Bad Parenting is a linear game that explores psychological and supernatural themes. The main character, Mr. Red Face, was created by adults to entertain children.
There is a myth that he visits well-behaved children at night and brings them gifts. But is everything really so harmless? The gameplay unfolds in a small apartment where Ron, the protagonist, encounters terrifying supernatural phenomena while trying to protect his family from the evil intentions of Mr. Red Face.
Start
One evening, when the mother returns home from work, her son reminds her about his birthday and the gift. The mother tells him about the mysterious Mr. Red Face, who delights well-behaved children with gifts at night. The father, overhearing the conversation, sends the son to bed.
At night, Mr. Red Face enters the room and approaches the wardrobe. In the morning, as Ron approaches the gift box by the bed, he finds a doll that has the ability to speak. She tells him about the wardrobe, but it turns out to be locked. The doll claims that she feels hunger and explains that her creator endowed her with emotions, allowing her to feel everything that the boy does.
Heading to the kitchen, Ron places the doll on a chair and reads a note from his mother on the refrigerator, asking him to heat up his favorite dish. The doll promises to use magic to ensure that the food never runs out. Ron is frightened when he sees her do this, but the doll reassures him that his father will not punish him because he has left. Peeking into the father’s room, they find the doll there.
The doll informs Ron that his father is not a good person and that Mr. Red Face has taken care of him. Ron pleads to have his father returned, and the doll suggests opening the wardrobe, which is still locked. However, she reveals that there is a portal in the father’s room. Using a radio, Ron opens the wardrobe, leading to another space. Here, he meets a cat that asks him to describe his father and points to a door behind him.
Ron talks to children who are also searching for their parents and soon finds his father, who only says one phrase. He discovers a note, and then he is returned to the wardrobe, where he meets his mother. She suggests that he is having hallucinations and sends him to bed.
The next morning, when his mother is not in the room, Ron speaks with the doll, who tells him that she has been kidnapped by the master. Ron goes through the portal to help the doll defeat Mr. Red Face. Soon, they return home, where the doll says that the evil has been defeated and she will disappear, leaving the parents safe.
Ending
At the end of the game, the scene from the beginning is replayed: the mother returns from work, the father argues with her, and once again shows violence. The mother leaves, he starts drinking, and enters the child’s room, where, to horror, he kills him and hides him in the wardrobe. The finale shows the mother opening the wardrobe and crying, while the police find the father, the murderer, in a hotel. The game serves as a reminder of the importance of paying attention to children, as one mistake can have fatal consequences.
