The game I would be considering is BABBDI, played on Steam.
BABBDI is targeted at a wide age range, as it focuses on providing a unique experience and narrative for players without any combat involved.
BABBDI is a single-player game, providing a personal experience for the player as they explore the game. In BABBDI, players navigate through game space, set in a forsaken town, interacting with objects and meeting the town’s inhabitants. The game encourages exploration, curiosity, and reflection as players piece together the story through clues, conversations with non-player characters, and finding secret items like the baseball bat. The primary objective is discovering how to escape the town by collecting items, unlocking abilities, and solving light platforming challenges. In addition, secret collectible objects around the city add depth and reward for curious players.
BABBDI stands out from other games by utilizing walking as a storytelling mechanism. Walking through the town allows players to immerse themselves in the environment and experience the narrative at their own pace. As players traverse the world, they uncover subtle clues and engage with inhabitants, gradually revealing the story and building an emotional connection. By utilizing the allure of locks and keys around the game- facilitated by finding hidden objects and clues – the player can navigate the familiar space to follow and reconstruct the narrative. In comparing BABBDI to other walking simulator games, it offers a unique blend of exploration and concept, which is much more streamlined. The game primarily helps players experience the joy of exploration and discovery. The game’s focus on walking, combined with the atmospheric setting and intriguing narrative, allows players to lose themselves in the world and become engrossed in the story. The absence of combat also made the game feel more relaxed, where players can truly appreciate the environment and narrative without the pressure of combat encounters. By utilizing the allure of locks and keys around the game- facilitated by finding secret objects and clues – the player can navigate the familiar space to follow and reconstruct the narrative.
To make this game better, I would suggest adding more depth to the characters encountered throughout the town, providing players with a richer understanding of their stories and motivations. In addition, adding more environmental storytelling elements, such as paintings or written notes, could enhance the gaming experience. Also, although I would say the interface is peculiar to the style of the game, I would modify text styles to make it a lot clearer to players what the initial instructions. Furthermore, I would remove as many distractions as possible; for example, the loading screen has a weird font that might not be calming for the player. Lastly, implementing a more intuitive and engaging system for using the special movement abilities would elevate the gameplay experience and make each ability feel more rewarding and satisfying.
