Buddy Simulator 1984

Have you ever wanted to see how gaming has evolved over the years? This game displays the evolution of games through the ages. You start with a hybrid of DOS/Windows 3.0 games like tic tac toe and hangman. Your “Buddy” then gets bored of the system and default games so they evolve them to create a text based adventure. Upon completing this, the ‘Buddy’ unlocks a Black & White RPG adventure.

Your buddy acts as the creator of the journey you go on, upgrading in intelligence as each expansion goes on. It has a neat detail of changing details based on how you answer the questions, like the OS background becomes your favorite color. Occasionally minor “glitches” happen that do things like distort music or flash a gory image effect. The effects build in duration and intensity over the course of the plot. I really like the fast changing style of the genre as games often stretch out predictable plots because they’ve run out of ideas. The changing of genres keeps the game fresh and fun.

Clearly this buddy doesn’t know me or there would be an orange you glad to see me pun.

Through my whole time playing, I never knew what direction the gameplay, much less the story, was going to go. The text-based adventure section, heart pounding music, and atmosphere made me feel like a jump-scare was coming. I was so sure that at one point my hands hovered over ALT-F4 ready to strike in case I was in danger of being unable to sleep after. In contrast, the Early Windows section felt more like I was using one of the many assistants of the time designed to make the internet feel more welcoming (BonaziBuddy anyone). Each segment feeling like a small story of its own really maximized the impact of every moment.

Unfortunately, when I went to reload my save after a couple hours of playing, I could no longer pick yes or no on the menus. Ironically, this followed an accessibility patch that made combat more accessible by removing reaction time from the equation, which was a very important change for my cerebral palsy. The game is very unique and innovates very nicely on a indie adventure game. If you like adventure games and/or games with an old school vibe. Buddy adventure 1984 (set in 1982 for some reason) is a solid choice.