Pill Baby

About

Pill Baby is a single player hack and slash game. It was developed by Kayabros and was released on March 25, 2022. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

"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.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

95%

Audience ScoreBased on 82 reviews

story26 positive mentions

The game features engaging combat mechanics that allow for a mix of button-mashing and strategic play, making it fun and accessible.
It presents a unique and relatable story about the immigrant experience, tackling themes of alienation, emotional trauma, and adaptation in a foreign culture.
The art style and soundtrack are highly praised, contributing to a visually stunning and immersive experience that enhances the overall gameplay.

Some players find the core gameplay repetitive and lacking depth, with combat becoming uninteresting over time despite the variety of upgrades.
The story, while starting strong, is criticized for being disjointed and not following through on its initial promise, leading to an unsatisfying conclusion.
Certain gameplay elements, such as visibility in darker levels and the text display method, have been noted as frustrating and detracting from the overall experience.

story
52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
44%
6%
The game's story is praised for its relatability and exploration of themes like awkward relationships and betrayal, blending humor with surreal elements. While it starts strong, some players feel it becomes disjointed and underwhelming as it progresses. Overall, the narrative is described as engaging and unique, complemented by excellent visuals and music, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of story-driven games.
- “As for the story, I like how this game discusses problems like awkward relationships, friend betrayal, and the survival of keeping your job.”
- “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 at every corner that keep you tense and invested.”
- “Mixing fun combat, a meaningful story, and an artistic design with lots of fresh ideas and definitely a lot of heart.”
- “Tl;dr: the game starts off strong, but the gameplay/story ends up being extremely underwhelming.”
- “The surreal elements don't overwhelm; the story is grounded (actually mundane) and can be followed.”
- “There are lots of real moments to relate in its weird, trippy sci-fi story.”
gameplay
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
39%
11%
The gameplay features a mix of decision-making regarding currency spent on combat enhancements and a variety of upgrades, but many players find the core combat experience repetitive and uninteresting despite the initial promise. While some praise the smooth mechanics and engaging action that requires strategic adaptation to enemy behaviors, others feel the overall gameplay lacks depth and becomes underwhelming as the game progresses. The combination of tight combat mechanics, beautiful visuals, and a compelling story is noted, but opinions are divided on the lasting appeal of the gameplay itself.
- “The art, the mechanics, the dialogues, everything flowed together really succinctly.”
- “Gameplay is really smooth and fun.”
- “This is a very nice game with an interesting story, tight combat mechanics coupled with great music and sound design.”
- “However, the main issue with the game, in my opinion, is the core gameplay, which is the combat, and that is what you will be doing for 80% of the game.”
- “If any of you have played the game 'Guacamelee', imagine that, but with the color mechanic completely removed and a bit sloppier overall.”
- “Tl;dr: the game starts off strong, but the gameplay and story end up being extremely underwhelming.”
graphics
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
77%
15%
8%
The game's graphics are praised for their diverse and artistic styles, often evoking nostalgia for 90s tech demos. Players appreciate the high-quality visuals and animations, which complement the game's tone and enhance the overall experience. The combination of funky graphics, smooth gameplay, and a captivating soundtrack creates an aesthetically pleasing and immersive environment.
- “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.”
- “Amazing game with a great art style and story.”
- “Several art styles alternate, with bits highly reminiscent of the tech demos that swarmed the 90s.”
- “It's an aesthetically pleasing little game, that's sometimes a bit weird.”
music
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
12%
13%
The music in the game is consistently praised for its excellence, enhancing the overall atmosphere and complementing the unique art style. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature, describing it as beautiful and emotionally impactful, while also noting that it significantly contributes to the game's engaging tone and experience. Overall, the combination of great music and sound design is seen as a key selling point for the game.
- “The visuals and the music are very good and help create the overall tone of the game.”
- “This is a very nice game with an interesting story, tight combat mechanics coupled with great music and sound design.”
- “Also, the music completes the atmosphere.”
- “The only true selling point of the game is its style and possibly the soundtrack.”
- “The music does complete the atmosphere.”
- “If you like art, music, and fighting, this game might appeal to you.”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The game's atmosphere effectively captures the immigrant experience and the struggle for belonging, enhanced by a fitting and immersive soundtrack. Players describe it as a unique, crazy, and psychedelic environment that is essential to experience.
- “The developers designed the atmosphere of living as an immigrant and the feeling of not belonging so well.”
- “The music perfectly complements the atmosphere.”
- “Developers designed the atmosphere of living as an immigrant and not being able to feel belonging so well.”
- “You should definitely experience this crazy and psychedelic atmosphere.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is well-received, particularly in the amusing introductions of monsters and their quirky names and descriptions. Players express a desire for a bestiary feature to revisit these funny elements, highlighting the comedic charm as a standout aspect of the experience.
- “I like how the monsters are introduced; hilarious! Highly recommended!”
- “I just wish there was a bestiary to re-read the funny names and descriptions of all the enemies I beat up, lol.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game "pill baby" is noted for its exploration of deep emotional themes such as alienation, trauma, and addiction, presented through a stylized and psychedelic beat 'em up format. Players are drawn into a journey that effectively conveys the weight of these experiences.
- “Pill Baby is a stylized and psychedelic beat 'em up journey about alienation, emotional trauma, and addiction.”