I was really exciting about trying it out, but it's unplayable on my Switch Lite, the text is way too small. I wish there was a warning that this game does not work well with some Switch models

I really wanted this game to be something special along the lines of Doki Doki Literature Club. An AI friend who develops an unhealthy obsession with you the actual player? It sounds awesome on paper. In reality this game is massively frustrating, obtuse, and not suited for console. The command interface is quaint at first until it starts replicating what made command operating systems archaic. If you make any tiny mistake when entering commands, the game simply does not function. Something as simple as an extra space makes it not work. This might seem like nitpicking, but googling Buddy Simulator brings up page after page of people asking for help just to start the game because the interface is so bad. Once you get past the interface, the game is extremely boring. First you play extremely simple games with your buddy like guess the number and rock, paper, scissors (it's as boring as it sounds) then your buddy creates increasingly more complex games for you. First is a text adventure with all the same problems of text adventures where it won't recognize common words, then a 2D adventure game a la King's Quest, then a 2D RPG a la Earthbound. What's truly bizarre is you will play these barebones games for hours with your buddy giving little to no input, making you forget what the core premise of Buddy Simulator even was. Once I got to the slow, boring turn based battles, I quit. I wanted to play a high concept indie horror game, not a watered down JRPG. In my opinion this game fails on multiple levels to achieve what it set out to do. The interface ****, the narrative ****, the gameplay ****. The developer somehow manages to take the worst parts of command based OS, text adventures, 2D adventures, and JRPGS and combine them all into one uninteresting game.

From the creators of “A Game Literally About Doing Your Taxes,” Buddy Simulator 1984 manages to weave an unsettling narrative beneath a seemingly innocent façade. The gameplay evolves as the titular Buddy attempts to be your best friend, but most mechanics are shallow compared to the themes in the story. The plot can be a little awkward and wordy at times while still being entertaining. Bugs largely hold back this game from being an easy recommendation, in which case the PC version may be the way to go.