BUDDY

About

"Buddy is a single-player adventure game with stunning graphics and an exceptional atmosphere, featuring a horror theme and atmospheric music. You play as a cat navigating a little girl's nightmare world, uncovering parts of her real-life story. With an unpredictable plot and three possible endings, can you distinguish reality from fantasy?"

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

37%

Audience ScoreBased on 38 reviews

graphics14 positive mentions

gameplay6 negative mentions

The art style is visually appealing and reminiscent of games like Limbo and Inside.
The game features effective jump scares and a good atmospheric audio design that enhances the horror experience.
The puzzles offer a variety of difficulty levels, providing a challenge for players who enjoy problem-solving.

The controls are poorly explained, often unresponsive, and can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences.
The pacing is slow, with long stretches of walking and minimal action, which can make the game feel tedious.
There are significant technical issues, including bugs that affect gameplay and a lack of a proper save system, leading to repeated sections.

graphics
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
29%
13%
The graphics of the game have received positive feedback for their charming art style, reminiscent of titles like Limbo and Inside, with a well-executed color palette that effectively conveys themes of fear and anxiety. However, despite the appealing visuals, many users noted technical issues and glitches that detract from the overall experience, suggesting that the game feels unfinished for a full release. Overall, while the art is praised, it is overshadowed by the game's other shortcomings.
- “I really enjoyed the artwork; I think it was well done and conveyed the fear, anxiety, and anticipation very well.”
- “[b]Art style[/b]: 9/10; this was one area the game was great.”
- “The graphics portray the game as an old filmstrip type of movie, which was nice.”
- “The graphics portray the game as an old filmstrip type of movie, which was nice, but I could have done without the black splotches popping up all the time.”
- “I really like the art style and color palette that the game uses, and the story sounds interesting, but don’t be fooled by how nice the game looks; it seems like a very early access version right now and has quite a few issues!”
- “At first glance, I thought it was a hybrid of Limbo with the art style and play style.”
gameplay
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
50%
30%
The gameplay has been criticized for its clunky controls, broken mechanics, and long stretches of unengaging content, leading to frustrating experiences with repetitive tasks and poorly spaced auto-saves. Many players found the puzzles counterintuitive and the overall design predictable, resulting in a lack of enjoyment and a sense of dragging progression. Overall, the gameplay experience is deemed unsatisfactory, with a rating of 6/10 reflecting these issues.
- “But a game should never be hard because the mechanics do not work properly.”
- “Throw the player back five or ten jumps at the most, maybe a minute of gameplay at best (unless it's a purposefully long boss fight or suchlike).”
- “My reasons for refunding though are due to the gameplay issues.”
- “The times between auto-saving were spaced too far apart, so I would have to go through another 1-2 minutes of gameplay before reaching the part that would trip me up.”
- “A lot of the last levels just drag on; you literally 'walk' for 2 minutes straight... with no gameplay.”
- “However, it is plagued by bad controls and outright broken game mechanics that make it unplayable unless you have a ton of patience.”
story
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
36%
21%
The game's story is described as interesting yet simplistic, with vague hints that gradually come together as the player progresses. While the narrative has potential, many reviewers feel it could be better integrated into the gameplay and is hampered by the game's overall execution. Despite its shortcomings, the story may appeal to fans of short narrative-driven or horror games.
- “The story is simplistic enough and vague hints are woven well enough into the different scenes throughout.”
- “The story didn't seem to make any sense at the start because you were just a cat walking around, but an hour in it starts to make sense.”
- “The story is simplistic enough, and vague hints are woven well enough into the different scenes throughout.”
- “I also liked the story, although I think it could have been woven into the game a little better and a little more strongly.”
atmosphere
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71%
29%
The atmosphere of the game receives mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the strong background art and effective eerie music that contribute to a horror ambiance, others find it lacking during long stretches of gameplay where little occurs. The overall consensus highlights that the game is visually and sonically atmospheric, but the overuse of certain sound effects detracts from the experience. Casual gamers and those who enjoy atmospheric titles may find it more appealing.
- “It is very atmospheric and I liked that part the best.”
- “I would recommend this to people who enjoy atmospheric and casual gaming, or who have a few games under their belt: those people would probably gain the most from playing this kind of game.”
- “So sure, this product is clever, highly atmospheric (both visually and sonically), and alarmingly scary for a platformer.”
- “The atmosphere is seriously lacking.”
- “By and large, the eerie music and sound effects do well enough to maintain the atmosphere, but the overuse of some bad stock sounds (the woman's scream, to name but one) starts to grate after a while.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The music in the game is largely absent, with minimal sound effects that fail to enhance the experience significantly. While the eerie soundscapes contribute to the atmosphere, the overuse of certain stock sounds, like a woman's scream, can become irritating over time. Overall, the lack of music and engaging audio elements detracts from the gameplay experience.
- “There isn't any music and the sounds that are there don't do much.”
- “By and large the eerie music and sound effects do well enough to maintain the atmosphere, but overuse of some bad stock sounds (the woman's scream to name but one) starts to grate after a while.”
- “You crawl in vents for 10 minutes if not getting lost, and there is no music or enemies.”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with numerous bugs and glitches affecting gameplay and animations. Players have reported frustrating control problems and confusion regarding saving progress, leading to an overall negative experience.
- “Until the point where you don't even know if there's a save, let alone how to do so (M doesn't work, P doesn't work, Esc only provides the options of, oh guess what - play or exit), and then something in the game either doesn't work or glitches.”
- “The game was also buggy throughout, particularly in regards to animation.”
- “There are multiple bugs and glitches I experienced, and the controls are horrible.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is consistently praised, with users highlighting its comedic elements as a standout feature. The lighthearted and witty approach adds to the overall enjoyment, making it a memorable experience.
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews do not provide any insights into the emotional aspect of the game, as they focus solely on a technical bug related to box movement. There is no emotional content or sentiment expressed in the provided texts.