Bundle of Joy

The balance of the hectic minigames and the quiet, reflective moments really is something special. I've never seen parenthood written or portrayed quite like this before, and I think that's an awesome thing. There's a moment in a downtime sequence where [spoiler]the player character reflects that they feel like they're going through the motions, that they felt like they've spent so much time with the baby but really haven't *bonded* with them. I think the gameplay here is so brilliantly constructed to make you *feel* this moment. I spent so, so much time waking up at 4am, my hands on the arrow keys, ready to change a diaper, determined to *get the day right* this time, constantly thinking ahead about how I could make it through the next day, the next minigame without stressing out. And then the downtime just points that out: in all the rush of filling bottles and wiping boogers and putting away toys, don't forget you're a dad and you're doing it for your kid. [/spoiler] I'm not a par...

A wonderful use of mini games mechanics to explore an important facet of human experience that has been under-served by videogames. I found the game to be moving and deeply relatable. We need more games like this in the world.

I spent a lot of time with the demo and am happy the final version is here. Games don't create these kind of thoughtful, well-crafted experiences enough.

The game is fun, touching, and slightly PTSD inducing (especially the morning animation sequence). A great encapsulation of the struggles of early parenting and the unique challenges parents faced during the pandemic lockdown. A great work of catharsis.

Really nice narrative that (as a non-parent) helped me understand more about parenting. Short but good! It also felt like the last set of mini-games scaled up the difficulty really well.

A very cute game with a nice personal touch: a taste of parenthood! Writing is very nice, especially the bits between caring for the baby: I felt like I got a glimpse of a someone's world! The Wario Ware-esque games also carried me through the gameplay and were quick and enjoyable!

I love a game that represents a real life experience through mechanics. The minigames are perfect for the story; they're just frustrating enough to feel overwhelming as they pile up, while still being fun to actually engage with on a moment-to-moment level. If invited to think about it before playing, I would have felt compassion for new parents at the start of COVID, and wondered at the feelings of new stress and isolation; this game, though, does a fantastic job of sending you through the stresses and thought processes and logistics of things that I wouldn't even have considered. Plus, I just love to grab a fistful of minigames at every opportunity. I really enjoyed this game and I hope it starts a trend of giving more human experiences a Warioware of their own.

I was very fortunate to get to meet the creator of this game at MAGfest and even then I knew this game was awesome. You get the gaming aspect of the stress of the clicker minigames but also get to feel the story and frustration of being a new parent (during COVID early days no less). I love the art style and the thought and time that was put into this game and could not recommend it enough to everyone.

Emotionally enriching af! I love it!

What a delightful game! As always with Nicholas' works you find yourself utterly vulnerable - and negotiating an intimate dialogue. Except here, instead of grappling with vast and systemic change - you are ensconced in a conversation with the littlest of tasks meant for the smallest of beings - your child. This is a game painted in bold colours and boisterous movement. And yet it is so delicately written that its confines of circular routines become the very sites of care and prospect that bring you back from each inevitable brink. And as the the baby is revealed in small portions - one flailing appendage at a time, you start to piece together in your head this little-person that is the locus of all your efforts. A puzzle built of cyclical counters and intimate conversations, that becomes not just a calendar of your days during COVID and early-parenthood, but the starting notes in the song of an entirely new human being.