The Bad Kids

Good atmospheric horror game with lots of logical puzzles with supernatural things going on.
Couple of various endings with a lots of missable achievements. Quite a long gameplay, spend couple of days playing it. Liked it even more that its Chinese, really liked the atmosphere and visuals,
played it with Chinese audio and English subtitles all the time. If you are fans of supernatural horror tension game with lots of puzzles and Chinese culture, definitely recommend.

The Bad Kids, developed by Aluba Van+ and published by LightOn Game, is a gripping psychological mystery that combines the structure of an interactive thriller with the quiet dread of a coming-of-age drama. Based on the acclaimed Chinese television series “Cat’s Cradle,” the game reimagines its premise into an interactive narrative that draws players into the perspective of Zhu Chaoyang, a junior high student who becomes entangled in a chain of unsettling events that blur the line between innocence and guilt. Rather than relying on traditional horror or shock value, the game’s tension grows from its deep psychological focus and the suffocating weight of everyday cruelty. It is a story about moral ambiguity, childhood trauma, and the subtle ways fear and guilt manifest when the world of adults collapses into the lives of children. From the first moments, it is clear that The Bad Kids wants to disturb not with monsters or jump scares, but with the slow, creeping realization of how fragile trust and truth can be.
The atmosphere is one of quiet unease. Set in realistic environments that feel grounded yet slightly surreal, the game uses its 3D engine not for spectacle but for immersion. Each space, from the narrow school corridors to the shadowed apartments and rooftops overlooking the city, is designed to feel both ordinary and claustrophobic. The muted lighting, subdued color palette, and sparse soundscape build a tone of emotional isolation. There is a sense that every wall hides a secret, every silence carries guilt. The world feels heavy, and that weight amplifies the psychological tension as the player explores, investigates, and slowly unravels what really happened. The visual style may not match the polish of big-budget titles, but its restraint suits the story; the lack of embellishment keeps the focus on emotion, atmosphere, and subtle details.
The gameplay blends exploration, investigation, and logical deduction. Rather than handholding, the game asks players to observe carefully and draw conclusions from small fragments of evidence scattered throughout the environment. You collect clues, analyze notes, and interpret events from conversations or environmental details that may initially appear insignificant. Each discovery brings new layers of understanding about the relationships between the characters—friends who lie, families who hide, and a child caught in the middle of it all. The pacing is deliberate, and while it occasionally borders on slow, it rewards players who approach it thoughtfully. The Bad Kids isn’t about fast action or quick rewards; it’s about piecing together a puzzle of emotional truths and hidden motives. There are also decision points and interactive moments that subtly influence the story’s progression, allowing the player to shape Zhu Chaoyang’s perception of right and wrong, though the overall narrative remains focused and linear.
What gives the game its emotional power is its commitment to depicting human complexity. Zhu Chaoyang is not a typical protagonist. He is intelligent, withdrawn, and burdened by circumstances beyond his control. The narrative places him between childhood innocence and premature adulthood, forcing the player to feel the tension of his moral dilemmas. The adults around him are not villains in the traditional sense but deeply flawed individuals whose secrets ripple outward, affecting everyone nearby. This dynamic gives the story a raw authenticity. The Bad Kids confronts themes of neglect, deception, and moral compromise with a sensitivity that few games attempt, especially within the indie scene. It uses the mystery structure not just to intrigue but to explore character psychology, asking players to consider what it means to survive in a world that constantly teaches you to lie.
While the narrative and atmosphere are strong, the game’s technical aspects can feel uneven. The controls and camera are functional but occasionally awkward, and the puzzles, while thematically appropriate, sometimes lack polish or complexity. There are moments when the pacing falters or the mechanics don’t feel as intuitive as they should. However, these limitations are often overshadowed by the emotional resonance of the story and the strength of its tone. The restrained approach to gameplay serves a narrative purpose: it slows the player down, making them observe, think, and internalize what’s happening. For players who crave depth of feeling and narrative immersion over mechanical challenge, this design choice becomes a strength rather than a flaw.
The sound design contributes greatly to the atmosphere. The soundtrack is sparse, leaning heavily on ambient tones and understated melodies that evoke melancholy and suspense. The absence of constant music allows environmental sounds—footsteps on wet pavement, the faint buzz of streetlights, the echo of dialogue in empty rooms—to take on emotional weight. It’s a design that mirrors the game’s themes: quiet moments carry the loudest meaning. The voice acting, delivered in Mandarin, is authentic and understated, enhancing the cultural and emotional grounding of the story. Even if the player doesn’t understand the language directly, the performances convey tone and tension beautifully.
The Bad Kids is not a game meant for everyone. It is slow, introspective, and unafraid to dwell in moral discomfort. It doesn’t offer escapism but instead invites empathy and reflection. It challenges players to look closely at human weakness and to confront the darker aspects of growing up in a world that rarely protects the vulnerable. The fact that it is an adaptation of a Chinese series gives it a cultural uniqueness that sets it apart from most Western thrillers; it captures the rhythm and emotional cadence of East Asian storytelling—subtle, restrained, yet devastatingly intimate. For players who value narrative-driven experiences, especially those drawn to the psychology of guilt and consequence, The Bad Kids delivers a rare and memorable journey.
Ultimately, The Bad Kids stands out not for its mechanics but for its courage to explore uncomfortable truths. It captures the quiet horror of moral decay, the loneliness of adolescence, and the tension between perception and reality. Its imperfections make it feel more human, its pacing mirrors the slow unraveling of guilt, and its restrained presentation serves as a reminder that sometimes the scariest stories are not about what we see but what we understand too late. It is a haunting, emotionally charged experience that lingers long after it ends—a thoughtful piece of narrative art that shows how games can explore the subtle spaces between innocence and corruption, truth and deception, childhood and the loss of it.
Rating: 7/10

i felt really sad while playing this which is a good sign... sigh... i guess the ending got to me...

So atmosperic! So nice!

Nice disturbing game

i chose the wrong pill, fak

隐秘的角落 - Cat's Cradle (or The Bad Kids, still not sure which is the one) | Review in English and Italian
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English Review
Pros:
- The aesthetics are very nice to look at, and perfectly manage to convey the right amount of unease when it comes to the settings
- The soundtrack works perfectly
- Every single character is dubbed pretty well (especially that darn Fox), and I thought it was pretty interesting to leave the protagonist voiceless, as to make him stand out from the others
- Despite taking a completely different approach from the original TV series, the story itself is still well-handled in its heaviness and feels extremely involving in its development
- The overall tension works wonderfully (I wasn't breathing myself, every now and then)
- Despite a bit of a dull start and some obscure moments by the end (like the puzzle regarding Pupu's drawings), the gameplay works fine enough, all in all
- The game giving you the possibility to skip some difficult passages is a nice touch for the players (honestly, I relied on that trick myself a few times...)
- The way the game handles the adults' expectations and exploitations on children as a message, and everything that comes with it (burned childhoods, stolen dreams, what is redeemable and what is not...) works in an extremely gripping, heart-wrenching way
Cons:
- Between typos of all sorts, a couple of glitches, and some inconsistencies here and there, the English translation is pretty rough
- A few bugs here and there
- The more the game goes on, the more confusing it gets in terms of story (like when it comes to Chaoyang's father's fate)
- Each of the three endings feels rushed and pretty underdeveloped, despite them all being interesting enough in what they show
Extra (unaffecting my overall opinion):
Look, I understand where the mother comes from, her life having been a mess, her actually wishing just the best for her son... but honestly, had I been Chaoyang after stealing the wristwatch, I would have gladly SMASHED the model ship in her face (like, Miki Takamura's mom in Paranoiac is a saint, compared to this witch...)
Additional point:
Thanks to this game, I found out about the series as well, and I gotta say it was very good. The game itself, though, reminded me much more of Detention, despite not holding a candle to it nor the series itself, but still being a nice work overall.
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Recensione in italiano
Pro:
- Esteticamente, il gioco è molto piacevole a vedersi, e riesce perfettamente a trasmettere la giusta dose di disagio per quanto riguarda le ambientazioni
- La colonna sonora funziona alla perfezione
- Ogni singolo personaggio è ben doppiato (specialmente quella stramaledetta Volpe), e ho trovato molto interessante la scelta di lasciare il protagonista senza voce, come a metterlo in risalto rispetto agli altri
- Nonostante l'approccio sia completamente diverso dalla serie TV, la storia in sé risulta comunque ben gestita nella sua pesantezza ed estremamente coinvolgente nello sviluppo
- La tensione generale funziona a meraviglia (ogni tanto mi mancava il respiro)
- Nonostante un inizio un pelo macchinoso e alcuni momenti incomprensibili verso la fine (come l'enigma sui disegni di Pupu), il gameplay funziona abbastanza bene, tutto sommato
- Il fatto che il gioco offra la possibilità di saltare alcuni passaggi più complicati è un tocco gradito per i giocatori (in tutta onestà, anch'io mi sono affidato a questo trucchetto in certe occasioni...)
- Il modo in cui il gioco gestisce le aspettative e lo sfruttamento dei bambini da parte degli adulti, e tutto ciò che ne consegue come messaggio (infanzia dalle tappe bruciate, sogni rubati, cos'è redimibile e cosa non lo è...) funziona in un modo estremamente avvincente e straziante
Contro:
- Tra errori di battitura di ogni tipo, un paio di glitch e qualche incongruenza, la traduzione in inglese è piuttosto approssimativa
- Qualche bug qua e là
- Più il gioco va avanti, più passaggi ne diventano confusi (la sorte del padre di Chaoyang, per dirne uno)
- Ognuno dei tre finali sembra affrettato e poco sviluppato, nonostante siano tutti abbastanza interessanti in ciò che mostrano
Extra (privo d'influenza sul giudizio complessivo):
Guardate, capisco da dove arrivi il personaggio della madre, che la sua vita sia stata un disastro, il fatto che desideri solo il meglio per suo figlio... ma onestamente, se fossi stato al posto di Chaoyang, subito dopo averle rubato l'orologio da polso, le avrei volentieri SFASCIATO in faccia il modellino della nave (voglio dire, la madre di Miki Takamura in Paranoiac è una santa, in confronto a questa strega...)
Osservazione aggiuntiva:
Grazie a questo gioco, ho scoperto anche la serie, e devo dire che sia stata una gran bella sorpresa. Il gioco in sé e per sé, però, mi ha rimandato molto più da vicino a Detention, pur non reggendo il paragone né con lui né con la serie stessa, ma rimanendo comunque un bel lavoro, nel complesso.
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Rating | Voto - 7/10 com laude