Looking at Barty’s Adventure feels like taking a step back in time. I’m suddenly a pre-teen again, playing my deeply-loved Humongous Entertainment games. While the vibes are the same, this isn’t exactly aimed at kids. Barty’s Adventure is a time-loop Metroidvania that I’ve been promised has cozy vibes.
You’ll follow Barty Bear, a toy teddy, in a world of children’s toys. You’d think that a simple toy would have simple problems, but that’s not the case for Barty. A new baby is coming in three days time, and that means Barty only has three days to save the world and prevent the Colic from returning.
During those three days, you can roll back time to the start of day one at any moment. With the help of the Bubble Fairy, you’ll be able to bring things with you like relationship statuses, quest progress, and power-ups. This will give you a unique advantage depending on the things you value.
You’ll have to explore every room in the house to find secrets, stories, and surprises — oh my! Along the way, you’ll have to battle hordes of dust bunnies, rotten food, over 40 boss battles, and a few not-age-appropriate toys — double oh my!
Barty will harness unique power-ups like a blankie, a bottle, floaties, and more! Along the way, you’ll collect puzzle pieces, letter blocks, and storybook pages as you battle your way through the house and conquer six different mini-games.
Watch the trailer for Barty’s Adventure!
There are over 300 NPCs to meet with their own likes, dislikes, and personalities. It’ll be up to Barty to maintain relationships with every toy in the game. If that sounds like a lot, wait until you learn that there are 12 romance options. You didn’t think it was possible, neither did I. But Barty can choose one of the “Old Toys” to foster a relationship with. Just be careful not to have negative interactions, or your would-be romance might just be your new nemesis, resulting in a boss battle.
This game employs a lot of non-cozy elements like heavy battles and more boss battles than I have fingers and toes in my household (excluding my cats). But it appears that you can reverse time as much as you like, and that helps soften the edges a little. Add in that you’re basically God and can wipe the memory of those you’ve wronged, and you’re kind of set up for eventual success.
You can end Barty’s Adventure any time you like by ending the three-day cycle. At that point, you’ll learn if you did enough to prepare for the dreaded Colic or not.
There is a demo available for Barty’s Adventure, so head over and try it out for yourself. If you like what you see, be sure to wishlist the game since that will help out the developers. Otherwise, stick around and check out some news on some other new games like Bad Heroes or Vivid World.
