Tiny Bunny

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Overview

Tiny Bunny is a non-linear, episodic horror visual novel based on the story "Bunny" by Russian author Dmitry Mordas. The story surrounds a boy living in a small town surrounded by forest as the town's children begin to mysteriously go missing. The first episode of the game was released on Steam in April 2021, with the most recent, fourth episode being released in May 2023. The game has garnered a significant fanbase of both English speaking and Russian players in the years following its release, inspiring Let's Plays, fan art and memes based on it and its characters.

History

On March 19th, 2020, the first chapter of Tiny Bunny, a visual horror novel developed by Saikono, based on the Russian story "Bunny" by Dmitry Mordas (available for free on Boosty),^[1] was released on itch.io.^[2] On April 16th, 2021, it was released on Steam.^[3] On October 27th, episode two^[4] was released and on December 30th, episode three^[5] was released (episodes one through three gameplay shown below). On May 31st, 2023, episode four was released.^[6]

Everything falls into slumber when winter comes, but not this forest.
There's something wandering its snow-covered paths, lurking behind black trees, and taking whatever it considers due.
It leaves behind bizarre rumors of voices, calling you into the thicket, of faces, looking into your windows, of mysterious prints in the snow and… a bunch of "child missing" posters.
Those, who have heard the voice of the forest, are beyond help. Their only option is to sink deeper and deeper into the cold embrace of horror to face their final choice in that icy darkness: to stay alive or to stay human?

"Tiny Bunny" is a horror visual novel with a branching plot based on the short story of the same name by Dmitry Mordas. It takes place in a quiet, unremarkable village lost among the Siberian forest. Children start to go missing there, and the protagonist, a sixth-grader, who had recently moved there with his family, is immediately forced to witness and participate in a chain of unsettling events.

Online Presence

Tiny Bunny's official website is housed on Tumblr.^[7]

Let's Play Videos

The game became the subject of Let's Play video shortly after its release. For example, on December 17th, 2020, YouTuber^[8] Markiplier posted a video playing through the game's first chapter, garnering over 4.6 million views in three years (shown below).

Following the release of episode four on May 31st, 2023, the game inspired more Let's Play videos playing through the latest chapter (examples shown below).

Fan Art / Memes

As the game garnered an increasing fanbase of both Russian and English-speaking players, it inspired numerous memes and works of fan art. For example, on August 5th, 2021, DeviantArt^[9] user Kreate04 posted artwork depicting the characters in Friday Night Funkin' garnering over 1,500 views in two years (shown below).

The game saw a boost in fan art and content in late May and throughout June 2023 on sites including Twitter,^[10] DeviantArt^[11] and ArtStation^[12] after the release of the game's fourth episode (examples shown below).

Owner of the Forest / хозяинлеса TikTok Trend

In June 2023, following the release of episode four, a Russian trend began on TikTok^[13] where various, often comedic characters are shown in the forest being confronted by the game's creature "Forest Master" (examples shown below).