Review: Smile For Me Has Us Grinning From Ear to Ear

For better or worse, I’ve never played a game quite like Smile For Me. Sure, I’ve played plenty of point-and-click adventure games, and the game isn’t reinventing the mold with its fetch quests. But there’s something unsettling about the way the music, its cutesy 2D characters, and the nightmare fuel that is Dr. Habit. Journeying through its nightmare fuel world reminded me of reading a creepypasta late at night.

On its surface, Smile For Me isn’t designed to be scary. You won’t find monstrous zombies like you might in the Resident Evil franchise. But, I have to believe the developer LimboLane knew full-well what they were unleashing upon unexpecting gamers. The game is creepy, and that’s part of its charm. So is the cast of characters you will come across.

Smile For Me Examines Happiness and Sadness

While they may physically be two-dimensional, Smile for Me’s characters are anything but. They have a certain quirkiness that would fit well in a David Lynch horror. Discovering their different personalities, hopes, and well, sadnesses, is what kept me playing. At a certain point, I realized I truly wanted to find out what awaited at the end for this sad but eccentric group.

Smile For Me takes you to the Habitat (ran by Dr. Habit, get it?) where sad people go in hopes of improving their moods. The player is tasked with interacting with the various guests of the Habitat and trying to solve their problems. This mostly takes the form of scouring the Habitat for various items ranging from fishing rods to teddy bears.

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There are also items that the player can use to interact with the world. For instance, the hand allows you to grab and interact. It sounds a little janky but somehow perfectly fits the aesthetic of this game well. Meanwhile, the camera allows you to learn more about the various guests in the game. Likewise, the metal detector helps find hidden items you might otherwise not come across.

A Slowburn Mystery Adventure

Tracking down and solving various missions of the Habitat can be a bit difficult at times as I kept getting sidetracked by interacting with various characters and also lost. Fortunately, the game does cheekily try to steer you in the right direction, just listen out for when the characters give you hints.

Overall, the main storyline felt like a bit of a slow burn. Initially, you may wonder how you’re ever going to solve all the missions and storylines, but in the game’s last act, you’ll find that things do pick up tempo quite a bit. In fact, I wish a little more time was spent spacing out some of the game’s final story beats.

Without getting into spoilers, the game does take a demented turn that casts the title of the game in new light. The less said about Dr. Habit, the better. Acting as the main antagonist, the character reminded me a bit of Max Headroom in some ways. Overall, he makes for a villain unlike any other.

Smile For Me definitely isn’t for everyone, but it rocks a style all of its own. It’s an experience that gets in your head a bit and lives rent-free.