“BBirthday,” which is short for Bianca’s Birthday, is a DreamCore visual novel game published last January that not many people know about. Despite it being in the shadows of more of the popular visual novel games, such as “Doki Doki Literature Club!,” “BBirthday” itself is a game that pushes the limit of storytelling within a restrictive and uniform genre. The game is entirely free to play on mobile platforms and it is both enjoyable to play and visually interesting.
“BBirthday” contains unique themes, dynamic characters, and even special features such as a combat system. A Visual Novel for those who haven’t heard, is an interactive story simulator that combines aspects of video games and classic storytelling to create a more customized first-person narrative.
In “BBirthday,” you must help ‘Bianca,’ navigate major life moments as she reaches her 15th birthday. Many of these events are modified in the game forcing her to face the harsh truth and see reality for what it really is.
The different scenarios/moments you can discover in the game are interesting and fun to see. For instance, during one scene a young Bianca has decided to go see her new friend Win. She leaves school and goes to the outskirts of town, where she meets up with Win. After a few days, Win and Bianca have a small race to the end of the park. Win ends up tripping towards the end of the race and his kitten, Moza, slips out of his backpack and runs off into the street. Win attempts to go catch Moza and the player is given the choice to either stop Win or let him go. This ends tragically with either Win getting hit by a car if you let him go, or his kitten getting hit if you make him to stay. Bianca is forced to go back into that memory and relive her trauma.
The game’s moments can be incredibly unsettling but heartwarming as well. For example, when Bianca reaches age 14 she has a conversation with her sister where they
talk about Sabrine’s surgery and of course, Bianca’s birthday. It’s like a realistic sibling connection: both girls are in different situations and yet still able to communicate.
Another unsettling moment in the game starts with 4 girls praying when one of them leaves to become a “sister” (like a nun) of the orphanage they’re staying at. In a different section of the game, you end up in a labyrinth where you have to find different colored keys to open a door. Behind the door, you see a girl named Elvira, who is tied up by special flower chains.
The combat system is by far one of the greatest I’ve seen since “Undertale”. It’s intuitive, gripping, and a ton of fun to use. I wouldn’t be lying when I say that the combat alone could warrant its own game.
The plot of the story is also incredibly engaging featuring lots of unexpected twists and turns, without feeling cheap or overdone. If nothing else I would suggest you play this game for the story.
BBirthday is overall an excellent game that clearly had a lot of love, effort, and care poured into it. The game’s characters are all incredibly memorable and the gameplay is captivating. Now that I’ve finished the only thing I want to do is play more.