The Price of Flesh vs John Doe: Which Is Actually Scarier?

If John Doe+ had you glancing over your shoulder at every stranger with a creepy smile, The Price of Flesh (TPOF) will have you double-checking your locks and avoiding the woods forever. Created by Gatobob—the mastermind behind the infamous Boyfriend to Death series—this 2022 survival horror visual novel cranks the terror dial way past psychological unease into graphic, choice-driven nightmare fuel.

John Doe is a quick 15-minute hit of yandere obsession. TPOF? A 10-15 hour gauntlet of gore, hunters, and captors who make John look like a lovesick puppy. But is it actually scarier? Let’s dissect it.

What is The Price of Flesh?

You wake up blindfolded on an auction block—you’re the merchandise. Desperate bidders compete, and your choices determine who “wins” you: a sadistic hunter, a volatile streamer, a desert psycho-gang leader, or even the enigmatic auctioneer. Each route drops you into a brutal survival scenario: freezing Canadian wilderness, derelict underground offices, or a scorching killer-filled desert.

Gameplay blends visual novel dialogue with resource management: track hunger, thirst, blood loss, sanity, and injuries. Poor choices lead to hallucinations, animal attacks, traps, or worse. Toggle optional NSFW content (violent noncon, BDSM) at the start, but the core horror—gore, torture, mutilation—is non-negotiable.

The Routes: Hunters, Stalkers, and Sadists

Four main paths, each a unique hell:

Mason’s Route (Woods Hunt): You’re prey in a Most Dangerous Game scenario. Manage cold, wildlife, and bear traps while evading a calculated mountain man. Sanity slips fast—eat wrong berries, and you’re done.
Celia’s Route (Underground Office): Stealth and psychology in a pitch-black maze. A hair-trigger killer lurks—Nothing is Scarier than her unpredictable patrols. Yandere vibes here: obsession brews in the shadows.
Derek’s Route (Desert Carnage): Survive heatstroke and a masked killer gang amid victims-turned-rivals. Alliances form and shatter—pure chaos with fireworks-as-weapons gore.
Fox’s Route (DLC: The Show Must Go On): Free bonus unlocked via secret achievement. A snuff-film spectacle with audience-voted torments. Oppressive, interactive, and inescapable.

50 endings total—golden survivals are rare, most are brutal deaths or mindbreaks. 40 achievements reward masochists.

Art, Sound, and Atmosphere

Hand-drawn sprites and 150+ first-person CGs make every gut-punch personal—exploding heads, slashed throats, bone-crunching audio. Sound design (crunching flesh, distant footsteps) amps dread; atmospheric tracks build urgency. Unlock “Memelord Mode” post-100% for absurd humor.

Head-to-Head: TPOF vs John Doe

Feature	John Doe+	The Price of Flesh	Winner for Scares
Length	15 mins, 7 endings	10-15 hrs, 50 endings	TPOF (endurance horror)
Horror Style	Psychological, yandere obsession	Graphic survival/gore/torture	Tie (different fears)
Gore Level	Minimal blood	Extreme (mutilation, decapitation)	TPOF
Choices	Simple dialogue branches	Deep resource/sanity management	TPOF
Price	Free (PWYW)	$14.99 (itch.io/Steam)	John Doe
Reception	Cult indie hit	4.9/5 itch.io (318 ratings), Overwhelmingly Positive Steam	TPOF

Is It Scarier Than John Doe? The Verdict

Yes—if gore and helplessness terrify you more than subtle dread. John Doe’s unblinking stalker lingers psychologically; TPOF viscerally traumatizes with trial-and-error deaths, sanity erosion, and immersive kills. Reviews call it “exhilarating terror” for kink/horror fans, but punishing for casuals. It’s like John Doe on steroids: obsession escalates to outright ownership and hunts.

Play John Doe first (free gateway), then TPOF if you’re hooked.