The Hungry Fly is a horror game about a mysterious fly who arrives at a hazy swamp and wanders around looking for something to eat. However he can only eat what is dead. The berries and plants sicken him, making him spit them out. There’s nothing dead here though, the creatures of this swamp can never die. They only ever transform, and the only thing that can help you is a monstrous plant.
He says to fly inside of him and eat the memories there. They are of the past, memories are corpses! Inside of him is an entire house of memories, and he wants you to eat them all. As you eat more though, you find yourself wanting to learn more about the monster, but also to erase its memories.
The Hungry Fly Story Explained
There’s multiple ways to interpret The Hungry Fly. In the swamp where we talked to the injured caterpillars and found the monster plant, it gives us some pretty good insight. Those bugs are like children, and it’s obvious it’s the monster that attacked them and stole their stuff.
The yo-yo and the lollipop, which we coincidentally find inside the monster. Eating these will actually unlock “paths”, which don’t do anything at the moment in the demo. I imagine we’ll get to see more about what happened to these particular victims. It’s hard not to feel bad for the caterpillars. Even the look on their face is child-like, and the monster left them robbed and damaged.
While you eat the objects that represent memories, the fly feels itself becoming more like the monster. The music that plays while the memories are eaten is sad and makes me think of a tragic moment, and even sounds a bit like it could be funeral music. It’s the end of that memory, and whoever had it. Every time you eat one you also have to clean yourself up… just like a killer would wash the blood off their hands.
The Story of a Child Killer
The best explanation is that The Hungry Fly is about the protagonist who’s a child killer, or an abuser. If not then a parents loss of their children is another dark theory. The fly wanting more and more, getting a taste for the memory and never being full. Just like how real killers get a taste and don’t stop killing. Then wanting to forget the worst parts of it. The inside of the objects even look like flesh. Even the games name “The Hungry Fly” reads like a children’s story.
All of the objects inside of the house are like the killers trophies, especially the yo-yo and lollipop. We’re here to help dispose of the evidence though. Since the phone call might be the police who was on his trail, and were calling to ask about the missing kids. An eye on it being the only source of connection to the outside, where the killer is first exposed or suspected. The room gets darker, and the webs get larger as they close in. Who else would call such a place, empty and inhabited by a killer that doesn’t interact with society.
There’s also the book “L’ourson qui voulant une ami” which translates to “The Bear who wanted a Friend”. Possibly belonging to the killer who imagined himself as a friend, but in reality is a predator who could never be such. Maybe to generate some sympathy in his own thoughts. The webs around the floor are best explained as the web of lies created by the monster, entangling both him and the children he lured over time as it got bigger. It’s a subtle change that slowly takes over the house until it’s truly a dead and abandoned place.
The fly can be sort of neutral at some points, though for the most part is predatory on the bugs/children who were attacked. Either comforting them, whether or not it’s genuine, or blatantly asking if they’re going to die and hoping for it.
The Hungry Fly Final Thoughts
Being the fly itself is pretty creepy alone. There’s the freaky scurrying noises when walking across surfaces. Then the mess you make while chewing on everything, and cleaning off your eyes with your legs.
I can’t wait to see where else The Hungry Fly goes! It’s from the creator of The Repairing Mantis, so who knows how dark it will be and how the story ends up. It’s more sad than horrific once you play through an understand the game. This review will be updated upon the games full release!
