BYE SWEET CAROLE

We are familiar with Chris Darill's work mainly from the Remothered games that were released a few years ago. These were two interesting horror games, mainly in terms of narrative and atmosphere, with the first making a very good impression, but unfortunately the second being undermined by dozens of bugs that plagued it. Little Sewing Machine's Bye Sweet Carole is the Italian creator's new attempt to re-enter the world of video games, but this time he has chosen a relatively unusual approach to realize the idea he had in mind: a fairy tale reminiscent (to the point of misunderstanding) of old Disney films, but from a clearly darker perspective.

We mention the latter not by chance, as indeed, behind the innocent appearance of Bye Sweet Carole, there is a story that is mainly aimed at adults or, at least, teenagers over the age of 16. Both the "sensitive" subject matter it addresses and certain scenes/characters depicted are far from being described as "childish." The allegorical messages, which increase in number and depth as we approach the end of the story, have, let's say, a "special" content, which everyone will evaluate differently. However, we will not give away any spoilers, beyond mentioning, in general terms, what the game's plot is about.

Specifically, we find ourselves somewhere in the early 20th century, in an orphanage in England called Bunny Hall. The protagonist of the adventure is Lana Benton, a relatively introverted and perhaps dreamy girl, whose only friend is Carole Simmons. Carole is the only girl in the orphanage who "embraced" her from the very beginning, with the result that they became literally inseparable.

Although life at the orphanage wasn't the best, hanging out with her best friend made everyday life a little more bearable for Lana, until one night Carole disappeared. Without thinking twice, Lana sets out to find her friend, having discovered, as her only clue, a sealed letter with Carole as the sender. For some unknown reason, she is unable to catch and read the letter, as it is mysteriously carried away by the wind, again and again. As you can imagine, the hunt for the "flying" letter is only the beginning, with one event leading to another, and Lana sinking into a situation where no one knows where fantasy ends and reality begins...

Bye Sweet Carole could easily be a feature-length film: it has all the makings of one, and we wouldn't be surprised if we saw it come to fruition at some point. However, this is a game, and that is how we will evaluate it. Essentially, it is an amalgam of adventure and action elements, with the former clearly having a stronger presence than the latter, which mainly serves a supporting role—with all that that entails.

As an adventure game, Bye Sweet Carole does quite well. We follow the action in 2D perspective, moving Lana with the controller (highly recommended over mouse/keyboard), trying to solve the puzzles in each of the game's ten chapters. The puzzles are of a satisfactory level of difficulty; they don't require you to rack your brains, but we wouldn't describe them as simplistic either. In most cases, they require the player to activate switches, use objects in hotspots, or combine some of them (there is also an inventory, with the option to combine items). At the same time, we encounter several platform-based puzzles, where we have to find a way to get to the opposite screen. This could mean pushing a box, for example, so that we can climb on top of it and reach higher, or transforming into a rabbit, with the corresponding advantages and disadvantages that come with this form.

The reason why Lana can transform into a rabbit will not be revealed in this review. However, it is worth noting that in several cases, we will not only control Lana, but also a second character, on a rotating basis, which adds some more nice puzzles to Bye Sweet Carole's repertoire. So far, so good. The problems begin when the game decides to add a dose of "action" to its gameplay.

In several cases, along with the riddles, the game places us under the "stress" of the existence of a hunter/predator. This predator decides to attack us only if he sees us (if he happens to be in the area) or if we make noise (e.g., break a bottle), and in order to escape, we must hide for a few seconds in one of the various hiding places in each chapter. It is easy to escape from the hunters, but this process quickly becomes boring and repetitive. The reason is that this mechanism is so simplistic that it gives the impression that it was included more as a means of artificially extending the duration of the game than to offer a real challenge to the player. Especially when we are in the middle of solving a puzzle, a process that can involve several steps, the fact that we suddenly have to run away is disorganizing and creates dissatisfaction—the only thing that is certain is that it doesn't scare anyone, if that was indeed the goal of the development team.

The most disappointing aspect of the action is that, quite often, the response to our commands is not what it should be. Quite often, Lana does not respond immediately to a button press, especially in certain time-limited platform challenges, resulting in unfair deaths. In general, there is a noticeable delay in our characters' reactions, and while this does not affect the adventure element of Bye Sweet Carole at all, it certainly dampens the impressions of the action part. A prime example of the clumsy implementation of the action element is the boss fights, which really pose no challenge, as usually, all you have to do is continuously press the attack button to win. It is reasonable, then, to wonder why they were added in the first place—as were the equally "shallow" QTE events, but let's move on...

Bye Sweet Carole, as a game, clearly survives thanks to its adventure/puzzle element. Combined with the excellent storytelling, well-written characters, and mystery that pervades the plot almost until the end, it creates an experience that we don't often find in video games. Certainly, one of the game's main strengths is its classic Disney look, with the animation designed entirely by hand, resulting in a truly enchanting effect. The same goes for the impressive orchestral soundtrack and the voice-over, which is more than decent, with the actors' amazing performances leaving a strong impression.

Nevertheless, since we are not referring to a film but a game, Bye Sweet Carole is unlikely to win any awards at the end of the year. No one will feel that they wasted their time playing it, but its gameplay is not particularly exciting. With Lana's story, however, it may just manage to do so...

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