Bad End Theater

The player can select one of four characters and assign personality traits to the other three. These characters are the Hero, the Maiden, the Underling, and the Overlord. These personality traits determine the choices the characters will make as the player controls their chosen character. The game has 41 bad endings from the different perspectives of each character, which can be unlocked through the choices of the player.

Each ending functions as a clue to progress in other paths, and the unlocked paths can be seen in a decision tree. The game is narrated in the second person.

The characters act in a world of humans and demons, with a human village lying close by to a demons' castle. On most paths, the human Maiden ends up one way or the other in the castle where the demons live. The human Hero hears of this and goes to the castle in the Maiden's rescue. Along the way the Maiden and the Hero may interact with the demon Underling.

The demon Overlord, ruler of the demons, and the Maiden bond in the latter's captivity. The player's choices determine the details and ultimate ending of the short story. As more storylines are discovered, mysterious letters are unlocked hinting at the nature of the theater's playwright.

Bad End Theater was developed by indie game developer NomnomNami and was their first commercial game. Prior to its release the developer had made visual novels for years. They were drawn to create a visual novel where the player's choices as one character influenced how the story unfolded for others, and mentioned that the only other game with a similar mechanic they had played was Disgaea Infinite. NomnomNami wished for players to be motivated to explore all the paths they could, thinking the player would wonder if they could reach a good ending.

Discussing the cute visual style of the game, NomnomNami explained they wished to cause all the emotions of a tragic death without having to show gruesome details, instead opting for stylized drawings. They originally wanted to make a game about empathy but eventually that gave way to other themes like love.

Reviewers have praised Bad End Theater's characters, gameplay, and story. Writing for TheGamer, Vanessa Esguerra described it as one of the best non-anime style visual novels.