YMMV / Secret Little Haven

• Realism-Induced Horror: From several angles; the game creates a sense of dread by taking the realistic fears of a young teen trying to figure out her gender identity in a stifling era and household, and combining them with a father's equally realistic fears that are taken much too far into abusive behavior.
  • From Alex's perspective: Growing up in the late 90s as a closeted trans girl is hard enough, but even more so with an abusive father who actively discourages your interests. On top of constantly being pressured to be involved in nothing but academics and having her passions discouraged, John constantly gaslights Alex to the point of making her second-guess herself constantly, and regularly invalidates her gender identity. Alex is also faced with the threat of having her internet access taken away and being sent back to boarding school, thus totally isolating her from her social circle - making matters worse is that she barely has any friends at school and is staying at her dad's place, so she isn't able to easily lean on other family for support.
  • From Johnathan's perspective: Thanks to John having come out of a messy divorce with Alex's mom, he's doing everything he can to make Alex an "upstanding man" and is afraid of losing his "son". While most of his fears and punishments towards Alex are unfounded at best and emotionally damaging at worst, he does have his fair share of worries that would concern most any parents - Alex potentially failing school (she had a Noodle Incident at an all-boys boarding school that got her expelled, and he signs her up for a chemistry tutor when she doesn't even take chemistry classes), the possibility she's being preyed on by people on the internet (in actuality, she's only interacting with a harmless anime forum, but John doesn't bother trying to differentiate), and after his Heel Realization, knowing that his own child no longer feels safe around him.