Bittersweet Birthday for Mac

Remember the truth of your identity

Bittersweet Birthday is a free action-adventure video game that puts you in the shoes of an amnesiac protagonist trying to escape a strange facility. Developed by World Eater Games, this bullet hell game demo has pretty 2D pixel art graphics and a brutal but challenging combat system. It plays out like a traditional RPG but hinges more on exploring the mystery of why your memories are missing.

Nothing is as it seems

In Bittersweet Birthday, your character wakes up inside a seemingly-empty facility. You can’t remember anything but a voice soon greets you over the intercom and gives you a brief rundown of your current situation. They suggest that you go and find them so you two can team up to escape the people hunting you down. It’s not going to be easy, however, as your fights against the enemies will be difficult.

The combat system features real-time action in a top-down view wherein you have to dodge, kick, and punch your way to victory. However, you first need to read how your opponents attack, as most of their moves are chaotic bullet hell-type attacks. You have to be careful whenever you make your move; your first attacks will only bring down their defense and you still have to attack them again to actually drain their HP.

In case you’re having a hard time, you can always remap the controls. Aside from the fights, however, the plot and the cast of characters can be pretty riveting, too. You will often switch between the past and the present to show the memories you were missing. They will also tell the story of how you came to the facility in the first place, employing in medias res and flashbacks to keep you guessing.

Beware of the voice

All in all, Bittersweet Birthday is a great action RPG to try out and this demo version really gives you an enticing taste of what to expect in the full version. While the fights can be unfairly difficult, there’s a certain sense of accomplishment to be had once you’ve figured out how to counter the attacks. With its gorgeous pixelated art style for both environments and character design, this is a highly recommended game to try out.