Buddy Simulator 1984 encompasses different forms of gameplay, each oozing personality and is constantly evolving from start to finish. Centred around a self-aware AI that is determined to be your best friend, this retro-styled, seemingly innocent title is far from what it masquerades as. For the developers debut game, I am definitely impressed.

NOTE: I recommend going into this game blind or with as little prior information as possible, however I will refrain from major spoilers within my review. If you like similar games such as Undertale, Pony Island or Doki Doki Literature Club - Just try the free demo.


Pros
+ Forever changing gameplay style with mismatches of differing genres.
+ 4 vastly different endings.
+ Dark humour.
+ Player choice and individuality, set your favourite colour, birthday, name etc.
+ Charming, retro-style visuals.
+ Steam achievements.

Cons
- Some of the endings can be obscure to achieve.


Discussing the true and in-depth story of Buddy Simulator 1984 would be completely riddled with spoilers and thus I will be brief.

It begins with players booting up their in-game PC and running a program that shares the title of the actual game. Shortly after, we meet the AI and get to name it, followed by answering some basic questions about ourselves (favourite colour, animal etc). It is soon apparent that this new Buddy is determined to be our best friend and is already quite attached, trying to please us as much as possible. We then get to play some basic games and have a somewhat generic, but good time with our new artificial friend.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2420429869

With only minimal game options to choose from, it appears that the time with our Buddy will come to an abrupt end, yet of course, this is not the case. In holistic desperation to obtain our friendship, the AI Buddy has other ideas and brings players along on a crazy adventure that gets more bizarre by the minute.


Those who have experienced this game already may find it difficult to surmise what they had just played, and I very much agree. It is one of those titles that doesn't stick to any predefined genre stipulations, there are no real rules or consistency and there certainly is not a clear end goal. So, what is it?

Buddy Simulator is a 4th wall breaking type of interaction, masquerading as a wholesome game where we get to spend time with our best friend who exists solely for us. The gameplay styles are almost endless, ranging from text adventure, to a 2D black and white retro or even an adventure quest game with turn-based combat . Of course, there are numerous other surprises later on that I will leave unsaid.

Combat forms a large chunk of the game and is something I surely wasn't expecting but appreciated, nonetheless. Players get to choose 2 characters with different attacks, stats, and abilities to join on the journey and fight alongside them. Each member of the party takes their turn to attack or rest, doing varying damage based on the accuracy and speed of the correct key (as shown on screen as a QTE) being pressed. Similarly, this is how blocking is achieved and if timed correctly, can completely void any oncoming damage. Clearly, this is a very simple adaptation to other turn-based games, and it is not necessarily meant to be difficult, in fact, if all party members die, everyone will simply respawn with no repercussions. I found this combat style to be both enjoyable and engaging, with the goal to “do damage” to impress the enemy and befriend them, rather than kill them was quite humorous and unique.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2422146628

Importantly, the players whole experience with their buddy will differ depending on their choices. Do we accept our buddy's every word and follow them without question? Or do we try and be more combative. Are we a good person who helps other characters or do we abandon them in their time of need? These choices lead to the varying endings and provide for extensive replay value. I achieved ending number 2 and after some quick research, this appears to be the most common result. However, out of the 4 endings, some are a bit trickier to achieve and may leave some people at a loss. Replaying the whole game can be quite time consuming, but each ending is vastly unique to each other and does give a new perspective on our buddy and the surrounding lore.


Featuring simplistic, yet charming retro-style graphics, it seems to amplify feelings of innocence and give a sentimental aura. Without saying too much, not only does its gameplay constantly evolve, but so does the game universe's appearance. Beginning as a text adventure and then advancing to a 2D black and white, blocky, undetailed world, how could such a simple premise be so dark? Surely not, this is a wholesome game about friendship, is it not?

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2424463891

Similarly, the sound at the beginning is not much more than a flew blips and beeps but advances into strong crescendos and almost obnoxiously happy music during quest areas. The audio is brilliantly and dramatically utilised to bring a blunt awareness to the ups and downs of the game, especially during scenes revolving around the players relationship and attitude towards the buddy.

This game was played with the following PC specs:
Intel i5-9400 2.9 GHz
16GB RAM
GeForce RTX 2060 6GB
1920x1080 resolution
HDD
Windows 10

A description and analysis of this game is difficult to achieve, due to its oddly mismatched and forever changing gameplay, as well as being heavy in spoilers. In short, Buddy Simulator 1984 is an extremely unique experience that is far from an innocent tale about best friends and I recommend to all those reading who may have had their interest piqued and are fond of titles such as Pony Island.

This review copy was provided to the Devils in the Detail curator.

Follow my curator page, Cookie Reviews, if you enjoyed this review and want to see more like it

Buddy Simulator 1984 encompasses different forms of gameplay, each oozing personality and is constantly evolving from start to finish. Centred around a self-aware AI that is determined to be your best friend, this retro-styled, seemingly innocent title is far from what it masquerades as. For the developers debut game, I am definitely impressed. [b]NOTE:[/b] I recommend going into this game blind or with as little prior information as possible, however I will refrain from major spoilers within my review. If you like similar games such as Undertale, Pony Island or Doki Doki Literature Club - Just try the free demo. [u]Pros[/u] + Forever changing gameplay style with mismatches of differing genres. + 4 vastly different endings. + Dark humour. + Player choice and individuality, set your favourite colour, birthday, name etc. + Charming, retro-style visuals. + Steam achievements. [u]Cons[/u] - Some of the endings can be obscure to achieve. [h1]Story[/h1] Discussing the true and in-depth story of Buddy Simulator 1984 would be completely riddled with spoilers and thus I will be brief. It begins with players booting up their in-game PC and running a program that shares the title of the actual game. Shortly after, we meet the AI and get to name it, followed by answering some basic questions about ourselves (favourite colour, animal etc). It is soon apparent that this new Buddy is determined to be our best friend and is already quite attached, trying to please us as much as possible. We then get to play some basic games and have a somewhat generic, but good time with our new artificial friend. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2420429869 With only minimal game options to choose from, it appears that the time with our Buddy will come to an abrupt end, yet of course, this is not the case. In holistic desperation to obtain our friendship, the AI Buddy has other ideas and brings players along on a crazy adventure that gets more bizarre by the minute. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] Those who have experienced this game already may find it difficult to surmise what they had just played, and I very much agree. It is one of those titles that doesn't stick to any predefined genre stipulations, there are no real rules or consistency and there certainly is not a clear end goal. So, what is it? Buddy Simulator is a 4th wall breaking type of interaction, masquerading as a wholesome game where we get to spend time with our best friend who exists solely for us. The gameplay styles are almost endless, ranging from text adventure, to a 2D black and white retro or even an adventure quest game with turn-based combat . Of course, there are numerous other surprises later on that I will leave unsaid. Combat forms a large chunk of the game and is something I surely wasn't expecting but appreciated, nonetheless. Players get to choose 2 characters with different attacks, stats, and abilities to join on the journey and fight alongside them. Each member of the party takes their turn to attack or rest, doing varying damage based on the accuracy and speed of the correct key (as shown on screen as a QTE) being pressed. Similarly, this is how blocking is achieved and if timed correctly, can completely void any oncoming damage. Clearly, this is a very simple adaptation to other turn-based games, and it is not necessarily meant to be difficult, in fact, if all party members die, everyone will simply respawn with no repercussions. I found this combat style to be both enjoyable and engaging, with the goal to “do damage” to impress the enemy and befriend them, rather than kill them was quite humorous and unique. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2422146628 Importantly, the players whole experience with their buddy will differ depending on their choices. Do we accept our buddy's every word and follow them without question? Or do we try and be more combative. Are we a good person who helps other characters or do we abandon them in their time of need? These choices lead to the varying endings and provide for extensive replay value. I achieved ending number 2 and after some quick research, this appears to be the most common result. However, out of the 4 endings, some are a bit trickier to achieve and may leave some people at a loss. Replaying the whole game can be quite time consuming, but each ending is vastly unique to each other and does give a new perspective on our buddy and the surrounding lore. [h1]Graphics & Audio[/h1] Featuring simplistic, yet charming retro-style graphics, it seems to amplify feelings of innocence and give a sentimental aura. Without saying too much, not only does its gameplay constantly evolve, but so does the game universe's appearance. Beginning as a text adventure and then advancing to a 2D black and white, blocky, undetailed world, how could such a simple premise be so dark? Surely not, this is a wholesome game about friendship, is it not? https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2424463891 Similarly, the sound at the beginning is not much more than a flew blips and beeps but advances into strong crescendos and almost obnoxiously happy music during quest areas. The audio is brilliantly and dramatically utilised to bring a blunt awareness to the ups and downs of the game, especially during scenes revolving around the players relationship and attitude towards the buddy. [h1]Technical[/h1] [quote][b]This game was played with the following PC specs:[/b] Intel i5-9400 2.9 GHz 16GB RAM GeForce RTX 2060 6GB 1920x1080 resolution HDD Windows 10[/quote] [h1]Conclusion[/h1] A description and analysis of this game is difficult to achieve, due to its oddly mismatched and forever changing gameplay, as well as being heavy in spoilers. In short, Buddy Simulator 1984 is an extremely unique experience that is far from an innocent tale about best friends and I recommend to all those reading who may have had their interest piqued and are fond of titles such as [i]Pony Island.[/i] This review copy was provided to the Devils in the Detail curator. [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34936724][quote]Follow my curator page, [b]Cookie Reviews[/b], if you enjoyed this review and want to see more like it