Hello Goodboy Review (PC)

I’m concentrating hard, eye closed, to try and guess the shape a pile of bricks in a lovely wooden home should take to become a stove. As I’m surfing the frequencies of my mind the object is beginning to come into view, a little slowly. I finally manage to set the shape, getting some encouragement from Coco the dog.

I know what I’m aiming for so now it’s time to whip out the magic toolbox and its special tools. They are designed to work regardless of material or the task at hand, transforming every work action into a few easy-to-digest Quick Time Events. After a few short minutes of hitting Space at the right time, the stove is rebuilt in the kitchen and the corruption around it is gone. I give Coco a quick belly rub to celebrate the moment and then explore some new dialogue options.

Now I need to give grandma, who until now was sleeping in the cold on the porch, some time to cook a special dish. So I go to meet the geese family and help them solve a puzzle. It’s nothing too complicated and once that’s done there nothing left to do but return to the grandma to see what she has prepared. I will have to make a big decision that will drain my Magic Hourglass.

Hello Goodboy is developed by Rolling Glory Jam and published by Freedom Games. I played on the PC on Steam. This is an adventure game with a touching story and some interesting narrative moments.

+4more

The story starts with a young boy who finds himself in a new land, unable to remember his name but capable of talking to a dog called Coco. The canine names him Iko and explains that this is a magical place that features four doors. All of them lead to lands based on the four seasons of the year and a magic hourglass will give him the power to travel there and then make meaningful choices.

The dog also gives our hero a magic tool kit, as well as his choice from an assortment of drinks. So armed, players will embark on an adventure that involves talking, some light puzzles, and a few big decisions.

Hello Goodboy tackles some weighty themes, including loss and how people (or in this case, creatures) should value each other. But it does this with a light touch, without big speeches or complex moral choices. As long as Iko does the right thing and helps those who need it, things will turn out all right. The writing is direct and uses simple terms, although I didn’t like that some lines were featured twice, once in normal dialogue and then again when players choose to interact with the dog. And, yes, at any time you can rub Coco's belly or hug it.

He can travel to four realms and they are all structured the same. There’s an area affected by corruption, which will elicit some new dialogue from Coco. To deal with the black pools, players will have to use tools from the magic toolbox. This leads to Quick Time Events that simulate things like chopping wood, sawing logs, hitting things with a hammer, or driving in screws. These are low-complexity challenges and they can generate no frustration.

All the levels also feature a family of animals that have a small problem that can only be dealt with by solving a puzzle. Again, the difficulty level is low and there’s not much depth to their design. Finally, each of the levels features a few characters, all of them with interesting little quirks and a major situation to deal with as well as a choice involving one of the four beverages introduced at the start. Iko will have to make one big choice, which will again drain the hourglass and will affect the endgame.

Play Video

There’s variety in the gameplay but nothing here stands out. The QTE’s become repetitive quickly and the rest can feel like filler. But, given the themes of Hello Goodboy and its writing, this is a game designed to be played with or by kids. And as an introduction to the adventure genre, it mostly works as intended.

The game is pretty short, even for a player determined to interact with everything, but the strong execution will be enough for the target audience. The general pleasant atmosphere and interesting characters made me want more levels and extra interactions.

The biggest annoyance is the need to play through the entire experience twice to see all the levels, which involves some repeated interactions. This will get gamers to the true ending, which is a sign that the development team should have altered the game’s structure to include all four seasons in one run.

Hello Goodboy features just four levels but they are presented in a warm light, filled with hopefulness and cute little details. The player and his dog do not spend too much time with any character but they all have a distinctive look that hints at their personality and the way they see the world. The Coco interaction animations are all beautiful.

The game’s soundtrack also aims for coziness and hits its mark. The game is short enough that it never becomes repetitive and it makes all the featured seasons seem fun, even winter. The effects aren’t as interesting, especially the ones associated with the QTE segments.

+4more

The Good

The Bad

Conclusion