Pill Baby
- March 25, 2022
- Talha Kaya
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Pill Baby" is a hack-and-slash game where you play as Anna, an immigrant who takes drugs for her job. Explore Anna's new life in a small town as she deals with stress, loneliness, and a mysterious parasite threat. With deep combat mechanics, customizable gloves, and drone units to assist you, help Anna survive in her new home and uncover the truth behind the parasites.
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game features a unique and engaging story that explores themes of immigration, mental health, and personal struggles, making it relatable for many players.
- Combat mechanics are enjoyable and customizable, allowing for a variety of play styles and strategies, which keeps the gameplay fresh and engaging.
- The art style and soundtrack contribute to a distinctive atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience and making it memorable despite its rough edges.
- The game suffers from technical issues, including clunky controls and inconsistent difficulty, which can detract from the overall enjoyment.
- Visuals are often described as crude or amateurish, which may turn off players looking for a polished aesthetic in their gaming experience.
- The narrative can feel disjointed or underdeveloped at times, leaving players wanting more depth and resolution in the story.
- story60 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story intricately weaves themes of immigration, mental health, and personal relationships into its narrative, providing a profound emotional experience that resonates with players. While the gameplay features engaging combat and exploration, the storytelling shines through its relatable characters and symbolic monsters that reflect inner struggles. Overall, the narrative is praised for its depth, humor, and artistic presentation, making it a compelling choice for those who appreciate story-driven games.
“Hiding behind the lo-fi, trashy, flash aesthetic is a pretty remarkable emotional story that deals with some heavy themes.”
“The story, while it might seem from a distance to be about eliminating 'parasites' as your job, really is more about grounded real-life topics like addiction, depression, responsibility, heartbreak, and so on.”
“I was expecting a depressing story from start to end, but to my surprise, the delivery of the story is not heavy-handed at all; witty writing makes you laugh at unexpected times and there are weird twists to it at every corner that keeps you tense and invested.”
“However, the monsters she confronts aren't just random foes; they reflect her inner turmoil and life's challenges, creating a profound connection between gameplay and storytelling.”
“3/10 weird story with tons of janky combat that kills this game for me.”
“Tl;dr: the game starts off strong, but the gameplay/story ends up being extremely underwhelming.”
- graphics25 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players finding the crude, amateurish artwork charming, while others criticize it as low-quality and unprofessional. Despite options to adjust resolution, the simplistic 2D visuals remain unimpressive, leading to a lack of substantial graphical improvement. However, a segment of players appreciates the unique art style and animations, noting that they complement the game's emotional storytelling and overall tone.
“The visuals and the audio are top notch, and the combat is on the sweet spot of difficulty for a story-driven game.”
“This game is a work of art with beautiful sounds and visuals, and I just love the smoothness of the gameplay.”
“Great artful animation and visuals are combined tremendously.”
“The artwork here is terrible; it's all just amateurish 'my first Wacom tablet' style drawings used instead of professional-looking game assets.”
“It's unclear if this is due to a lack of budget to arrange someone who can create graphical assets properly, or a lack of talent. Regardless, the overall visual quality of the game is extremely low, enough on its own to deter gamers.”
“While there are options to change the resolution for the game, all this does is scale up the simplistic 2D art assets used to make the game, which makes little or no difference to the graphics quality.”
- gameplay24 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is highly polarized among reviewers. While some praise its engaging action mechanics, smooth controls, and the integration of storytelling with combat, others criticize it for being janky, unpolished, and repetitive, particularly in its core combat system. Overall, the experience varies significantly, with some players finding it enjoyable and others deeming it underwhelming and lacking depth.
“The game boasts deep action mechanics with a wide range of movements, combo-based combat, and helpful drone units to assist you in your battles.”
“The combat gameplay is engaging, requiring you to observe and adapt to each monster's behavior.”
“Gameplay is really smooth and fun.”
“It's janky and unsatisfying to play... and any experienced gamer will tell you, the handling, responsiveness and general gameplay feel of the control scheme must be well polished for this kind of game to succeed.”
“Unfortunately, this is something the developer seems to have phoned in, with little to no apparent gameplay testing.”
“However, the main issue with the game in my opinion is the core gameplay, which is the combat, which is what you will be doing for 80% of the game.”
- music18 mentions
- 61 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its polished and immersive quality, featuring a diverse soundtrack that enhances the overall atmosphere and complements the stunning visuals. Many reviewers highlight specific artists, including Danny Brown, and note that the music significantly contributes to the game's emotional impact and entertainment value. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout element that elevates the gaming experience.
“The story is great, the art is amazing, and the music is spectacular.”
“The visuals and the music are very good and help create the overall tone of the game.”
“This game touched my feelings with great art style and soundtracks.”
“The soundtrack consists of instrumental tracks from a few artists, each represented numerous times.”
“The key, albeit the only true selling point of the game, is its style and possibly the soundtrack.”
“Other reviews touch on the personal story and wild visuals, so I'll answer the question that was on my mind when I bought it: yes, the Danny Brown on the soundtrack is that Danny Brown, the Detroit rapper who forever changed the way the world sees Cool Ranch Doritos.”
- emotional5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is polarizing; while some players find its themes of alienation, trauma, and addiction to be deeply resonant and relatable, others criticize it as superficial and lacking depth. The game's unique aesthetic contrasts with its heavy narrative, leading to a mixed reception regarding its emotional impact.
“Hiding behind the lo-fi, trashy, flash aesthetic is a pretty remarkable emotional story that deals with some heavy themes.”
“"Pill Baby" is a stylized and psychedelic beat 'em up journey about alienation, emotional trauma, and addiction.”
“This game was an amazing emotional roller coaster; as a person who moved and lived in multiple different countries in the West, I can relate to a lot from the game.”
- atmosphere5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is characterized by visually captivating and trippy animations that create an off-putting yet immersive experience, effectively conveying the struggles of immigrant life and a sense of alienation. The thoughtfully designed cutscenes and complementary music further enhance this unique and psychedelic ambiance, making it a memorable aspect of the game.
“Animation style is atmospheric all on its own; you can enjoy it on the merit of being trippy (nothing wrong about that). The cutscenes do tell a lot, though, if you pay attention.”
“Developers designed the atmosphere of living as an immigrant and not being able to feel belonging so well.”
“Also, the music completes the atmosphere.”
“But they are interspersed with some visually fascinating animations that create an off-putting atmosphere.”
“The developers designed the atmosphere of living as an immigrant and not being able to feel a sense of belonging so well.”
“You should definitely experience this crazy and psychedelic atmosphere.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's humor is characterized by unexpected wit and ironic enemy introductions that provide some lighthearted moments amidst a serious plot. While humor is not a central focus, players appreciate the amusing descriptions and names of monsters, suggesting a desire for a bestiary to revisit these funny elements. Overall, the humor adds an engaging layer to the experience, even if it's not predominant.
“You'll find moments of wit and humor that catch you off guard, and the unexpected twists keep you engaged.”
“I like how the monsters are introduced, hilarious :) highly recommended!”
“I just wish there was a bestiary to re-read the funny names/descriptions of all enemies I beat up, lol.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Overall, users find the game enjoyable despite some minor bugs, indicating that while stability could be improved, it does not significantly detract from the overall experience.
“The game crashes frequently, making it hard to enjoy.”
“I experienced constant lag and glitches that ruined the gameplay.”
“There are too many bugs that disrupt the overall experience.”
