College Fun Games has announced the upcoming release of their debut full length title, Less Miserables. Pitched as a classic style adventure game, the project serves as a deliberately unfaithful adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel, Les Misérables, which arguably is most well known around the world through its musical adaptation. A teaser trailer has been released for Less Miserables, ahead of its Kickstarter launching in April.
The narrative places players in the shoes of ‘Claude Van Claude’, a character recently released from a 14 year imprisonment for stealing a loaf of bread. The storyline follows his desperate search for his daughter before she becomes entangled in a violent revolution sweeping through the streets of Paris. Throughout this journey, players must uncover the history of the childhood Claude missed while evading capture by the police officer LaBleugh.
In terms of tone, the developers have cited influences such as Monkey Island and Allo ‘Allo. The studio aims to apply a comedic lens to the source material, comparable to how Life of Brian approached biblical themes. The game features “legally British humour” and a modern “hobo-based” hint system. Notably, the developers have confirmed that, following feedback, the game will not be performed entirely in song… here’s hoping there will be a DLC to rectify that at some point.
The visual style consists of fully hand drawn art, with 40 locations in Paris available for exploration. The audio production features dozens of unique characters, voiced by performers from the Edinburgh Fringe and the stand up comedy circuit. These voice lines were captured during live improv recording sessions.
Following this initial reveal, College Fun Games has outlined a roadmap for the year. A playable demo is planned for Steam Next Fest in late February, ahead of a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter in April. Less Miserables is currently targeting a full release at the end of 2026.
