Cloe's Requiem

This review contains spoilers for Cloe's Requiem and mentions of sexual and physical abuse

Here was another game that was getting a translation when I first learned about it. I waited for the translation with bated breath, knowing just two things: It had my name (it was spelled Chloe before the spelling was corrected to Cloe) and the theme was music. As a born Chloe who grew up playing the piano, I think it was quite safe to say I would've happily indulged myself with this.

But the story had more to give to me than just some relatibility.

There are two stories of abuse in this game. That of Michel, who's position as pseudo-golden child exploited for his incredible gift with the violin by his father leads his brother to grow resentful and take away the only happiness Michael ever had, and Cloe, who suffers sexual abuse at the hands of her father and retaliation from her mother who is spiteful about her daughter being the subject of her husband's sexual desires. Ghosts, hauntings, and corrupted selves aside, the story of Cloe's Requiem is a story of the affects of abuse on children who do not understand what is being done to them.

Remove these characters from the fantastical and you are left with two children reacting to their pain. Cloe, though in the story is corrupted by the spirit of her father she killed in self defense, can be seen as any physically and sexually abused child would be. Regressed and violent, while the child she really is has separated itself from her entirely. Michel, who lashes out at the wrong people (poor Charlotte) who really had no hand in their abuse but were the immediate one they could blame for their suffering. After all, it was his brother who convinced his father to get rid of the cat that was the only source of Michel's happiness and Charlotte had no hand in it aside from being the maid tasked with the undertaking.

Their story is finding comfort in each other, as Cloe's body is dying and Michel is running from having accidentally killed Charlotte in his grief and anger. Cloe's presence in Michel's life for this terrible night in a cursed mansion, even for that short time, gives him the strength to return home and face what he did in his lashing out. Gives him growth and change as a person, not because of the abuse he faced but in spite of it.

No matter your social standing or how well off your family may seem, abuse exists. The higher your status, the greater your wealth, the easier it is to hide until everything comes crashing down. Cloe's Requiem is a study of how abuse destroys children, how they may react to this abuse, and how they are often left with the burden of healing and growth in spite of their suffering. Cloe's father believed abusing his family would help him create masterpeices. Michel's father exploited his son's gift for his own gain.

But nothing is gained from abuse. It does not making you stronger. It does not make you wise. It destroys you from the inside out. What became of each father's actions was exactly what was to be expected.

Also the puzzles were great. I got stumped so many times. A+ on that part.