Goodnight Universe Review | A Game to Sink Your Baby Teeth Into

I first went hands-on with Goodnight Universe at Tribeca Games over a year ago. Though I knew nothing of the overarching concept, I was immediately hooked on the story, characters, and mystery. A year and a half later, I am finally able to play the complete game and experience what the new team at Nice Dream Games wanted to create. Happily, Goodnight Universe is a wonderfully unique story that players can sink their newly formed baby teeth into.

Goodnight Universe opens up quickly with an ethereal Narrator speaking to the player. Though everything seems very ambiguous and ominous at first, you eventually come to realize that the Narrator is the inner monologue of a six-month old baby named Isaac who was recently born into a seemingly normal family. 

However, despite being only a few months old, Isaac has thoughts and ideas that transcend his age. Pair this with Isaac’s psychic powers like telepathy and telekinesis and you suddenly have a powerhouse protagonist in a onesie. What intrigued me the most about this character was his inexperience with the simple notions of humanity and feelings. Seeing his mother, father, and sister interact with each other provided new information for him and the ability to learn and understand feelings. Many of us take our first experiences with new emotions for granted, but Goodnight Universe allowed me to see those moments within the lens of a baby. Not only that, but the game provided numerous heart wrenching moments when Isaac wants to articulate his feelings, but since he was just a baby, could only laugh, cry, and fuss around. This inability to communicate all the subtleties to others grabbed me unlike any video game I’ve ever experienced.

Throughout the game’s progression, players are able to see first-hand all the connections between Isaac’s family members - both for better or worse. I was amazed at how relatable so many of the comments, discussions, and arguments were between characters. Sure, I don’t have psychic powers (that you know of), but despite that, all the inter-personal dynamics felt extremely grounded in reality. 

As the mystery of Isaac’s powers grows and others discover his capabilities, things begin to escalate. Before you know it, an insufferable billionaire emerges, a mysterious past gets uncovered, and shenanigans ensue. Since the first portion of the game was so captivating, I was a little disappointed by the latter segments of the game. Though I never felt particularly surprised by any one single moment, I was at the very least, engaged in the story that was being told. There were also several moments within the game that allowed me to make several seemingly non-important choices. However, to my surprise, the game referenced several of the choices numerous times throughout my 5-hour runtime - adding in more layers of importance and intrigue.

With all this, Goodnight Universe heavily emphasizes its webcam gameplay. Since Nice Dream Games was founded by many members of Before Your Eyes, it’s no surprise that the team wanted to build on their idea that put them on the map in 2021. Within Goodnight Universe, the eye-tracking from a camera allows the player to blink and close their eyes - engaging with the game in a manner that is uncharacteristically intimate for players. These moments within the game often come into a thematic moment (ie: blinking several times after waking up) or a moment of vulnerability. It was particularly powerful that the game emphasized the player as part of the controlling mechanics of the game, really putting you (literally) behind the eyes and inside the mind of Isaac.

I did notice that I had to over-exaggerate many of my motions for the camera to detect these inputs, which ended up being a bit more awkward than I was expecting. This continued for a bit longer, so many of the introductory moments of the game were lessened because of the inaccuracies and bad timings. Luckily, Goodnight Universe has a No Camera option that gave me opportunities to capture the same feelings and emotional impact throughout the experience.

The introductory portions of the game when Isaac was finding his powers were definitely my favorite parts of the game. In these smaller sections, I was given a few tasks on a checklist to complete. Though these were mundane chores like feeding the dog or folding the laundry, it was a fun list to complete that not only provided some family dynamic moments, but also an opportunity to see what can be possible as a baby with psychic powers. Unfortunately, the game quickly abandons these check list moments and swaps into a more on-rails adventure. There were also several stealth segments of the game that resulted in instant-fails, which never excites me in a game. Happily, right when I was at the cusp of frustration, the game gently asked if I wanted to skip the segment and progress the game.

The voice acting within Goodnight Universe is captivating throughout the game. The actors create sensational moments that highlight each of their struggles and successes in the game. The dynamics between the characters are also fueled heavily by the performances and allows the emotional connective tissues to solidify into impeccable moments. Even the Narrator, who speaks purely to the player, connects on such a powerful level that I was on his side from start to finish.

Breakdown

Game: Goodnight Universe

Developer: Nice Dream

Publisher: Skybound Games

Availability: PC, Nintendo Switch 1|2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S

Game Length: 5 hours

Reviewed on PC

Final Thoughts

Goodnight Universe is a fantastic game worth experiencing. The strong family dynamics paired with the mystery of Isaac allows for a strong and compelling story. Though there were some minute low points in gameplay, the creativity and uniqueness is unparalleled. Goodnight Universe is a fun adventure with a heartwarming message that is worth your time.