Goodnight Universe

Genre: Interactive Story

Players: 1

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Review:

Goodnight Universe is an Interactive Story game released in 2025 on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2, with a Nintendo Switch version of the game releasing a month later that same year (with no upgrade path). In this game, players take the perspective of a baby, Isaac, who comes to realize he can do things other babies can’t, but must reconcile this realization with the fact that he still has limitations that come from being a baby, and is seen by others around him as just a baby.

I’m trying to be careful about how I talk about this, to avoid story spoilers. At the outset, it’s unclear if Isaac truly is all that extraordinary, or if we’re looking at a case of unreliable narrator. That first-person narration, provided by Lewis Pullman, evokes the Look Who’s Talking series of films which had a similar odd juxtaposition of an adult narrating the thoughts or “speech” of an infant. However, while those films aim to use this concept for humor, Goodnight Universe leans more in the direction of the contemplative and dramatic.

Isaac thinks deeply about his own existence and life in general, his frustrations at the limitations of being a baby, his role within his family, and the struggles his family is going through, unaware that Isaac is fully aware of their issues and wants to help but can’t really do much since… well, he’s a baby. His mother is still shaken by the memory of events that endangered Isaac’s life when he was a newborn. His father is struggling to deal with the stresses that come with being a father. And his teenage sister Cleo is fighting to hold on to memories of her late grandfather that her parents would rather forget, while also coming into her own as a tech whiz but struggling to get her parents to see things from her perspective.

I really liked the characters in this game, particularly Isaac and Cleo. However, even with the other characters, who can often be depicted in a somewhat cartoony manner, I think this game’s story does a good job of balancing the “adults are useless” storytelling trope with the very real problems that adults and particularly parents need to contend with in their lives. And every character is well-written and wonderfully-voiced in a way that does a good job blending the game’s lighthearted elements with its more serious story moments.

The rest of the presentation uses somewhat simple 3D visuals with stylized cartoony characters. It works, but seems somewhat lacking to me, and definitely doesn’t seem like something that would require the power of the Nintendo Switch 2. These visuals are joined by a soundtrack that’s generally more understated and in the background, placing the focus more on the story and the gameplay.

Speaking of gameplay, most of the gameplay here involves looking at things, and I mean that literally as this game was conceived as a VR game where players made choices by looking at floating words representing those choices. Gradually, you do gain the ability to interact with the environment, and I think this is one of the weaker elements of the game, as it’s not really clear much of the time how you’re meant to do these interactions or what they will actually result in doing. This generally involves placing the center of the screen on an icon that appears, holding a button, and swiping in a direction, though this mechanic can be fiddly and not always act how you want or expect it to. There’s also no mouse mode controls and no gyroscopic motion controls here, even when sometimes it seems like that might be more appropriate.

Thankfully for the game, precision controls and responding to events in a timely manner aren’t usually important for progression, and the focus here is mainly on the story, which is generally pretty compelling. I know a story about the experiences of a baby may not seem like especially fascinating tale, but without getting spoilery, suffice it to say I think this unique perspective makes for a delightful story that’s well worth playing through. Goodnight Universe takes about 3-4 hours to complete, and for its $20 price tag I think that’s probably decent, and I think fans of interesting stories should definitely give this game a look.

tl;dr – Goodnight Universe is an Interactive Story game that has players taking the role of an extraordinarily intelligent baby, contemplating his life and existence, and the struggles his household is going through. The characters and story here are really compelling, and while the gameplay leaves something to be desired, that doesn’t stop this from being a unique and wonderful experience that’s worth playing through.

Grade: B+

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