Goodbye Review (PC)

Time isn’t on our side; it’s forever mocking us, telling us that we should be grateful for the small spouts of joy that come in the faintest of fleeting moments when we’re busy relishing the future and what could be. In Goodbye, time isn’t a friend; it’s a brittle thing—a looming reminder that life is shorter than ever, and that precious heirlooms are always worth chronicling regardless of their size or significance. Gracefully, Goodbye illustrates a story that resonates with most of us. With a sleeve of emotion, it spins a tale that we often fail to comprehend from behind the veil of ignorance. Time — how much of it do we have? Memories—a letter, a keepsake, or a small passage of dialogue — what are they worth to you?

Goodbye slots us into the frail footsteps of an elderly protagonist—a loving grandma, of all people, who yearns only for an opportunity to reconnect with their granddaughter. Alone, and nested deep within a wooded biome, the kind-spirited heroine is given a simple routine to execute—baking buns, feeding the local birds, and waiting for a message from home. But, this routine is different; it’s with another task that looms over you: to confront a mysterious figure who watches over you as you go about your business. Again, time here is short, and an emotional farewell is all too close to home. It’s time to say Goodbye. But not yet.

It goes without saying at this point, but to state the obvious, Goodbye is an emotional experience that actively chooses to discard the frills of a mechanically complex journey to pursue an intimate relationship between a caring grandma and her aspirations, hopes and dreams. It’s a short tale, but boy does it have a whole lot of heart.

In the Balance

Goodbye isn’t so much of a game as it is a conveyor of heartfelt messages and an emotional repository for valuable insights into the life of an elderly woman. As such, it doesn’t demand much of you, other than to sit down and spectate a short fifteen minute monologue whilst interacting with a handful of simple tasks. With that, there isn’t much for you to do but roll with the tide and engage with objects and other points of interest as and when necessary.

Goodbye spends its short time on the field by working up to an emotional parting point—a climax that we, as both players and human beings, know all too well. I won’t divulge any spoilers, but as the title implies, both time and farewells attribute to the general theme that the game tries so desperately hard to establish. And to give credit where it’s due, Goodbye manages to capture both of those points surprisingly well, with its tender dialogue and interactive gameplay serving as well-orchestrated stepping stones in a pocket-sized pond of emotionally-driven storytelling. Is it simple? Yes — but it does supplement its lack of gameplay mechanics with a captivating story that’s made all the more intriguing thanks to its warm atmosphere and familiar mannerisms.

Life in an Hourglass

The wooded region that Goodbye paints as its focal point isn’t teeming with interesting details, though, to give it some credit, it does foster some great dynamic weather effects and some quality mountainous vistas. The graphics, too, are both pleasant and easy on the eye, despite some minor flaws in its framework. But I can’t bring myself to complain about that, because at the end of the day, it isn’t the visual effects that blaze the trail for Goodbye; it’s the sweet dialogue and, more importantly, the message that it conveys to its audience.

To be honest, I do wish that Goodbye had more depth in its storytelling department. On the one hand, it does just enough to create a memorable tale that’s both emotionally compelling and impactful. But on the other hand, I do think that it would have benefited from a few extra minutes, if not to coerce the player into engaging with more interactive content, then to set the scene and create a clearer picture of who’s who and what’s what. Perhaps that’s just me nitpicking for the sake of it. Even still, a little extra effort would have been appreciated. Maybe a sequel will remediate these wounds — who knows?

Verdict

Goodbye delves deep into your heart to convey a short yet beautifully written message that will bring both tears to your eyes and ignite a small spark in your soul. With its carefully worded love letter to the fateful hourglass serving as its ink, it carefully brings you along for a slow yet worryingly true journey of consequential love and vitality, with its natural charm and thoughtful essence providing a bittersweet experience that’s both simple and emotionally rewarding.

While Goodbye would certainly benefit from a deeper plot that touches base on who the grandma is, or perhaps even how she came to be—isolated in a woodland grotto, that is—the short fifteen minutes that you do spend in her shoes is just enough to catch a glimpse of her routine and come to terms with her way of thinking. What’s more, it also ties the knot with an excellent farewell message and a bittersweet moral that fits the narrative remarkably well, which is a great deal more than what countless other big-budget campaigns have to offer in this day and age. Would it be better with a few extra layers? Absolutely. But then, for a free game, it still manages to boast a lot of great features and emotional value in its graceful format.

If you happen to have ten minutes to spare (and don’t mind batting away a few tears), then you should definitely take the opportunity to greet Goodbye by the hand and whisk yourself into its touching embrace. It’s short, but if you enjoy familiar stories that resonate with their audience on a personal level, then you shouldn’t turn a blind eye to this emotional love letter to unbreakable bonds and family values.