The Bedtime Story

About

The Bedtime Story is a single player simulation game. It was developed by Brandon Serowski and was released on February 27, 2017. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

It's almost 3 AM, dead time, with no teddy bear in sight. Is the house really this big? Or is it just the way the boogeyman's shadows creep through the halls... Teddy, where are you? Find out by playing The Bedtime Story.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

62%

Audience ScoreBased on 13 reviews

stability3 positive mentions

graphics3 negative mentions

The Bedtime Story effectively creates a tense and immersive atmosphere through its sound design, enhancing the horror experience.
The game's simplicity and focus on childhood fears resonate well, making it a unique survival-horror experience.
The procedural generation of the house layout adds replay value and unpredictability, keeping players on edge.

The game suffers from technical issues, including bugs and glitches that can hinder gameplay and lead to frustrating experiences.
The lack of a clear objective and narrative depth can leave players feeling lost and unengaged.
The procedural generation can result in unwinnable scenarios, where essential items spawn in inaccessible locations, leading to unnecessary restarts.

story
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
72%
14%
The story of "A Bedtime Story" revolves around a child who awakens in the night to find their teddy bear missing and eerie messages on a chalkboard, creating a sense of vulnerability and childhood fear. While the game effectively builds atmosphere through sound and environmental storytelling, it suffers from a lack of depth, characterization, and narrative coherence, leaving players with an unpolished experience that feels simplistic and underdeveloped. Despite these shortcomings, the game captures a familiar kind of dread, making it a noteworthy, albeit flawed, entry in the survival-horror genre.
- “The Bedtime Story, developed by Brandon Serowski and published by Volens Nolens Games, is a compact but unsettling survival-horror experience that taps into one of the most primal forms of fear: being a child alone in the dark with something lurking just out of sight.”
- “Nevertheless, The Bedtime Story succeeds in what it aims to be: a small, atmospheric, and anxiety-driven horror vignette that captures the vulnerability and imagination of childhood fears.”
- “In The Bedtime Story, you play as a misfortunate kid who has awoken in the middle of the night and noticed that their teddy bear has gone missing; and that there is strange, eerie writing on the chalkboard in their bedroom.”
- “Serowski's A Bedtime Story features a simple story with no narrative behind it.”
- “Beyond this, there is no characterization, no lore behind the demon, no background story to the child, the house, or his family, and seemingly no motive.”
- “The Bedtime Story is a mediocre choice if you're looking for one of those games that gives you the thrill of being hunted while you are, in turn, searching for particular items.”
gameplay
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The gameplay combines stealth, exploration, and light survival mechanics, focusing on navigating a dark house while avoiding a randomly patrolling boogeyman. However, players may find the experience lacking in depth and variety, as it can feel short and repetitive, especially for those seeking a more extensive campaign or narrative. Overall, while it offers an eerie atmosphere, it may not satisfy those looking for innovative mechanics or prolonged engagement.
- “The game’s structure blends stealth, exploration, and light survival mechanics.”
- “The boogeyman has a random patrol pattern which means right from the start, that this won’t be a predictable gameplay.”
- “Ideal conditions which translate into an immersive gameplay (as much as it can, without virtual reality implementation).”
- “However, players seeking extensive campaigns, narrative depth, or varied mechanics may find the experience too slight once the initial terror wears off.”
- “For players who want depth, length, or evolving mechanics, it may feel more like a brief, eerie encounter than a full-fledged game.”
- “Main gameplay revolves around searching the house in the dark with a pathetic torch, and a similarly useless single-use lamp, while avoiding getting caught by the boogeyman.”
graphics
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
37%
38%
The graphics of the game are described as modest yet effective, enhancing the immersive experience through a focus on mood rather than visual extravagance. The use of darkness and room scale effectively conveys a sense of fear, while the stable performance on Unreal Engine 4 assets contributes to a pleasant and spooky atmosphere. However, some users noted a lack of noticeable graphical variation despite different settings.
- “While not graphically extravagant, the visuals serve the tone well: the darkness hides threats without feeling unfair, and the scale of rooms evokes the perspective of a frightened child.”
- “Despite its closed nature, the bedtime story utilizes Unreal Engine 4 assets to its advantage in what I would call one of the most stable indie game experiences on this particular graphics engine.”
- “Its modest production values work in its favor, emphasizing mood over graphical flourish.”
- “But second, there is no indication that a change in graphics occurs when I select either 'poor' or 'great.' It remains the same.”
- “Despite its closed nature, the bedtime story utilizes Unreal Engine 4 assets to its advantage in what I shall call one of the most stable indie game experiences on this particular graphics engine.”
atmosphere
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The game's atmosphere is primarily driven by its effective use of sound, creating a small yet impactful horror experience that evokes childhood fears. While it initially captures a sense of vulnerability and anxiety, this feeling diminishes after a few attempts, despite the pleasant graphics and overall spooky ambiance. Overall, the atmosphere is praised for being superb and scary, but it may not sustain its intensity throughout the gameplay.
- “From the moment you begin exploring the house, the bedtime story is driven by atmosphere, especially through its use of sound.”
- “Nevertheless, the bedtime story succeeds in what it aims to be: a small, atmospheric, and anxiety-driven horror vignette that captures the vulnerability and imagination of childhood fears.”
- “The sound and atmosphere was superb.”
- “Sadly, while it has a decent atmosphere, I can't recommend this game.”
- “Sure, the game has some 'alone in the dark with something that could get you anytime' atmosphere, but that doesn't last past the first couple of tries.”
- “Decent atmosphere and scary.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
33%
The game's stability is mixed; while some players report no crashes or glitches, others highlight issues with technical bugs and poorly optimized elements that detract from the overall experience.
- “No crashes to report in the bedtime story's case and no glitches either.”
- “The game runs smoothly without any interruptions, making for a seamless experience.”
- “I haven't encountered any stability issues; everything works as intended.”
- “Regardless, this game is plagued with an uninteresting story, poorly optimized procedurally generated items, and technical bugs and glitches.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game prioritizes clarity and performance over heavy visual effects, enhancing tension, but suffers from poor optimization issues, including uninteresting story elements, poorly generated items, and various technical bugs and glitches.
- “Despite being built on Unreal Engine, it avoids heavy visual effects in favor of clarity and performance, which keeps the focus firmly on tension rather than spectacle.”
- “Regardless, this game is plagued with an uninteresting story, poorly optimized procedurally generated items, and technical bugs and glitches.”
music
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is minimalistic, creating an atmosphere where silence enhances the tension and immersion, making the environment feel more alive and impactful.
- “The soundtrack is sparse, letting the silence between noises feel dangerously alive.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The game's shifting environment enhances replayability by offering new experiences with each playthrough, though this unpredictability can also impact the overall difficulty.
- “The house’s shifting nature gives the game replay value while also introducing unpredictability that can affect difficulty.”
- “The house’s shifting nature gives the game replay value but also introduces unpredictability that can affect difficulty.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a cash grab, with users feeling that the developer, Brandon Serowski, has abandoned the game while still attempting to profit from it through occasional $2.99 charges.
- “It seems developer Brandon Serowski has abandoned this game and decided to reap in a small cash grab of $2.99 every so often.”