The Intriguing Premise
Imagine you are casually playing a horror game and suddenly get transported into that world, where your top priority becomes to survive, without knowing if you can even return to your real world. Add to this becoming the maid of a psycho who is after not only you but everyone else inside a mansion!
Only a special system that allows you to level up certain skills and unlock new abilities to escape could help you in this situation, and that is the fortune our protagonist, Hilda, possesses.
This is the intriguing premise of How to Survive as a Maid in a Horror Game.
How to survive as a maid in a horror game's Characters
Hilda
Hilda is the Female Lead (FL) who is transmigrated into the body of a maid in the dangerous horror game she was playing.
Emily
Hilda's friend. Her good looks and kind personality makes her popular in the Pfaltzgraff manor, and she often braids Hilda's hair.
Adrian Pfaltzgraff
Adrian is the Male Lead (ML), the sickly young master of the Pfaltzgraff family, and the main antagonist/killer in the original horror game.
Letisha
The loyal head maid of the Pfaltzgraff family who emigrated from another country. She will under no circumstances, turn her back on the family.
Initial Hype vs. Disappointing Execution
There is no doubt that the initial chapters presented us with a story full of suspense, where the protagonist demonstrated her wit and intelligence, which served as the hook for the story. However, the execution, over time, proves somewhat disappointing for several reasons, as expectations plummet the further one advances in the reading.
Tonal Inconsistency and Art Style
For a story that promises horror or high tension, the narrative itself fails to generate fear. This is due to certain decisions the author made that ultimately undermine the story's general tone. First, the protagonist is a jokester. While this could work in many other works as comic relief, in this type of story, too many jokes detract from the narrative's weight.
Secondly, the killer, our male lead named Adrian, is too beautiful. And not beautiful in the sense that there is something unsettling behind his gaze, but so handsome that he fails to generate any kind of fear. Even in moments when he is supposed to look like the lunatic he is, he is drawn in a very bishounen manner. In fact, the art itself is very beautiful, which creates an almost impenetrable barrier against the horror tone the story seems to want to force, generating several inconsistencies throughout the entire piece.
Ultimately, the story tends to favor its humorous tone to the point of feeling excessive and out of place. The supposed threat Hilda must face loses its urgency and sense of danger.
Unearned Romance and Pacing Issues
More than a horror story, I feel it is a romance story because the majority of the focus is on the attraction the protagonists feel for each other. Adrian is intrigued by Hilda's presence because some of his powers do not seem to work on her. Hilda, in turn, trying to survive the game at all costs, notices Adrian is handsome and decides to employ that piece of knowledge in her favor, attempting to use this as an excuse to escape or interact minimally with him.
Honestly, I was about to abandon the reading within the first five chapters due to the issues mentioned above, but then I read Chapter 7, which made me resume. This chapter was one of the most interesting ones because it is told through Adrian’s point of view, which is much more serious, calculating, and interesting than the protagonist herself. I believe that if the goal was indeed to make this a horror story, Adrian's perspective would have had to be far more prominent. Unfortunately, after this chapter, we return to Hilda's point of view for a few more chapters and, once again, it feels as if we are reading two different stories.
On that same note, the romance itself, at least for me, was not satisfactory. Adrian is literally the reincarnation of the devil and a murderer, and he only becomes interested in Hilda because she is immune to his powers. On the other side of the equation, we have Hilda, whose survival depends on appeasing this supernatural being, which leads her to admit feelings that do not exist in her, at least at first. While this dynamic presents us with a yandere romance, it lacks sufficient basis to establish itself without making this point feel like an underdeveloped idea.
Conclusion
Should you read it? I say, absolutely, go for it if you are looking for a light horror that focuses heavily on the romantic relationship between the two main characters and the journey of a humorous protagonist trying to survive against all odds.
