Goodnight Universe review: all the world, in a baby’s palm

Goodnight Universe is a rare game, buoyed by novel, compelling ideas that define a bright and adventurous story. You play as Isaac, a six-month old baby locked in a strange conundrum: while he is seemingly a regular baby in every aspect, he’s starting to develop psychic powers, and his mind is far advanced beyond his body.

Inside, he has a complexity of feelings, all carefully, warmly enunciated by actor Lewis Pullman. He brings a gravitas to Isaac’s situation, and an understanding of the frustration and confusion that accompany his thoughts.

He understands that to cry at a small slight is illogical, but he’s lost to the whims of his small baby mind, and gives in anyway. He understands he should be satisfied watching Gilbert the Goat on television, but there’s something in the inanity of the character’s bleats that he finds grating.

In the game’s opening moments, you understand Isaac so completely. While his circumstances are unique, the feeling of needing to break out, to achieve more than your station, certainly isn’t.

Utilising the game’s eye tracking features (which are completely optional) also adds to that sense of self-identification, as you find yourself in the shoes of a baby who desperately wants to understand himself, and the new world he finds himself in.

And then, the world of Goodnight Universe gets stranger

Amidst these complex feelings of inner turmoil, Isaac’s world begins to get stranger, as his newly-formed intelligence attracts the attention of a creepy surveillance tech company who believes he’s destined for greater things.

There is a larger story couched within Goodnight Universe, about the overreaching of companies like this, and the deluded ambitions of billionaire tech bros with a god complex, but the narrative maintains balance, ensuring Isaac and his inner mysteries remain the focus.

And while there are elements of the fantastical as these secrets unravel, deft writing means the game remains grounded, couched in Isaac’s nature as a baby, whose family loves him. It’s not a game specifically about magic and wonder, but more about the connections we form in our short time on earth, and the glue that binds families together.

Watch the trailer for Goodnight Universe.

Even as Isaac manifests mind-reading abilities, and discovers a cavalcade of stressors pressuring his father, mother and sister, Goodnight Universe focusses on the power of love to overcome this.

Isaac is, at one point, implied to be a God – yet even with his tiny baby brain working over time, he understands this as falsity, and grasps the concept that, more important than embracing the universe and the stars, is keeping his family together.

A wild mystery remains grounded and artful

There are times when Goodnight Universe threatens to go off the rails, as it central mystery advances, when the fantastical creeps too far in. But with time, even its wilder aspects are contextualised in real world circumstances, allowing gravity to sink in.

This is a game that understands its purpose so clearly. The narrative may borrow occasionally from common tropes, but as each chapter dawns, Goodnight Universe feels more and more like its own thing, with clarity in its intentionality, and how it invites players into its narrative.

As plot threads unravel and you begin to see the heart of this story, you learn that while this is a game about a psychic baby, like Isaac, it hides its own secrets. In the folds of its plot, you’ll find a warm, layered experience that charts the real world and the more fantastical, sharing a message about the need for human connection, and the beauty inherent in the world.

It’s a message we could all do with a clear reminder of lately, and Goodnight Universe delivers it with a deft touch.

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