The Day I Became a Bird review

We've all experienced our first crush. That cute girl on the bus with the cool backpack, the boy you saw across the playground playing tag with his buddies, or the kid who dumped sand down your shirt that you just couldn't stop thinking about. The Day I Became a Bird is the story of Frank, an elementary school student, and his efforts to connect with Sylvia, a new girl with an affinity for birds. 

When I first saw footage for The Day I Became a Bird, all I could think of were games like Last Day of June that were meant to be tear-jerkers, so I steeled myself. Thankfully, Frank's journey is one I think we can all identify with without it causing too much distress. 

Frank is just your average boy. Each morning he has to feed the dog, grab his stuff, and head to school. On his way there one day, he gets distracted and crashes his bike… but this gives him time to take note of the pretty girl in the park that's singing to the birds. As time goes on, he can't get his mind off her, so he hatches a plan to have her take note. He decides to create a bird suit and get close to her. 

Without giving away too much of the specifics (the game was less than 90 minutes, including time to get every achievement), I'll just say that you get to experience each step of Frank's journey towards achieving that goal. From the school to the park and beyond, you'll get to overhear Frank's friends and classmates weigh in on things as you take control to see his vision come to life. 

On top of your average day-to-day activities, you'll be required to complete increasingly complex jigsaw puzzles after each event. This is particularly notable for me, as my wife is a huge fan of puzzles and works several a day. That, combined with the young-love-based nature of the narrative, had the mechanic land at a special place for me. 

Aesthetically, like its gameplay mechanics, The Day I Became a Bird is a bit on the simplistic side. It has elementary 3-D models and adorable hand-drawn art that feels like it belongs in a children's storybook. Consequently, the game is based on a children's book of the same name by author Ingrid Chabbert which has a similar art style—an apt decision. Whether the game interests you or not, I would encourage everyone to check out Chabbert's work at your local library. 

While the game is largely straightforward in its presentation, there are a couple of levels that alter the gameplay experience from isometric navigation to 3-D on-rails segments. These moments present an interesting shift in perspective, but they also suffer from some awkward visualization issues. I found myself struggling to pick up collectibles due to the items path in 3-D space being hard to identify. 

Mechanically, there really isn't a ton going on here. You'll walk around, talk with people, collect some items, and work some puzzles. Each step gets you closer to seeing how Frank and Sylvia's story culminates. It's a short experience that knows what it's trying to portray. 

That said, The Day I Became a Bird feels like it was designed to be played as a sort of "my first game" experience. All the gameplay mechanics are hyper simplistic with little-to-no consequence for failure. If you're expecting a mature, challenging experience, you're going to be disappointed. It just doesn't have the hooks to keep adults engaged after a cursory playthrough (or, for that matter, children who are used to the heavy stimulation of a Fortnite world).