Goodnight Universe Review – The Before Your Eyes Team Does It Again

by

Our third child is expected in January. When our oldest started kindergarten, we were one of the youngest families there. But by the time this new baby reaches school age, I’ll be over 40. It makes me think about how much time we have with our children, and how that depends on when we become parents. I’ll simply have fewer years with this child compared to their siblings – it’s just a fact, and it’s a little sad. I’m determined to stay healthy and present so I can make the most of every day with them, but I know I can’t add more years. It’s hard to figure out how to make those days truly count when you feel like they’re limited. The new video game, Goodnight Universe, from the creators of Before Your Eyes, explores these feelings beautifully and with a similar emotional impact.

Goodnight Universe puts you in the unique position of playing as a baby named Issac. Experienced through his eyes (with optional head tracking on PC), you’ll live through his surprisingly eventful life. You’ll meet his family – parents, sister, grandfather, and others – and experience key moments from his infancy. As adult Issac narrates, you’ll relive memories like banging your tray, playing with teething toys, and being captivated by the TV show, Gilbert the Goat.

Although these abilities might seem like normal baby behavior, Issac quickly realized he was different—truly special. He claims he was born with the mind of an adult, able to think and solve problems like one. But he’s capable of even more. As a telekinetic, Issac can move objects with his mind and read thoughts. In the game, you can use a controller to perform these powers, but it’s even more immersive to use the camera to track your face and hands, letting you control things directly with your own movements.

While his dad was reading him a bedtime story, Issac sensed his father was worried about things like money and having enough time. After his dad left, you could help tidy up by using special abilities: closing your eyes briefly to magically clean up the scattered blocks, listening to the mess disappear like a whirlwind, and swiping your hand to close open cabinet doors. You could even blink to turn on your nightlight. These actions build on the idea from the game Before Your Eyes – where blinking moved you forward in time, sometimes just a few moments, sometimes years – and make it more interactive, though still easy to do.

What really stands out about Isaac’s powers is his ability to read minds. It’s not that I’m overly curious, but the way Goodnight Universe shows it is fantastic. For example, when Isaac’s sister meets a frustrating college recruiter, she pretends to be polite, but her inner thoughts are portrayed as a chaotic, loud punk rock song – a funny way of showing her true feelings. These scenes are so well-crafted they feel like little radio plays. The game expertly draws you into each moment, whether it’s humorous like this one, or more often, something more serious, all without needing to show you anything visually.

After playing Before Your Eyes, which told a pretty direct story about growing up, I was curious about Goodnight Universe. This one also focuses on life from a baby’s perspective, but it quickly gets way more…out there. Honestly, there were times I worried the story was getting too weird to pull off a satisfying ending. I’m a sucker for stories that make me feel something, even if it’s sad, and I was hoping for that same emotional impact. I kept comparing it to Before Your Eyes – that game’s ending really got to me – and wondering if the developers could recreate that magic. For a while, I wasn’t even sure they were trying to. But thankfully, they were, and they absolutely nailed the ending. It’s a four-hour game, and it really sticks the landing in the end.

What truly makes Goodnight Universe special isn’t its unique way of playing – though that’s clever – it’s the characters. The story feels incredibly real, with dialogue that kept me completely captivated. Issac’s family is realistically flawed, but full of love and hope. They often share private wishes and memories that only they – and the player, as Issac – understand. The writers at Nice Dream Games are exceptional, carefully choosing words that gain deeper meaning as the story unfolds, and often aren’t fully appreciated until after you’ve finished the game, or even on a second playthrough.

The acting is consistently strong, enhancing the already emotionally rich story. I was particularly moved by the portrayal of the parents – their struggles felt very relatable, especially how they idealized their children even during tough times. However, the film doesn’t shy away from the realities of parenting. ‘Goodnight Universe’ feels like a genuine look at a family dealing with everyday problems, with the added quirk of having a baby with telekinetic powers.

The music was consistently excellent, especially the end credits song by Oliver Lewin and Tanukichan, and really drew me into the game’s emotional core. It perfectly matched the tone, whether the game was being funny and sarcastic or ramping up for action – and yes, even this game has action! Most impressively, it knew exactly when to hit me with a powerful, emotional moment. I don’t know why this development team enjoys exploring sad and sweet feelings, but I love that they do, because I do too.

While the story doesn’t offer major choices that change the plot, you’ll frequently get to personalize scenes with small decisions. For example, when Issac becomes self-aware, he muses about what a baby is, and you can choose whether it’s “a kind of deity” or “a torture device.” Later, you’ll be able to select Issac’s reasons for apologizing or even how he feels about different things. The game uses the camera to ask you to show emotions like smiling or frowning. These choices don’t create different story paths, but they do let you shape the feel of important moments and give you some control over how interactions play out.

No matter how you change the details, the story consistently focuses on the theme of time – which is typical for this development team. Like their previous game, Goodnight Universe, which built upon camera-based controls, this new story feels more complex than Before Your Eyes, but it explores similar unsettling ideas. It really delves into how we use our time, how quickly it slips away, and how difficult it is to reclaim – all themes the team clearly cares about. However, this time they present it through a fresh lens with completely new characters, choices, and viewpoints.

While Before Your Eyes focused on one person’s story, Goodnight Universe feels different. It’s told through the eyes of a baby, Isaac, but quickly becomes a way to see the lives of everyone around him. The game made me wonder about my own children – how they see me and the other people in their lives. What are their first memories? What key moments shaped them into who they are today? When did their smiles become truly their own, and when did their tears come from genuine sadness? Despite its fantastical elements, Goodnight Universe feels deeply real. It acknowledges that life is complicated, something even a baby understands.

The game’s complex controls sometimes lead to frustrating moments, requiring precise timing and movements. While the motion tracking is excellent, a few sections felt overly difficult and forced me to replay from checkpoints, briefly disrupting my immersion in the story. Since the game prioritizes narrative, these interruptions were unwelcome and made the pacing feel slightly less smooth than in the previous game. However, these issues weren’t major and didn’t ruin the overall experience.

This game is much more unpredictable than the first one, and I suspect many players will have a similar experience to mine: starting with certain expectations, being surprised by unexpected turns, and then finding the story circles back to where you thought it would begin, culminating in a powerfully emotional and bittersweet ending. Like the team’s previous game, Goodnight Universe plays with your expectations, but it’s bolder and more ambitious, leading to a finale that is both heartbreaking and deeply moving.

Life isn’t easy, and everyone understands that. But it’s by acknowledging this truth that the team at Nice Dream Games has created something truly special with Goodnight Universe. While the game appears simple to play, it explores surprisingly deep emotions. Though framed as the story of a baby, it’s really a reflection on life, the people we share it with, and the legacy we leave behind.

Read More

2025-11-10 20:14