This rather exquisitely pieced together indie game is by Italian indie devs Little Sewing Machine, founded by artist Chris Darril. It’s available on all consoles and PC and launched in October 2025.

It plays like a Disney animated classic (think Cinderella from 1950), all of it hand-drawn with lush narrative-driven horror elements. It’s quite the technical marvel, even if the gameplay can be somewhat lacking at times.

Playing an Animated Movie in Bye Sweet Carole

This isn’t the first game we’ve played like this, with the cinematic adventure platformer Forgotton Anne (2018) charming us big time a while back. That offered a Studio Ghibli type experience. Bye Sweet Carole isn’t as good as that, but its cinematic sweep is more impressive.

There’s also the adventure game Harold Halibut (2024), a stop-motion title that plays out like a Wallis & Gromit film.

Here we also have a game-film thing is heavily narrative driven. Set in early 20th century England, players follow the adventures of young orphan Lana Benton on a mission to find her missing friend (Carole). This sends her off into an Alice in Wonderland type surreal, nightmarish adventure through the kingdom of Corolla.

It’s a the type of game you can just watch unfold, it’s very cinematic. If you have a spare five hours (the gameplay length), this is something to indulge.

There’s also an impressive orchestral score, with the project overseen by Italian composer Luca Balboni. He keeps the music in line with 1940s era Walt Disney scores, the likes of Bambi pieced together by Frank Churchill and Edward H. Plumb.

The novelty factor of Bye Sweet Carole is that distinctive visual style. As striking as it is, the shame is in its dank underground setting. Much of the gameplay experience is set in murky conditions, so it’s not quite as enjoyable as it could be.

Gameplay wise, the good is pretty solid. It’s a cut back platformer with puzzle elements, but the joy comes with interacting in what is a Disney movie. You’re in Bambi! Omg!

Gaming press reaction to the title is mixed, with reviews around the 7/10. We do echo that, as the technical marvel of this indie project is to be lauded. All of it hand-drawn and it, on the whole, looks great. Yet the gameplay experience is nothing memorable.

Definitely one to recommend for indie game fans looking for a distinct title in their collection. But away from that, the core game mechanics are unremarkable.