Never judge a book by its cover or a video game by its name. Because anyone who expects Happy Game to be light-hearted fun will be in for a nasty surprise.

The game from developer Amanita Design - best known for family-friendly, point-and-click adventures like Machinarium or Samorost - is indeed not a happy game at all but rather a horror adventure.

The game focuses on a young boy experiencing a severe nightmare. Things he has lost like a ball or a teddy bear suddenly reappear in his nightmare, but to bring them back with him to reality the boy has to go through absurd adventures and solve disturbing puzzles.

When it comes to the depiction of violence, Happy Game doesn't hold back: blood, dismembered corpses and even guillotines are all here and the many smiling faces and colourful bunnies do little to change that.

And if the player makes a mistake they may be sending the young protagonist to the afterlife.

The game isn’t really suitable for children, but those who like horror and over-the-top violence will likely enjoy themselves.

"Happy Game" is available for Windows, Macs, and the Nintendo Switch and costs around US$13 .

 - dpa