Bye Sweet Carole Review – Classical Animation Combined with Dark Fantasy

Bye Sweet Carole is an indie puzzle-platformer game that follows Lana Benton as she searches for her missing best friend, Carole Simmons. This exquisite, completely hand-drawn animated game is an engaging mystery where you uncover dark secrets about Carole’s disappearance and the Bunny Hall Orphanage from which she disappeared. Here’s my full review of this beautifully haunting puzzle game.

Bye Sweet Carole Review

Bye Sweet Carole is an amazingly beautiful game. From the completely hand-drawn art style to the compelling story full of secrets you uncover as you go through the game, Bye Sweet Carole delivers on its promise of mystery and immersion. Set in early 20th-century England, Lana Benton is searching for her missing friend, Carole Simmons. It leads her to the Bunny Hall Orphanage, then to the mysterious Kingdom of Corolla.

The art style is immaculate. Reminiscent of old Disney princess movies, its beautifully designed landscapes of Corolla are something I can marvel at without even playing the game. It’s a haunting fairytale full of secrets waiting to be uncovered. Though I believe that is what the devs were going for with this game: a dark fairytale that draws inspiration from so many fairytale classics like Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, Bambi, and even Pinocchio. 

The game isn’t long. I believe it’s about 6-7 hours tops, but there’s so much mystery to unpack, and you won’t be bored with it at all as you face off against the evil Mr. Kyn, the ruthless owl Velenia, and the ravenous tar bunnies that plague the Kingdom of Corolla. And this may be impartial for me to say, but the best part about the game is the fact that you can transform into a rabbit! It’s such an outlandish detail, almost parody-like, but it gives the game depth and nuance. And it’s actually scary at times!

This game is pretty unique. It combines fairytale with horror, and though that is not a new concept, it’s refreshing to see it executed in such a manner as this game. Every aspect of this game complements the other, from the art to the gameplay to the immersive story, and I would definitely recommend this game.

Reception