When dealing with games that have a strong narrative basis, I tend to try not to give away very much, whether I enjoyed them or not. So often the magic in games like this is the sense of discovery, and the enjoyment I get out of them is usually tied to knowing absolutely nothing about them going in, so I’m not inclined to deprive anyone of the same. In the case of Goodnight Universe, what you’ll want to know is that you’ll be playing from the perspective of a baby named Isaac… who just may happen to have some psionic powers.

The strength of the experience, from start to finish (roughly a handful of hours), comes from how heavily the game leans on its characters, including Isaac himself since your thoughts are also narrated. If it weren’t for some great scripting and effective voice acting work, this game wouldn’t have come together anywhere near as well as it did. Rather than getting sucked up completely in the novelty of what your character can do, that’s just a part of what makes it special. In particular, as a parent, the way Isaac comes to understand his parents, their flaws, and their struggles was very touching and it really took the game to the next level for me. Sure, the nefarious troubles that come your way offer their own narrative flair, and fun, but for me the family interactions remain the game’s highlight.

Now, one major disappointment is knowing what we missed out on, though at some point that may change. Since this game was has been released on the Switch 2, which includes support for the Switch camera, it’s a shame that you aren’t able to use eye tracking to control Isaac as has been done in the PC release. Don’t get me wrong, the controls work well enough, and honestly your interactions with the world are generally simple enough that they’re more than adequate. That said, using a different and distinctive means of control to experience the game as well could have really made it stand out. Since for the most part the story is advanced by you simply working out what you should be focusing on next, even if the tracking controls were relatively primitive I’d imagine they could add some real novelty, so we’ll hope to see support for that added at some point. That disappointment aside, if you’re down for a story that offers up some surprises, and quite a lot of heart and feels concerning family, this is a great choice.