Goodnight Universe - Switch 2 Review

Ever looked at a baby and thought to yourself, “I wonder what’s going through that tiny little head…”? Well, in Goodnight Universe, you don’t need to wonder, as you are the baby and your thoughts narrate the game’s story as it unfolds. Your name is Isaac and… you’re special. I mean, I know everyone says, “Who’s my special little guy?”, but seriously, Isaac is special. With grandpa just passing, leaving behind a notebook of strange symbols and you learning how to use these symbols to control the world around you, it begs the question of just how deep your powers go and, more importantly, where they came from.

The Good

The entirety of Goodnight Universe’s story unfolds through the eyes of the protagonist and is narrated by them. From the very beginning, the narrator suggests something bigger, being described all from a first-person past tense perspective. It all hints towards a much more grandiose plot to be unfolded and it certainly delivers in many ways the player won’t expect. I’m, of course, not going to spoil anything, but the plot unfolds in so many fascinating ways that I was hooked from start to finish.

The primary mechanic here is in the protagonist’s telekinetic powers. It starts off simple, wanting to help his family with household chores in order to help give back, but it soon grows much bigger than that. The mechanic is quite simple in its execution, with a checklist in the bottom-left corner, but it’s all quite clever in its execution. 

The voice acting here is something special. I had to look up who these actors were, and while I don’t recognise the names, I can see that many of them have been cast in some quite reputable work. The narration from baby Isaac, voiced by Lewis Pullman is a masterclass of delivery. Not once did I feel that any line was delivered out of turn or in any way against the grand intention. I mentioned I was gripped from start to finish, and the stellar voice work played a huge part in that.

TL;DR

• A wonderfully creative plot
• Clever telekinetic powers
• A masterclass in voice acting

The Bad

While the telekinetic powers are a cool mechanic, they can certainly feel a little clumsy at times. There were plenty of moments where I was holding the ZR trigger down and fiddling around with the left analogue stick as the tutorial suggested, but there were multiple times when nothing happened, and there was no indicator as to what I was (and was supposed to be) doing. I would always get there in the end, but only through basic trial and error.

At least from what I can tell, there doesn't seem to be any mouse controls, which is a shame because everything you do gameplay-wise is with a cursor. I found some hints that it may be coming in the future, but it was difficult to track down anything definitive or concrete. It just feels like a strange omission, even if temporary.

TL;DR

• Controls are a little clumsy
• No mouse controls... for now?

Final Score: 9/10

Goodnight Universe is a masterclass in storytelling that had me gripped from start to finish. While you have plenty to do with your telekinetic powers, the core crux of the game is in its storytelling, being a prime example where the gameplay is simply a tool to move the story along. I generally tend to be one for gameplay over story, but when done right (like here, for example), it reaffirms why I love this medium of entertainment so much.

Thank you for checking out our Goodnight Universe Switch review, thank you to Skybound Games for providing the review code and thank you to our Patreon Backers for their ongoing support:

• Andrew Caluzzi (Inca Studios / Camped Out)
• Bel Cubitt
• Bobby Jack
• Jack Caven
• Nintendo Maniacs
• RedHero