Game: Bye Sweet Carole
Genre: Adventure, Indie
System: Steam (Windows) (also available for PlayStation 5, Switch, and Xbox)
Developer | Publisher: Little Sewing Machine | Maximum Entertainment
Controller Support: Yes
Price: US $24.99 | UK £20.99 | EU € 24,99
Release Date: October 9, 2025
Review code used, with many thanks to 1Up PR.
Bye Sweet Carole is a horror game animated in a Disney way to make a unique, Snow White-like game with a lot of creepy vibes. This game seemed perfect for this spooky time of year, so I was excited to dive in.
A Creepy Version of Old-School Disney Animation
While there isn’t anything overtly gory, Bye Sweet Carole is incredibly creepy with giant, scary animals chasing you. It is not for the faint of heart; it is exactly the type of horror game I love the most. It is mostly filled with creepy vibes, has a few scary things in it, but there is no viscera or jumps scares. This, coupled with the Disney look, made it one of my most anticipated games of 2025.
Most of the game takes place in a school where you are stuck; the building is being infested with tar that changes the adults and teachers into horrible monsters that will attack you on sight. There is a lot of puzzle solving while sneaking around, trying to keep from being seen by whatever is chasing you.
It has a very Silent Hill 4 feel. But unfortunately for Bye Sweet Carole, I didn’t like Silent Hill 4.
The Pros and Cons of Bye Sweet Carole
Bye Sweet Carole is probably one of the best looking games of the year. It has a gorgeous style, looking like an old 1940s or 1950s Disney movie. Everything looks hand-animated and hand-drawn. The characters are all beautiful and uniquely put together; the transitions and cutscenes are so pretty. The music and sound design is creepy and spot on for the game.
Unfortunately, it feels like Bye Sweet Carole spent all its time and budget on making the look of the game perfect while ignoring a lot of what makes a game fun to play.
The controls are floaty, the puzzles are kind of boring, and the story is generic. I really wanted to love the story, but the main character just feels so flat. The other characters you are introduced to are silly or weird, but there is nothing really unique about them. Overall, Bye Sweet Carole disappoints where it counts the most: story and immersion.
There are a lot of hiding scenes where you are better off running from the villains because you’re so much faster than they are, so the sneaking is not worth doing. There are a lot of bugs that I have read about; I only saw one or two visual bugs and one softlock, but others online have had a lot of issues.
There is a mechanic where you can turn from a human into a bunny, and it feels like the game didn’t really utilise it in a way that is interesting. I managed to get through several chapters, but I couldn’t finish Bye Sweet Carole.
What I Hope Changes
In order for this game to be worth the price tag, I think there are a plethora of things that could be changed. Here are some thoughts I have that could probably improve my overall score of Bye Sweet Carole.
Of course, fixing the bugs would make this a much better game. The sneaking sections could be improved by giving more of a warning that the enemy is coming toward you. And it would help if there were a little bit more interesting interactions with the bunny transformation. I don’t think holding your breath really does anything. If it did, I couldn’t tell. It should be a little more obvious that the mailbox is a checkpoint.
Conclusion
Bye Sweet Carole is fine, but it doesn’t live up to the hype. Overall, it’s just aggressively fine; it’s not super fun to play, but it is really gorgeous. I hope the developers keep working on this game.
Final Verdict: I’m Not Sure
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