Bye Sweet Carole

About Bye Sweet Carole

Bye Sweet Carole was created by Chris Darril, known for the Remothered series, and developed by Little Sewing Machine with Meangrip Game Studios and Dreams Uncorporated. Maximum Entertainment released it on 9 October 2025 for Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch, on Steam and GOG for PC. Every frame is drawn by hand in the style of classic animated films.

It is set in early 20th-century England, as the suffrage movement begins to change society. Lana Benton, a girl at Bunny Hall orphanage, goes looking for her friend Carole Simmons, who has disappeared. Her search takes her through the orphanage and into Corolla, a fantasy kingdom ruled by the menacing Mr. Kyn, the owl Velenia and swarms of tar bunnies.

It plays as a side-scrolling adventure on a 2D plane. You explore, solve puzzles with levers, switches and items you combine in your inventory, sneak around enemies that can kill you, get through platforming sections and quick time events, and can turn Lana into a rabbit, which is faster and can wall-jump and fit through small openings but takes more damage. Each section has its own Hunter, such as a giant rabbit in a dress with a meat tenderizer or a mannequin with a red eye on the back of its head. Yellow tendrils show how aware a Hunter is and turn red when Lana is spotted, starting a chase; in a hiding spot you hold your breath to stay hidden. Health regenerates when Lana stands still, and the game saves only at colourful mailboxes that act as checkpoints across its 10 chapters. The horror comes from the contrast: soft, warm animation and a fairy-tale cast set against a story of a missing child, cruel adults and creatures that chase Lana down.

Critics were split: it holds a Metascore of 69 on PC and 67 on OpenCritic. Some reviewers praised the art and the story, while others found the backtracking, fetching items and stiff animation frustrating. HowLongToBeat lists about 7.5 hours for the main story and 9 hours to see everything. It is rated Teen by the ESRB for fantasy violence, mild blood and mild suggestive themes, and PEGI 12. It suits players who want a story-led, gentler-looking horror adventure in the vein of Little Nightmares or Fran Bow, and fans of Remothered curious about its creator's next game.

How to play Bye Sweet Carole

1. Buy the game on Steam or GOG for PC, or on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S or the Nintendo eShop; a controller is recommended on PC.
2. Move Lana left and right through each scene, pushing up at stairs and climbing over obstacles, and explore Bunny Hall for clues about Carole.
3. Pick up items, combine them in your inventory and use them with levers and switches to open the way forward.
4. When a Hunter is near, watch its tendrils: yellow means it is growing aware of you, red means you are spotted and must run or hide.
5. In a hiding spot, hold the button to hold your breath until the Hunter moves on.
6. Turn Lana into a rabbit when you need to slip through gaps, wall-jump or escape faster.

Tips

• Look over each scene for items before moving on; many puzzles are solved with something found elsewhere, and there is no hint system.
• Watch a Hunter's movement before you try to sneak past it, and hide before its tendrils turn red.
• Stand still to let Lana's health regenerate after she is hurt.
• The game saves only at the colourful mailboxes, so note where the last one was before a chase.
• The rabbit form is faster but takes more damage, so switch back when you can.
• Save your patience for backtracking; reviewers note you return to earlier areas often.
• Play with sound on and full voice acting in English or Italian; the music was written for the game's fairy-tale mood.

Questions