Less Miserables offers first signs of hope for late 2026 release

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

First full-length adventure from the creators of Protagonish a parody of the Victor Hugo classic novel

When you look to classic literature for thigh-slapping guffaws, where else would you turn but to Victor Hugo's famous novel Les Misérables? ... Wait, you wouldn't? Well, you would if you're College Fun Games, the small Scottish studio behind The Protagonish, whose first full-scale point-and-click adventure will be upcoming the "very unfaithful" parody adaptation, Less Miserables.

The acclaimed nineteenth-century book follows the travails of ex-convict Jean Valjean as he attempts to redeem himself after a lengthy prison sentence, dogged by a determined police officer intent on locking him up again, all set against the backdrop of rising social unrest in France. Pretty funny so far, right? Okay, not so much, but Less Miserables takes more than a few liberties with its source material for the sake of laughs. Here it's Claude Van Claude in the starring role, released from prison after 14 years for stealing a loaf of bread (and a few clumsily conceived escape attempts). Van Claude is eager to see his now-grown daughter Brioche, and sets off on a "desperate quest to find [her] before she's caught in a violent revolution gripping the streets of Paris." There's just one problem: It seems he was let out one day too early, and the ruthless Inspector LaBleugh is determined to see that he goes back to jail. And so begins a madcap quest filled with "lively period characters, including eccentric blacksmiths, paranoid bakers, Alexandre Dumas and Hector Berlioz," during which players will "help revolutionaries with suspiciously long baguettes, break into Notre Dame, and ride a horseless horse."

As with College Fun's debut adventure, Less Miserables is a lovely hand-drawn adventure with full voice acting and a simple point-and-click interface, but that's about where the similarities end. While The Protagonish is an extremely short, medieval-based proof of concept in which players (very cleverly) do not control the main character, this one will have several hours of gameplay that is far more traditional in nature, taking players through forty stylish locations "across Paris and revolutionary France." The real hook here, however, is that in taking Hugo's "wonderful and timely tale of revolution, inequality, sacrifice and love" and spinning it into a comedy, the developer's ambitious goal is to "do to Les Misérables what Life of Brian did to the Bible." 

With plenty of items to collect and "dozens" of characters to interact with along the way, voiced by "stars of Edinburgh Fringe and stand-up, recorded in live-improv recording sessions," the experience promises a combination of brain-teasing puzzles and "legally British humour" described as "part Monkey Island, part 'Allo 'Allo." And yet it also aims to be accessible for newcomers as well, with a "modern hobo-based hint system" to help out when necessary. Depending on the choices you make as as you progress, you'll have the chance to make certain characters "less miserable" or not, but based on my first look at an early prototype of the game, that will certainly come true for players themselves (so long as you pinch your nose in the stinky Parisian sewers).

After a year in development, Less Miserables is trending towards a late 2026 release on Steam and itch.io for Windows and Linux, along with iOS and Switch devices. The timeline will depend in part on the success of a Kickstarter planned for April, preceded by a playable demo that will be part of the February Steam Next Fest. To follow the game's progress in the meantime, be sure to check out the official website for additional details.