse, sort of animal death?? if you think mogekos dying would bother you, i think there are indications of a family member being put in jail, indications of mental illness, demonization of mental illness through a couple of the characters, one ending has an area full of larva eggs, one ending includes a quite gruesome depiction of being eaten alive, you can't actually see the body being eaten but the blood/sounds/expressions still make it really bad, one ending has being infected by a parasite, body horror, several instances of sudden loud noises so don't play it too loud if you're using headphones, unreality, drug use implied, one area full of suicidal/chronically depressed mogekos, food, one character is generally very violent/murderous, probably some instances of trivialization of suicide/rape/incest (there were jokes about the indications of incest in a video in the bonus room. it should be known that the creator of these games is generally a very shitty person), all of the gore/violence aside it isn't actually a horror game and you should be fine if you're bad with horror

graphics/art: one of the best i've seen so far imo

is watching a playthrough worth it?: mogeko's games are known for being super plot-focused so it's just like watching the playthrough for any normal video game, yeah i'd say it's worth it

link
this is a very straightfoward game, you won't need a walkthrough

the gray garden☆
genre: adventure, action

plot: this is a really happy/light game in comparison to the ones previously mentioned. if you want a game that'll put you in high spirits i'd recommend this one. so there's a world where angels and demons, creatures who are considered opposite, live in harmony, but one day demons from another world invade them and the protagonists set out to stop them. it's a lot more interesting than it sounds. it's really fun and adorable. has a very heavy story focus and the characters get a lot of development because it's one of the longer pixel rpgs out there.

content warnings: there are still instances of gore/violence, dismemberment, attempted strangling, stabbing, characters spitting up blood, very brief instance of attempted molestation (it should also be noted that it's totally unnecessary and basically used as a joke so that could be upsetting to many people), indications of torture and cannibalism (mostly specific to bad endings), attempts at and indications of murder, food, one character implied through certain dialogue that they wanted to rape the protagonist and you have to do a chase with said character shortly after, if he catches you it's implied that he does so, said ending also has implied necrophilia, implied romance and pda

graphics/art: pretty good!

is watching a playthrough worth it?: definitely, although this game has battles it's 99.9% story

link
another straightfoward game therefore a walkthrough is not necessary

wadanohara and the great blue sea☆
genre: adventure, action

plot: this is it this is my all time fave game. please play this game as soon as you get the chance it's an emotional rollercoaster. this game is probably the longest pixel rpg known to man so the plot is pretty intricate. the protagonist sets off to fix magic stones that are supposed to be protective of their sea, as they find out that was the least of their worries and the sea was never safe in the first place. there was a traitor among them who eventually brings havoc to their sea. that's probably the main plot concept but there's a lot to it. just play this game. please.

content warnings: a rape scene that's about ten minutes long, another rape scene in a bad ending where a spell is placed on the victim to be exactly to their rapist's liking, one point in the game has significant amounts of gore/violence, there are areas at this same point with multiple eyes, head trauma, characters beaten very intensely, impalement, a character who smokes a lot, a character who gets drunk a lot, a character who generally exhibits very aggressive behavior, one instance where a character tells another character something along the lines of "you're the only one i care about" (isolation can be a common element of abusive relationships so just to be safe), someone the protagonist thinks of as a friend hits her in one scene, there are several instances of (usually traumatic) flashbacks and these segments could possibly be epilepsy-inducing, in a bad ending the protagonist gets her intestines ripped right out, she's implied to be eaten alive by another humanoid character in another bad ending (i mention them being humanoid because due to that it can be seen as cannibalism), pda and implied romance

graphics/art: decent

is watching a playthrough worth it?: if you have time on your hands, yeah!

link
no walkthrough needed for the same reasons as usual

1bitheart☆
genre: futuristic (idk what it's called but it's a techy concept), adventure, friend sim, puzzle/mystery

plot: in a futuristic world where common functions rely on technology, the protagonist, a self-hating but altruistic shut-in, sets out to befriend as many people as he can. there are hackers trying to interfere with the core of the technological basis of their society, so he also sets out to try to resolve what's going on. there are more to the overall concept but i can't explain without spoiling it. it's a very uplifting game. it's my special interest at the time

content warnings: there's one joke about sh*tacon, offscreen cat death, offscreen poisoning in a bonus segment, suicide in the bad endings, possibly concepts that can trigger dissociation, some mentions of suicide, one character threatens to harm/kill herself if you don't date her and tries to isolate you from others, there's an optional horror segment in one friend event although it's not //too// bad, deals with time travel if the concept of time unnerves you, possible unreality, food, one character has clusters all over her outfit but you don't have to talk to her unless you want to unlock the bonus segment after the end (you don't have to make friends with 100% of the available friends), one character works in medicine so there's also mentions of illnesses and things of the like, one character has a weak stomach, one character is a cop, a few instances of very mild innuendo

graphics/art: super cutting edge holy shit it's so good

is watching a playthrough worth it?: yeah i don't think it'd really take away from the experience

link

link

moonlight ghost☆
genre: arcade, puzzle, reverse horror, adventure

plot: moonlight ghost is a game where instead of being scared, you're the one who does the scaring! the game is s O much fun holy shit it's a must play. you're a boy who got turned into a ghost and you go around playing pranks on people around town, until a "demon" comes to town and you have to try and stop them. the story is really cute and sweet.

content warnings: one cutscene drawing has a lot of blood, there's some murder, murder of elderly, obviously deals with ghosts/spirits, one area where you get blocked off by a hoard of rats, deals with parents, very mild innuendo

graphics/art: really good!

is watching a playthrough worth it?: no, this is one of the games you can only enjoy by playing it yourself. the gameplay is so much fun you'd really be missing out if you just watched a playthrough

link
a walkthrough wouldn't really help. if you get stuck on a mission the best resort is to watch a youtube video and try to copy their movements until you manage to perfect it because in many cases the way you time your movement is everything.

lieat
genre: adventure, mystery

plot: there are actually three games. they all share a concept wherein a con man and his companion, a young humanoid dragon girl, investigate strange things going on in certain towns. the girl, efina, has an ability to eat lies. if you tell a lie around her they will appear in the form of monsters she can eat. as expected from miwashiba it's partially symbolism-based and deals with the consequences of living lies and how to overcome them.

content warnings: some instances of blood, gore, and death, food, the protagonist picks on efina a lot and sometimes smacks her, the third game has a portion that's partially horror-esque, might deal with unreality a bit, poisoning mention, family issues, slavery/torture mentions

graphics/art: the cutscene art is amazing, the graphics are mediocre

is watching a playthrough worth it?: there isn't much to the gameplay so i don't see why not

link
link
link
lieat 3 has a few puzzles, here's a link just in case

mermaid swamp
genre: horror, mystery

plot: a group of college friends are on a trip and their car breaks down in the mountains. an elderly man finds them and offers to let them stay in his mansion. there's a legend about the swamp outside of the mansion, and soon they find out about the mermaid's curse on the area

content warnings: generally unsettling atmosphere, SEVERE body horror, cannibalism, one scene where you can see the character's pixel naked but it's very low-resolution, probably some concepts that relate to unreality, curses/superstition, death/murder, blood, stabbing, suicide, getting chased by certain characters who are trying to kill you, sometimes creepy images appear at random times so that can be startling to some (that's the closest thing to jumpscares in this game), there's these fish with huge creepy eyes, a lot of generally disturbing imagery, drowning

graphics/art: shit

is watching a playthrough worth it?: sure, the puzzles are so obscure it's impossible to do it without a walkthrough so i don't see why anyone would want to do it themselves, watch someone suffer in your place. this game is shit anyways so it doesn't matter either way you go

link
link (you are going to need this)

the mirror lied
genre: interpretation

plot: you tell me. alright so you play as a girl who's investigating her house, she keeps getting calls from someone named "birdy" that tell her to follow her dreams, at the same time receiving emails telling her to give up on them. this game is completely interpretation-based but the most common theories are that it's either allegory to following your dreams and not going through with it or an epidemic taking over her area.

content warnings: you should be fine if you're bad with horror but many have agreed it has an unsettling atmosphere, namely because you know so little about what's going on. there's a scene where the entire house is on fire. suicide by shooting. insects. possible unreality

graphics/art: decent

is watching a playthrough worth it?: it's an interpretation game so i don't think you're being deprived of anything

link
another relatively straightforward game, no walkthrough should be needed