Published by Skybound Games and developed by Nice Dream, Goodnight Universe is a story-driven game where you play from the perspective of a 6-month-old baby named Isaac. Goodnight Universe is now available on Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. 

Isaac is no ordinary 6-month-old baby; players will play from his perspective, but he seems to have the mind of someone much older, as he narrates throughout the game. He seems fully aware of everything around him, but to everyone else, he’s just a regular baby craving attention. Issac soon discovers that he has telekinetic powers, being able to move objects with his mind and also telepathy, able to read minds and communicate with others.

However, even with his powers, he still has the physical limitations of a baby. He begins to help with chores around the house using his telekinesis while no one is watching. He thinks he’s being helpful, but this ends up complicating things with his family, and soon he wakes up in a mysterious place, with his family nowhere to be seen, and must find a way out. 

The gameplay is straightforward. Players will experience a wild, extraordinary and out-of-this-world story with a colourful cast of characters. A major feature of this game is the ability to use a webcam to control Isaac and perform specific actions when prompted. It is much like the 2021 game, Before Your Eyes, which Skybound Games also published, and the founders of Nice Dream also worked on its development while at GoodbyeWorld Games.

The webcam tracks your eye movements and facial expressions, such as smiling to indicate a positive response and frowning to indicate a negative response. Blinking will help clear your eyes or switch on electronics; closing your eyes will help you read the minds of other characters; and telekinesis is done with your hand movements. The game also lets players play with a keyboard or controller if they prefer.

Unfortunately, only the PC version currently includes the webcam feature, but it’s been stated that the camera controls will be added via a free patch update sometime soon. This would’ve been the perfect opportunity to make use of the Switch 2 Camera and the PlayStation 5, and the Xbox Series X can also use webcams.

All the actions can be performed with a controller when prompted, but occasionally, it can feel a bit finicky and unfair when you have to react quickly. Thankfully, if you fail the same part a few times, the game will offer you the choice to skip to the next scene if you wish and continue the story. Hopefully, console players won’t have to wait much longer for camera controls to be added, because it looks like a lot of fun. 

Playing with a headset is highly recommended to get you even more immersed in the game. During moments when your eyes are closed, either with the webcam or in-game, you’ll hear a sound prompt when an action has been performed successfully, and you can open your eyes again to continue the story.

Where the game shines the most is its brilliant storytelling. Playing from a baby’s perspective creates a unique dynamic. It allows players to relate to Isaac and empathise with him, experiencing the physical limitations of a baby and feeling the love of his family if they’re ever not busy with something else.

The game has RPG elements, allowing you to choose how to react to certain things, like giggling or crying, and other characters will respond accordingly. Being able to telekinetically move objects around you is certainly fun, and being able to hear the deep thoughts of other characters helps go deeper into the game’s lore.

It’s interesting to see how the characters react based on the actions you choose, but the overall game feels quite linear. Occasionally, the game might lead you to believe you can make more than one choice, but it defaults to a specific one instead.

Not being able to make other choices that pique your curiosity isn’t entirely a bad thing in this game, as the story will keep you engaged no matter what and Isaac even comments on not making the other choice even if he wanted to. Even though all your decisions lead to the same two endings, it still provides a lot of replay value. There is a lot more to say about the story, though it’s best we let players discover it for themselves. They’ll be in for a mind-blowing, emotional experience.

The game has a colourful, cartoonish art style that looks a bit outdated by today’s standards, but it actually adds to the game’s charm. The animation does have some flaws, and the character models clip through objects a lot more than they should, which makes it hard not to notice, but even that doesn’t take away from everything the game does so well. 

Seeing everything from Isaac’s point of view, you’ll see everyone’s faces and their expressions up close. Despite the cartoonish character models, they still express a wide range of emotions, and even though you rarely see Isaac’s face unless there’s a mirror, you can still feel his emotions based on how he reacts to what he’s looking at.

This is thanks to the talented voice cast, which includes Lewis Pullman as Isaac, as well as Al Madrigal, Sarah Burns, Tessa Espinola, Stephen Friedrich, Pico Alexander, Sophie Lachman, and Mat Wright. For an indie game, it’s got quite a few big names in the industry lending their voices, and it more than pays off. 

Isaac is, of course, the most complex character, and even though Lewis Pullman performs a mostly monotone voice with an unenthusiastic personality, which is the design choice for the character, he is still able to convey so much emotion as he often comments and questions his decisions while he’s experiencing everything for the first time. The entire voice cast helps bring all the characters to life with their diverse personalities, and everyone has fantastic chemistry with each other. 

Every single aspect of the game contributes to a unique interactive story that’s worth playing again and again. There have been many games that have tried to go beyond traditional controllers, and this is one of the best examples. Being able to play the entire game with just a webcam and your facial expressions is an experience you need to have.

Hopefully, the console versions will add the camera feature sooner rather than later. There have been many games that have tried to go beyond traditional controllers, and this is one of the better examples. The interactive story will keep you engaged from beginning to end as you experience this out-of-this-world emotional rollercoaster. Goodnight Universe is an absolute must-play that needs to be experienced. 

Written by: Sammy Hanson