Bye Sweet Carole Review

From the moment I first saw Bye Sweet Carole, it had me very intrigued. That very first trailer, with its stunning hand-drawn animation and vintage storybook look immediately caught my eye. It felt like watching a lost Disney film from the 1940s, except this one hid something darker beneath the surface. When I realised it wasn’t just a cute platformer but a horror-infused adventure with psychological twists, I knew I had to give it a go. It gave me the same feeling I had years ago when I first played Alice: Madness Returns, that rare, exciting blend of whimsy and dread.

You play as Lana, a young girl searching for her missing friend, Carole. Her search involving a mysterious orphanage and quickly spirals into something far more disturbing. What starts as a simple rescue story quickly unravels into a supernatural mystery that blurs the lines between innocence and corruption. The world itself feels like a children’s book turned inside out gorgeous on the surface, but hiding something rotten underneath, and I really liked that creative twist on a genre that’s typically quite light and positive. 

I was genuinely pulled in by the narrative. It’s not afraid to take its time setting things up, and even when the pacing stumbles, which it occasionally does, the underlying mystery is strong enough to keep you invested. The game constantly teases you with new clues and unsettling imagery, building that drive to figure out what’s really going on with Carole, Bunny Hall, and the strange entities haunting its halls.

The first thing everyone will notice is the art. Bye Sweet Carole looks absolutely stunning. The hand-drawn animation style is heavily inspired by classic Disney, but it twists that charm into something unnerving. Characters have that familiar soft-lined design, yet their movements and expressions are just off enough to make you unsettled when things turn dark.

The world design is equally impressive. Every backdrop looks painted by hand, full of small details that make you want to stop and stare, even while you know something horrible is probably lurking nearby. The contrast between the lighthearted art direction and the disturbing themes is the game’s secret weapon. It uses that visual innocence to make the horror hit harder. The cutscenes deserve special mention too. They’re beautifully animated, fully embracing the traditional film look, and help ground the story emotionally. Even when the gameplay slowed down, the look of the game still kept me engaged.

At its core, Bye Sweet Carole is a 2D side-scrolling adventure that mixes platforming, puzzle-solving, and light horror survival elements. You’ll explore the orphanage and beyond, searching rooms, collecting items, and solving environmental puzzles to progress. The game borrows a lot from old-school point-and-click adventures, combining and using items in clever ways to get past obstacles. That design choice gives it a nice sense of discovery, where experimentation is rewarded rather than punished.

But it’s not just about solving puzzles. The game slowly introduces its horror elements in clever ways. At first, you’re only catching glimpses of something off in the background, creatures, shadows, strange sound in another room etc. Before long, though, those things are chasing you down. The tension ramps up steadily, and I found myself genuinely nervous walking into new areas, never quite sure what I’d encounter ahead.

Then there’s Lana’s unique rabbit ability. It’s both a story twist and a gameplay mechanic, letting her transform or slip into small spaces she couldn’t reach before. This adds a fun layer of puzzle design, having you thinking about the environment in new ways. Sometimes you’ll need to use the form to sneak through small spaces or access hidden sections, which keeps exploration interesting. It’s a clever mechanic that fits the story’s surreal tone perfectly.

The enemy designs in Bye Sweet Carole walk that line of really creative and unsettling. They often resemble warped versions of storybook characters, cute on the surface, until you notice the sharp teeth, twitching movements, or those empty eyes. The fact that they exist in a world that looks so innocent makes them even more disturbing.

Some encounters are simple chase sequences where you need to outthink rather than outfight your pursuers. Others are almost like puzzles themselves, forcing you to use the environment or items in smart ways to overcome them. The game does a great job of building tension without relying on cheap jump scares. Instead, it leans on atmosphere, sound, and that creeping feeling of being watched and stalked.

The sound design is another standout. Just like the visuals, the audio blends the whimsical with the horrifying. The music can be soft and melodic one minute, then shift into something cold and unnerving the next. Every footstep, whisper, and rustle in the background contributes to the feeling that the world is alive, and not in a comforting way. When the music drops out and you’re left with almost silence, it’s genuinely unnerving. That’s when the game’s atmosphere hits hardest. 

As much as I enjoyed Bye Sweet Carole, it’s not without flaws. The biggest frustration comes from the character movement. Lana’s actions can feel a bit stiff and unresponsive at times. Simple things like climbing ledges or switching directions take longer than they should, which can make tense sequences more annoying than scary.

The depth navigation, moving between foreground and background layers, can also be clunky. Sometimes I had to shuffle around just to find the exact spot that would let me move between layers, which broke immersion more than once.

Then there are the pacing issues. The story is strong overall, but there are sections that drag. Some puzzles are confusingly designed or require a lot of backtracking through already explored areas. It’s not game-breaking on a technical level, but it does sap the momentum and adds frustration where there should be tension.

Finally, I ran into a few technical hiccups. Action prompts occasionally failed to appear. Enemies sometimes got stuck or glitched into walls and other sections of the level. Once or twice, Lana herself clipped into the environment and I had to reload my save. They’re not constant, but they’re noticeable, and in a game built on immersion, that hurts.

Final thoughts

Despite those rough edges, I came away impressed by Bye Sweet Carole. It’s one of those rare games that feels truly handcrafted, not just in its art style, but in the heart behind it. The visuals are pleasing to look at, the atmosphere is thick, and the story delivers enough intrigue and emotion to keep you pushing through.

Sure, the pacing stumbles and the gameplay isn’t always as smooth as it should be, but when everything clicks, when the music swells, the art comes alive, and the mystery deepens.

Bye Sweet Carole is a dark fairy tale that balances beauty and horror in a way few games attempt. It’s not perfect, but it’s memorable, and that counts for a lot. A hauntingly beautiful adventure with rough edges but undeniable charm.

A PS5 review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.

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