Imaginary Friends is an RPG Maker horror game made by Mannytsu. It started development in 2013 and was released in May 1st 2016.
It tells the story of a 14 year old girl named Hailey. Her mother wants her to go outside and hang out with her friends. But Hailey doesn't have any friends.
Because her mother insists in her getting outside at least once, she goes the market with her mom and her little brother. Everything is all normal, until she walks into a different section and when she returns, her family is gone. She then goes back, but everyone seems to be acting weird, then everyone is suddenly gone.
She wonders if her mother and brother went home already, at the exit door, she sees a mysterious boy with a red cap. He says some weird stuff, and goes away. She shrugs it off and goes to her house.
And then... everything goes downhill from now on.
The game is free and can be downloaded here.
Be aware that this game is very story based, with focuses only on puzzles and interaction with characters, so almost every single event in the game could be considered a spoiler. So you may want to play the game before reading
This game provides examples of:
- A Dog Named "Dog": A lot of NPCs in the game.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Timmy is this to Hailey.
- Big Bad: The older Oliver is the one who trapped Hailey in the dream realm to get revenge on her for abandoning him.
- Cheerful Child: Oliver.
- The Chosen Many: Hailey and Oliver are this to the Cloud Kingdom, according to the Cloud King.
- Creepy Doll: The doll you help get dressed for the tea party looks cute, but when seen in detail◊, she looks a bit uncanny. Played straight with the dusty doll in the creepy room.
- Cutting the Knot: The Cloud Kingdom can be bypassed through, after getting the scissors, murdering the King, which cuts short all of the side quests and will let Hailey and Oliver be on their merry way. Doing this, however, will completely lock you toward the path to the worst ending of the game.
- Deadpan Snarker: Hailey, full on.
- Dem Bones: There's a skeleton dog which seems to be alive.
- Disproportionate Retribution: The Pretty Doll, it's implied she kills any doll that looks prettier than her. And she kills a doll because she had the same purse as her.
- Evil Doll: The Pretty Doll, "who makes sure no one looks prettier than her".
- Foreshadowing: A lot of subtle foreshadowing to later events are all over the game.
- Hell Is That Noise: Used a lot throughout the game, along with complete sudden silence.
- His Name Really Is "Barkeep": The Most Beautiful Fish In The World.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: All that Hailey wants as a kid.
- Imaginary Friend: Obviously, the main subject of the game. In this case, Oliver.
- Living Toys: There is a room with living dolls.
- Mood Whiplash: When the game starts, it feels a little bit comedic, then everyone vanishes and it becomes full horror, then it becomes more lighthearted when they go to Cloud Kingdom, then it goes to horror again and so on.
- Multiple Endings: They depend of what you do during the game.
- Ending #1: All Alone: Hailey will snap at Oliver and tell him that he isn't real, only to be trapped in a black void in the imaginary world out of spite.
- Ending #2: Best Friends Forever: Hailey decides that Oliver is the only friend who hasn't abandoned her, and stays with him in the imaginary world.
- Ending #3: New Friendships: Hailey ends up meeting a memory of Alex, who points out that Hailey has been ignoring attempts from a girl from Johanna to make friends with her. Hailey decides to make friends with Johanna afterward, and leaves the imaginary world. Oliver, however, is implied to decide to start trouble again, due to Hailey not seeing him again before she left.
- Ending #4: Happy End: Largely the same as "New Friendships", with the exception of Hailey reconciling with Oliver before she leaves.
- Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: The Boy with the Red Cap.
- Nothing Is Scarier: A lot of the creepy factor of the game comes from this type.
- Ominous Music Box Tune: The title screen theme.
- Only Friend: Hailey and Oliver are this to each other, then it's discovered that Oliver was an imaginary friend and Hailey forgot him and her only friend became Alex, who then moves to another place and by the end of the game Johanna becomes this to Hailey.
- Psychological Horror: Is this in its nature, along with Surreal Horror.
- Punny Name: Almost all of the residents of Cloud Kingdom have something related to the sky or clouds.
- Shout-Out: "Hey! You should borrow that shovel! You could even become a knight with that shovel!"
- Video Game Caring Potential: When you help the residents of the Cloud Kingdom "you feel warmth inside you". In general, you can help a lot of people out during the game.