The Children of Clay
short stop motion archeology horror game
The Children of Clay is a 2024 point-and-click horror game by Messier, the pseudonym of independent developer Balazs Ronyai. The game is a puzzle-based horror title in which the player inspects a cursed ancient artifact animated in stop motion. Upon release, The Children of Clay received a positive reception, with critics praising the game's atmosphere and visual presentation. A Steam version of the game was released in 2025.
Gameplay
The player's goal is to learn the artifact's origin and purpose, which is done by examining it and using the books to study relevant articles by keywords. Using point and click controls, players can rotate the sculpture with the mouse, and inspect it with a magnifying glass. A book to the left of the statue contains words that allow the player to identify more information about the statue by searching for keywords.
Plot
Players assume the role of an archaeologist investigating an artifact on a desk, depicted in stop-motion animation, obtained from a colleague with a letter expressing remorse for an accident in the cave the artifact was located. The artifact, named Artifact 297, is a mysterious statue with a face discovered in the Ural Mountains. Examining the artifact reveals to the player that it is made of cold iron, hinting at warding against evil spirits, and contains old Hungarian script, translated as Ördög.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q130723106. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2024 and 2025.
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This entry incorporates text from “The Children of Clay” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.