Good Bones

Poorly written: not worth your time or money.

I keep flip-flopping on whether to check off the 'yes' or 'no' for whether I recommend this game. i wish there was an "Eh?" middle option. This game is very short, with very little going on. Almost everything is clickable, and will give you some kind of dialogue, mostly to tell you that there's nothing useful about the thing you clicked on. Except...maybe later there will be but there's nothing to indicate this. Every time I clicked on the fridge we talked about how we had no intention of ever looking in the fridge. Be really unfortunate if something later on would require you to look in the fridge...oh wait. It's less of a hidden object game and more of a 'Any time you need to find something new, you have to click on every object until you find the right one, which was very likely -not- indicated by the previous times you clicked on it' game. Also lots of weird flag-setting issues, where, long after you know lots about the people who lived in the house, you're still getting the dialogue you got at the very start when everything was a mystery. That said, what story is there is an interesting story. It has worthwhile things to say, and says them well. The relationship between Avi and Bianca was well done, but the whiplash nature of the flag setting problems made it hard to feel it. A major emotional moment would happen between them as a story beat, and then you'd click on an object that prompted goofy joke dialogue. I know it's a limit of the format, but when the whole game is only 2 hours long, every time this happened, there wasn't enough meat to make up for it before you clicked on 50 things for the 50th time and got all the jokes. The nature of the story gets incredibly serious incredibly fast, and then takes a pretty dark turn, but you've still got the chill lo-fi music playing even in the middle of a horrifying crisis. Two or three more tracks in the soundtrack so you could actually communicate the tone that goes along with "You're investigating a mysterious death" would have added a lot to the game. I never re-play narrative games to "see all the outcomes". I prefer there to be one canonical playthrough that is 'the way this happened' so there was no chance I was going to run through this again to 100% it, but given that, as part of getting every achievement you have to [spoiler]literally fail to talk your 10 year old child down from killing herself[/spoiler] I am -very- not ever playing through it again. I can't even imagine how the game could have even a dissatisfying end after that happens, given that the 'good ending' ends like....30 seconds after that same point, but boy do I not want to try and find out. Ironically, there -are- good bones to this game, just...it's not enough. Buy it on a 50%+ sale, or if you're just desperate for any narrative game with even a nod towards any kind of diversity, but otherwise I think you're in for disappointment.

A heartstring-pulling story about a mother and daughter dealing with their grief as they help a ghost deal with an abusive past. Has a mix of visual novel storytelling, seek-and-find gameplay, and some puzzles. Got a little teary-eyed, and had to play twice to get the good ending.

Good Bones is the first game released by Indie Game Dev RETCON Games. An original story driven point-and-click mystery set in a spooky house in a small town. The game features an inclusive narrative with intention to give a voice to the gamers that are often overlooked by mainstream gaming. The story is tight without a lot of fluff and bloat. It gets you where you need to be without unneeded detours. There are choices to be made and, judging by the tag "Choices Matter" and the fact that I am missing a few achievements, there is opportunity to replay and experience a different outcome. From a technical perspective the game is as one would expect from this genre of game. Almost everything is clickable to get some flavor and most things can be interacted with multiple times at various stages of the game for more flavor as the plot unravels. A few technical upgrades I would like to see from future games would be to have some animation to the world. Things like trees rustling in the wind, clouds floating by, and interactable objects animate when interacting. I think it would help make the game feel more alive. I would also like to see (or hear) material based sound effects applied to the environment. That is, when you click on paper you hear paper, when you click water you hear splashes, soft stuff sounds soft, and hard stuff sounds hard. I think that would help immerse the senses. If you are a fan of the genre, want a tightly packaged story without endless drivel, and are a supporter of Indie Devs and of the underrepresented gamer groups, pick up Good Bones.

"Good Bones" is a captivating point-and-click mystery game that masterfully pays homage to Latino heritage while tackling significant themes such as domestic violence and grief. I'm currently on my second playthrough, and while it may not be flawless, the developers have struck a fine balance in making complex subjects accessible to players as young as tweens. This game provides more than just an immersive gaming experience; it also conveys a profound message. Hats off to the developers for their commitment to raising social awareness and promoting cultural diversity.

It's a great little cozy visual novel with point-and-click gameplay. This would be great to play with friends one evening during a cozy gathering with snacks, or on a stream with pals. My biggest lament is that there were things that I wish I could have explored more or that were expanded - maybe a later release or a bonus chapter? However, the story wraps itself up neatly, so it seems tricky to work more in. I liked that you, the player character, had adult problems with no easy solution. There are a couple of minor logical errors with flags that occurred about 1/3 of the way through the game, but they didn't stop my gameplay, were only relevant for about a minute, and seem easily fixable. [spoiler] 1) Before you let Bianca into the studio, she'll still participate in conversations about objects. 2) Once you uncover the birthday card while looking for Rosa's name, both you and Bianca will know it before finding the bracelet itself. This actually spoiled me for the name, but as I said, only for a few seconds before I went up and checked the basket.[/spoiler] Also, [spoiler] how'd I beat the game and get the cheevo for clearing chapter 7 without getting the cheevo for chapter 6? Maybe it depends on my route.[/spoiler]

I just finished playing this game, and I cannot recommend the game more! It is incredibly well written and such a heartbreaking story. I truly love every second. Though if you do get it, don't be like me an actually investigate the world at every stage of the game! Could have saved myself some confusion :D!! Only thing I wish was that some of the hints maybe also give you a clue as to something linked to the hint. If you play the game and aren't someone who truly clicks on basically everything, you will get what I mean! But honestly, even that didn't take away from the experience for me. It did really make my appreciate the little details and comments the characters make!!

A very emotional story with a great sound track. I had a lot of fun clicking around the house and reading all the flavor text on the items. Loved the sense of humor. Thought for sure I made bad choices and was going to get the bad ending.

It's hard to say nice things about this game. Well, the art style is cute and music is nice and chill. Puzzles were easy enough and I liked how fast could go through all dialogue, when tried to play second time and have different ending (that I didint). Story was so.. meh. And I've not hated a character long time as much as the daughter. Actually, all characters were shallow and I still dont understand what I should've said to make daughter less unbearable. I expected to meet more characters and start a new life in this small town.

Good Bones is the first outing by studio Retcon Games. It swaddles you with vibrant visuals, chill lofi beats, and quirky characters. As you settle in for an evening of cozy exploring the experience begins to unfold. The taught relationship between a Mother and a Daughter. A mysterious house where the clues begin to suggest murder myserious! Buried guilt and trauma? It's got visitors, not all of them welcome. It's got basements, spiders, and ropes. Secret combinations, sneaky hiding spots, and mysterious doodles. Point yourself in the right direction and click your way through 2 ( at least) endings, countless doodads with text that shifts as you progress, and a story with stakes that rise to a fever pitch as the barrier between the realm of the living and dead begins to weaken. A big shoutout to the developer, I never thought I'd see the end of a Point-and-click title. I did NOT get frustrated by opaque sequences and puzzles. I did NOT begin to fall asleep because of lack of progression. I did NOT get frustrated and uninstall. The pace is good, the difficulty is liesurely, and your time as a player is respected like it should be. This title might be my gateway to exploring the genre further, something I did not think possible before I played Good Bones. Additional kudos to a first time developer releasing a finished title that doesn't crash, doesn't have crazy performance issues, and the bugs are so minor you'd miss them if you weren't looking. This is a rare thing in 2023. Finally, this title has my CRT gaming endorsement. Fire your favorite monitor up and run it as low as 800x600 to feast your eyes on that 90s PC look. The game's artwork and scanlines are a match made in heaven. Rob says 5 stars, Check it out.