Bye Sweet Carole Review – The Magic Slips Away

Goodbye Sweet Carol review

The Golden Age of Animated Places Disney in his heart. His artistic vision resulted in stunning animation that brought iconic characters to life on the big screen. Since many of these stories form the basis of our childhood, people feel a certain resonance with that era of cartoons. Goodbye sweet Carolimbued with the same nostalgic magic, the game reflects the aesthetic that once enchanted young audiences with Walt's magical tales. While its influences are obvious, will it manage to combine charming visuals with powerful game mechanics to create an adventure that can stand shoulder to shoulder with Disney's?

The action takes place in the 1900s. You play as Lana, a girl living in the Bunny Hall orphanage. Life is not good. You are treated poorly by the staff and bullied by others who live there. The only person you can communicate with is Carol, but everything changes when she suddenly disappears. Suspecting that all is not as it seems, you begin to investigate the mystery and soon find yourself switching between the twisted realm of fantasy and the real world. Confused, you try to piece together the puzzle to find out about your friend and the secrets of the orphanage. While the idea is intriguing, the execution falls short. The scenarios feel stitched together rather than flowing seamlessly, creating a jarring adventure.

Trying to find my identity

Bye Sweet Carole takes elements of the point-and-click genre and combines them with a puzzle platformer. Unfortunately, it never manages to execute any of the gameplay styles with as much finesse as its peers. Movement feels slow and clumsy, making moving around tedious. Simple platforming segments are tedious due to the rigid mechanics. Instead of adding to the experience, these moments are frustrating, leaving you wondering why they were included in the first place. Since the moment-to-moment gameplay is focused on puzzles, using purely point-and-click mechanics could have improved the experience.

The puzzles are built into the environment, requiring you to move between multiple rooms to progress. They are generally well designed and have a clear logic and purpose. Most of them involve finding items stored in your inventory and then using them to interact with objects scattered throughout the world. The most original moments come when the second character appears. During these moments, you can switch between characters to take advantage of their unique abilities. As a rabbit, you can reach higher places, jump over walls, and move faster; As Basie, you can be flattened to fit through cracks and even walk through fire. This mechanic adds a nice level of variety, although I did encounter some bugs that prevented me from interacting with key items needed to solve certain puzzles. To fix this I had to restart the game.

Bold and beautiful

Visually, Goodbye Sweet Carol is stunning, capturing the magic of classic Disney animation. Each character is carefully designed and has beautiful animation that emphasizes their individuality. Sunlight streams through the windows, casting harsh shadows that deepen the atmosphere. The backgrounds are filled with fine details that are reminiscent of the signature style that Walt was known for. This mastery extends to the sound, which includes a beautiful orchestral score that enhances the cinematic presentation. Together, these elements create a gorgeous aesthetic that will resonate with fans of classic Disney films.

While I wanted to love the game, there are a lot of issues that constantly get in the way of your enjoyment. Bugs, audio issues and rigid gameplay turn what should be a magical adventure into a frustrating and uneven experience that never lives up to its charming presentation. Scenes where you're being hunted are cut short as you can simply run past rather than hide, removing the tension that should envelop these moments. There are other moments like this where narrative and gameplay inconsistencies get in the way of making the story promising.

Bye Sweet Carole is a promising adventure that needs some work. Platforming and general movement feel slow and clunky, making getting around tedious. Each area features a variety of challenging puzzles, although some mistakes will affect your ability to complete certain tasks. The narrative inconsistencies further diminish the enjoyment of what should be a magical adventure. Despite its stunning presentation, with beautiful hand-drawn visuals, fluid animation, and a beautiful orchestral score, it ultimately struggles to create as magical an experience as its visuals suggest.

***PS5 code was provided for this review***