Bonbon

Bonbon is a short horror story, about your childhood.

Even if you weren't a small child in the 80s, you've been here before. Just you and your friendly toys. But this new friend... this is something you are not yet able to understand.

Adam Smith, Rock Paper Shotgun:
"a short, smart tale of domestic horror"
"Bonbon’s home, and the voice of mummy shouting from indoors, is authentic"
"the confusion between what is real and what isn’t, and what is threatening and what is malign, rings true"
"a house of horrors that hit far closer to home than most"

Jacob Geller:
"I haven't been able to get it out of my head"
"[delivers] as memorably as possible then conclude[s] while I'm still stewing over the ramifications"
"the dark contain[s] the thing you most hope it doesn't, exactly when you don't want to see it"
"the most effective jumpscare I've ever experienced"

 Matt Wales, Kotaku:
"it's ambitious, it's often fascinating, and there are elements that linger long after it's over"
"there's a lot to admire and appreciate here - from the thread of an entirely different story ... to the clarity of vision and the authentic, evocative period atmosphere"
"there's certainly enough craft and creativity here, and a lingering strangeness to this everyday terror"

If the game will not start for you, please read this:

There is an issue with the game where it will not start up properly, and you will only see a black screen. It's not 100% clear what is causing this, but it seems to be fixed by disabling your wifi or disconnecting from the internet or local network, and then restarting the game.

So if Bonbon won't start for you, please disconnect from the internet and try again.

Bonbon is a short-form domestic horror narrative (or walking sim, if you like), made in Unreal Engine 4, set in a suburban UK home in the 1980s, in which you navigate childhood events beyond your capacity to understand, and without parental context.

Play time is around 20 to 40 minutes, depending on your play-style. Progression requires the completion of some simple tasks, but it is mostly about exploring the objects and events around you. Play with mouse and keyboard, or a 360-style gamepad.

Content warnings:
Bonbon deals with grown-up themes and suggestions of child-abuse. There is no literal violence or onscreen abuse, it is entirely in the subtext.
There is one jump-scare near the end of the game.
As one player pointed out in a review, the game does contain a racial slur in the dialogue (g***y), which was carefully considered as relevant to the source material of the scene, and the setting in the UK in the 1980s.

If you purchase the DRM-free version via itch.io, you will be able to request a Steam key via the link on the download screen.

 

Recommended system specifications for Windows PC version:

• GeForce GTX 950, or equivalent/faster graphics card
• Quad-core processor, 2.5GHz or faster
• 8Gb RAM or more
• Windows 7 or later 

Thanks to Joel Goodwin for providing some very important last minute feedback!

Journalists, reviewers, tubers and streamers: you can find the press-kit here. Download keys can be requested from Pixeljam via the contact details in the press-kit.