Sometimes truly bizarre ideas take a while to find an audience. Such is the case of the 2D point and click horror adventure, Bulb Boy. The project first came to light when the developers released a Kickstarter campaign in June 2014. Despite having an intriguing idea and an awesome art style, the game failed to raise its $40,000 funding goal. Fortunately the developers, Bulb Boy Team (now Bulbware) weren’t ready to give up just yet.
During the funding campaign, Bulb Boy had managed to garner the attention of a few big YouTube personalities. Felix Kjelberg (Pewdiepie) had such a favorable impression of the game that he stepped up to fund its development in Fall of 2014. Just over one year after it failed to receive funding on Kickstarter, Bulb Boy was released to positive reviews on PC and Mac.
This is exactly what it looks like.
The game tells the story of our protagonist, Bulb Boy. A young boy with a literal light bulb for a head. One dark and spooky night, Bulb wakes from a nightmare to discover that his GRANDPAraffin and Mothdog have disappeared and that his house is now haunted by unspeakable abominations. Bulb will need to solve puzzles and learn skills to defend himself as he explores the mansion. Along the way players will encounter flashbacks and clues that reveal more of the game’s story.
Goofy, Gross, and Good
Players loved the game’s gross offbeat humor layered over the eerie settings full of horrifying monsters. So much so, that the team was able to release an updated mobile version for iOS and Android in 2016. Still a niche, oddball of a title, the game slowly amassed a small, but dedicated following.
All of this has lead up to this month’s release of Bulb Boy on Nintendo Switch. Despite having a relatively short run-time, Switch owners have already begun to embrace the quirky game. Some have even drawn comparisons between Bulb Boy and Cartoon Network’s creepy, Courage the Cowardly Dog for its gross-out art style blended with humor and horror. If that sounds like your kind of game, then for $8.99 you really can’t go wrong with this title.
