Bye Sweet Carole: PS5 Review 

Developed by Little Sewing Machine
Released by Maximum Entertainment
Platform: PS5

Games within the horror genre are usually confined to a series of orchestrated jump scares and also a feeling of claustrophobia.

It's a genre which has served the gaming world well for a long time, and every once in a while, a new game comes along that tries something different. That game this time is Bye Sweet Carole, a horror-fantasy 2D adventure that shows there's reason to be optimistic about the swathe of titles hitting that spot.

In this latest, players are thrust into a hauntingly beautiful realm where dark fairy tales and nightmarish realities intertwine. Following the story of Lana Benton, a courageous young girl on a desperate search for her missing friend, Carole, in the ominous Bunny Hall orphanage, the game is a beautifully hand-crafted story that looks like no other titles out currently.

There's a lot of dialogue in the game as the title plays out, and that may put players off who are looking for a quick fix and an easy story. But with themes of grief and loss, there's a sense here of something developing and bubbling away, rather than simply shifting into easy gratification. 

As a result, Bye Sweet Carole won't be for everyone, and while occasionally the controls feel a little difficult to manoeuvre Lana around, the game generally has solid gameplay and works well across its 10 chapter structure. Mixing in puzzles as it goes, Bye Sweet Carole makes a case for something completely difficult in the genre - and while some of the points of entry are locked behind cutscenes, patience does pay off here.

This is a game that rewards those willing to invest in it - that may occasionally be less than ideal, but it's worth the time to play something that looks and feels different.