Hello Goodboy gives a glimpse of what it's like to step into the afterlife and be reunited with a four-legged friend. Coco the dog put the biggest smile on my face; the developers absolutely nailed it with his visual and audio design. I enjoyed the journey in this game, and the art style is the perfect encapsulation of a children's storybook.

I couldn't help but wish for a bit more from it, though. While I absolutely loved the message at its core, it presented itself too vaguely, leaving too much room for interpretation. Also, I don't mind the short length of the game (I often prefer it), but the developers intend for you to only visit 2 of the 4 areas in a single playthrough and then visit the other 2 on a New Game+ playthrough. With such a short length (it took me about an hour and a half), I would have preferred the game take 3 hours for a single playthrough and visit all of the areas. The decisions the game offers are hardly choices at all, but I still felt pleased with making Coco happy each time.

Hello Goodboy was so close to being an easy recommendation from me, but it just slightly missed what I was hoping it would be. Still, I can see it being a perfect bite-sized journey for a parent and child playing together.