Bird Game + is an adventure simulation from Ratalaika Games. You play a bird heading south for the winter. As you migrate, the world creates itself in front of you – and what a world it is.

When I saw the trailer for this game, I was super intrigued and knew right off the bat I’d be terrible at this game. I wanted to give it a try though and I had way more fun than I thought I would. In addition to the story mode, there’s an endless mode where the gameplay is the same as the story but instead, you’re just trying to get as far as you can without the bosses. It was fun, but I stuck with the story mode for the bosses.

In a third-person view as the bird, you’re crossing over a vast ocean attempting to dodge various creatures and obstacles such as spiders, ladybugs, flowers, and logs. Also, the water – if you end up in the water it’s an instant kill since you drown. However, I played in easy mode (because I wasn’t confident in my gaming skills) and the health points seemed to be infinite. I got hit a lot and the only time I died was when I drowned. Even then, there are no consequences. You respawn at the last checkpoint in the level and the checks aren’t too far apart from each other.

The controls took some getting used to since this is a flying simulation. However, the game eases you into it. For the first level, you basically learn how to fly and dodge the objects in front of you. The boss reflects on what you’ve learned before moving onto the next level. There you learn how to pick things up, which is used against the second boss. You also learn how to dash a little and so on. It’s easy to control once you get used to it and the ease into such a calming game works perfectly.

The gameplay overall was totally fun. I got really into the game despite it being calm and relaxing. I cheered on my little bird friend – especially during the boss battles – loud and proud to the point my dog and cat got so annoyed with me that they couldn’t bear to remain in my office with me. It’s a short game, but I’m looking forward to seeing how my friends enjoy. I can see myself playing this game again to see how far I can go in the endless mode or just trying to beat my personal best time in the story mode – each level times you to see how long it takes to beat, though there are no consequences or rewards for hitting a certain time.

What I love most about this game are the aesthetics. The graphics style mimics hand-drawn pictures and they appear in front of you in a flowing manner. Everything is black and white as well. When I first saw the style I thought it looked boring, for lack of a better way to describe it. However, the style really works and it’s less distracting in a way. There is a dark mode you can play where it’s still black and white, but they’re just reversed – everything is black and the outlines are white. I preferred the light mode. The music was just as well as it’s meant to be calming and serene. Of course, as I said earlier, I got too into the game, so I was talking to myself and shouting a lot over the music to really pay attention to it.

Bird Game + was a much better game than I expected it to be. After a bit of a learning curve, I really got into the game and was pretty good at it too. This is a great game to test out if you want to try something a little different but not too hefty on the gameplay, story, or controls. It’s just a well-made game all over.