 Players: 1 Platforms: Nintendo Switch, XBox, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC I have lots of fond memories of playing .EXE games, reading early 2000s creepypastas on the internet, and playing (now retro) video games in-between everything. That combination of nostalgic memories is most definitely not unique to myself, and I'm sure that there's an entire generation that had similar experiences. Bem Feito is a game that takes all those seemingly incompatible elements and mixes them into a blender, even tossing in some vague echoes of Undertale along the way. It's out now on consoles and PC by way of QUByte and oiCabie, and we're going to take a look at it today. So join me in visiting our old friend Reginaldo, it's been a while as we haven't seen him since 1999...
I've been racking my brain trying to decide how I'm going to relate the story of Bem Feito. The main issue with discussing it is that there are two aspects to it. Firstly, there's the "real" world that surrounds the game. Bem Feito was originally released in 1999 for the almost-forgotten handheld console known as the JOGAROTO. It was the work of a developer named MEGASOFT, and everyone who has played it has been changed by the experience. It was something of a lost game for decades until MEGASOFT commissioned a new OS, known as Garotron OS, in the hopes of bringing the game back to the masses. Garotron OS is a fully featured operating system that features document viewing, messages sent and received through a dial-up connection, and even a fully working JOGATORO emulator. Said emulator only plays Bem Feito, but that's fine, there's enough to see even with just one game. Now the second aspect of the game is Bem Feito itself. Bem Feito is something of a life simulation game that focuses on Reginaldo, a lonely boy who lives by himself on the tiny planet of B-613. Every day Reginaldo has a set of tasks that have to be completed by the end of the day. Once all his tasks are completed, he takes a nap and we progress to the next day. Throughout the week several potential friends come by and visit Reginaldo. It's how he interacts with these new arrivals that sets up the events of the game. I really don't want to give away more than that though, since I think most of the fun found here is in experiencing the game's twists and turns directly by oneself. With that said I should point out the hopefully obvious fact that the entire "real" world surrounding Bem Feito is all fiction. There is no JOGAROTO, no MEGAWORKS, and no 1999 Bem Feito release. Or was there? I'll explain more in a bit, but when I said that Bem Feito mixes together creepypastas and .EXE games, I meant it.
The core game of Bem Feito will most likely be experienced as something akin to a .EXE game, especially for those playing it for the first time. As you progress through the game you unlock achievements that you can view in your profile on the Garotron OS. These achievements have codes attached to them that you can use to unlock various extra content in the game, most importantly a series of documents and pictures that expand upon the story of how Bem Feito came into existence in the first place. You could play the entire game and never see any of these story elements, but it's here that the creepypasta inspirations shine through. The more you learn about MEGAWORKS and what exactly happened surrounding the release of the JOGAROTO and Bem Feito, the more you realize that there appears to be something otherworldly at play. I won't spill any more regarding that, but I will say that it's best to familiarize yourself with the OS in general, as besides being able to full-screen most of the other applications (something I wish I'd known when I was taking all the screenshots I used for this review), you can also delete your current game save if you want to start Bem Feito again from the beginning. Without giving away too much, this is definitely something you're going to want to do after your first playthrough.
Gameplay in Bem Feito is pretty simple, you move around and interact with objects or pick up tools with the A button, and you put away any tools automatically with the B button. The + button (on the Switch at least) brings up a menu where you can mess around with the in-game options, or return to the Garotron OS. Most of what you'll be doing in Bem Feito is chores, and you need tools that are either placed around your house, or in the convenient Toy Box off to the side. These tasks are pretty self-explanatory, but some might be easy to miss if you skipped important dialogue sections. The world is rather small too, so it'll be hard to ever get lost. There's the house, the front yard, the pond, the fruit tree, and the mysterious sewer. There aren't really minigames to speak of, but you will engage in fishing, cooking, harvesting, and even chopping wood at various points. Each day you'll also have to attend to any visitors who may have arrived, and check your mailbox for letters that could have been dropped off while you were sleeping. Depending on how those other character interactions go... well, things can get kind of dark. Once again, I don't want to give anything away, but let me just say that I haven't forgotten that I tossed in a brief Undertale reference at the beginning, and first-time players may want to keep that little aside in mind. No matter what you do in the course of Reginaldo's week, the game ends on the seventh day. You get various endings depending on your actions, and the only thing you can do from there is to play around with the OS or delete your save and start again.
I'm being purposely vague when it comes to the game itself and it's rather unique story because I really want to avoid spoiling some of the game's more shocking moments I almost didn't want to include screenshots at all as I felt that those might give away more than I wanted to. I obviously went against that though, but the tradeoff is that I'm keeping story bits purposely vague. What matters in regards to this review is how I enjoyed my time with the game, and if I think others will too. Well, I can easily say that I loved my time with Bem Feito and I was amazed by how the story could be cozy, touching, and overall chill, but also spooky, creepy, and more than a little scary at the same time. It's really a gaming experience like no other, and I am so glad I picked it up. While I'm not sure if everyone will find the experience as rewarding as I did, I'm sure that others will at least find it as different a gaming experience as one could hope for. I'm going to cover a few more aspects of the game, but don't forget to check those achievements, documents, and mail. There's a big wide world in Bem Feito, and you don't want to miss even a single bit of it!
Bem Feito isn't a graphically intense game, but seeing as it is trying to emulate a late 90s handheld title, that probably isn't surprising. There is a general monochrome-ness to everything, but that makes the gory bits all the more shocking whenever they appear. There really isn't a whole lot to see here really. You have a cast of five characters, six if you count the cat, a small world, and only the most basic of items and animations. Most tools and items are only seen or used once and then the game goes on. It might sound like I'm describing an overly simplistic game, but I can't help but feel that there's an endearing quality to just about all the visuals. Besides the characters looking pretty cool and/or cute, Bem Feito captures a retro aesthetic in ways that some developers can only dream of. This may be an odd thing to say, but this feels like a ROM hack of a game that never existed. Like it was put together from already established pieces to create the game we have before us. This obviously isn't the case, but it gave off a feeling of familiarity that really gelled with the pretense of playing a classic game that was once much loved. Even the Garotron OS menu is pretty cool all things considered, and some of the pictures you find in the documents have that IRL creepypasta-ness that was surprisingly creepy in a turn of the century internet sort of way. I'm sure that most wouldn't consider this a great looking game due to the limited scope of what's here, but I honestly feel that the graphics are one of the game's strongest points and will rate them as such below. I truly have no real gripes with them, and probably would wish for some on-screen filters to change up the look of the game from time to time. Oh wait, the game has those if you get some of the harder-to-get achievements, so I guess Bem Feito really did hit it out of the park when it comes to graphics after all.a
I have to admit right off the bat that Bem Feito is anything but a long game. You can do everything in it in maybe 2-3 hours, and you'll reach your first end-of-game sequence after about an hour or so. I don't really look at this as a negative as this kind of game would definitely wear out its welcome if it went on for too long. The OS overlay, the usable icons within, and the game within a game bits, keep things moving smoothly and at a brisk pace. I like to think of the game having very little fluff or padding as opposed to being a shallow experience. While it's really too replayable per se, it definitely is something worth coming back to try different things as I eventually realized that there's a lot of hidden actions and Easter Eggs if you're willing to look for them. My only real gripe when it comes to the amount of content is how it compares to its price. Bem Feito is priced at $14.99 at the time of this writing, and I can't help but feel that this game would've been perfect at the $9.99 price point. I'm arguing about five dollars of course, but looking at it another way, I'm arguing about the price being about 33% more than I think it should be. I'm not saying that it's not WORTH picking up at that price, it's just that I feel that the lower price point would make accepting the game's short length far more palatable. Then again you could always wait to see if it goes on sale and get it then, but either way you'll be set I think.
I don't know how obvious I've made it so far, but I can't recommend Bem Feito enough. I played the game in one long session late and night, and it was one of the most memorable game experiences I've had in a long while. It really nails the creepypata/.EXE game aesthetics perfectly, and it does so with a neat retro overlay and a backstory that begs for more info. The fact that you can go back to the game and play it in many different ways that aren't too obvious the first time around just adds to everything. Grab this game on whatever platform you can and thank me later. Don't keep Reginaldo waiting, he's very lonely! Check Out Bem Feito on The Nintendo Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/bem-feito-switch/ Story: B+ Gameplay: B+ Graphics: A Music/Sound: A Value: B Overall: A- Pros: + Combines the best parts of .EXE games and creepypastas in one of the most unique gaming experiences ever. + Reginaldo and friends have a lot of character for only existing in game for a relatively short amount of time. + The OS elements that make up the world outside the game add to the overall world of Bem Feito, while also leaving more questions unanswered. + Multiple endings are available depending on how you play, and the shift from one to the other is as cool as it is jarring. + The music, graphics, and presentation are all well-done and near perfect. +/- Can be pretty graphic, and even surprisingly gory at times, but this is an M-rated game after all. Cons: - The game is rather short and can be fully completed in about 2-3 hours. - Some parts of the interface are a bit confusing, such as the controls within the OS itself. - While somewhat expected due to its creepypasta influences, the game leaves gamers wanting for more to explain certain aspects of the overall experience. A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.  THANKS BESTIE! #BemFeito
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