Review: Little Goody Two Shoes Is a Romantic and Enchanting Experience

From start to finish, Little Goody Two Shoes certainly pulls out all of the stops to impress the player. The quality of its artwork, music, and storytelling combine to create a mesmerizing experience you won’t want to miss.

Players step into the shoes of Elise, a prideful errand girl who isn’t immune to occasional boasting. She’s fed up with the small town of Kieferberg and wants nothing more than to be blessed with fortune and a chance to live luxuriously. Unfortunately for her, she’s currently stuck in quite opposite conditions, struggling to keep food on the table. On top of that, many of the townsfolk treat her as lesser than, despite her efforts to stand up for herself.

One dark and spooky night, Elise finds a strange girl in her storage shed. She takes it upon herself to house the poor girl for the time being. From then on, strange phenomena keep occurring in Kieferberg, and the townsfolk grow more suspicious of Elise by the day. It’s your job to help her keep the skepticism at bay, while also going on romantic dates with cute girls.

During the day, Elise can take odd jobs to make enough pennies to feed herself as you guide her to successfully wooing your favorite girl. It’s a simple enough gameplay loop to understand, but the townsfolk that say new things each day and the varying experiences to enjoy keep things feeling fresh. The NPC dialogue will change depending on certain factors, like what in-game day it is and who is accompanying you in your party. I found myself saying “just one more day,” even before I realized I played a full in-game week already.

You won’t just be making money for yourself, either. A pesky, pink-haired girl named Muffy will blackmail you into giving her what she wants. Every day. You’ll need to keep her quiet to manage suspicion by making sure to feed her whatever she wants. A girl has got to eat, after all. She’s quirky and cute, so I personally loved her. I also love the dynamic between her and Elise that’s usually played up for comic relief. It’s a critical relationship, as you need to make sure the other townsfolk don’t get too suspicious of you, too. You typically do this during special events where you have to try to sway their opinion of you by choosing convincing dialogue options, similar to a standard visual novel, but with a lot more suspense and intrigue.

What pleasantly surprised me was the inclusion of minigames to pass the time during the day. These can range from collecting chicken eggs and chopping wood to playing games with the local children. They’re usually extremely simple, but enjoyable enough that I wanted to improve at them. Plus, most of them don’t last for too long, so you can go back to exploring and dating quickly. There was the occasional frustrating minigame thrown into the mix, though. They become even more stress-inducing knowing that your playthrough could end later down the line if you didn’t earn enough money from them.

This is also when allies come in. Rozenmarine can potentially help you out when it comes to getting work done if she joins your party. She can even help you avoid raising suspicion, too. However, this can easily backfire if you leave her alone for too long. If you don’t keep an eye on her, she’ll start running her mouth around town, raising even more suspicion. It makes for an experience that does require some planning, or else Elise’s story could end prematurely.

During the night, you’ll be exploring Elise’s nightmares and the woodlands outside town. It is during these segments when you’ll complete puzzles that’ll have you fully surveying the areas in order to hopefully progress before you’re confronted by something sinister. I found managing Elise’s health, hunger, and sanity during these segments can be a bit challenging, if I wasn’t prepared. Early on, the game will be nice to you and scatter some items around to help you out. Later on, it won’t do so as much. Also, you won’t be healed just by sleeping or passing time, so you need to manage your items wisely in order to stay alive. It can be nerve wracking, but I found it kept my brain focused.

Though in terms of horror, the game varies wildly in how creepy it can be at any certain time. The monsters can either look so scary that they’ll have a good chance of haunting your nightmares, or they’ll be somewhat cute and appear non-threatening. In a way, it mirrors the daytime and nighttime mechanics of the game, but I feel there are certainly times when even during the day you’ll get spooked. The game mostly relies on small jump scares and dark lighting to creep you out, though. There are times when the creep factor can spike, but overall it’s more mysterious. As someone who gets scared easily, I found that this made it easier for me to properly enjoy the game, but it could be a deal-breaker for you if you’re looking for a frightening horror experience.

When it comes to the nightmarish segments where you’re actually at risk of dying, there are times when the puzzles can get challenging. Thankfully, a red ribbon save point is always conveniently placed before these challenges, so you can retry easily. However, there are times when you’ll have to skip through a scene of dialogue in order to try again, which can be a pain. Though it can be frustrating to have to retrace your steps if you ever find yourself in an unfortunate circumstance and your life ends, Little Goody Two Shoes does make sure to remind you to save often. Save points are placed everywhere on the map, so you hopefully will be able to stay vigilant about the dangers ahead of you and won’t have to reload often when preparing to further explore and date.

The romantic elements are so adorable in Little Goody Two Shoes, and they really furthers each character’s story. Each character gets seven dates, and they’re never boring. Each one helps you get to know the girl even more and truly elevates the relationship between her and Elise. Of course, you’ll have to select the correct dialogue options to clear the dates, usually – in typical visual novel fashion. There’s a lot of room for replay value here, if you so desire.

The world extended much further than I originally thought too. I could tell it was created with meticulous detail. Even if the area is only used for a mere moment, you’re able to soak in the beautiful landscapes as Elise wishes for more. It’s not an open world or anything, but each area is filled with something to marvel at or interact with. That being said, a fast travel option would probably be helpful. Although, I frankly also worry it might take away from the overall experience by making it more difficult to come across events.

You would think a game with so many different art styles would clash, but Little Goody Two Shoes blends them well. Not only are the visuals more than enough already, but you’re also treated to writing that revels in its use of imagery. Just when you think you’ve got the full picture from the in-game graphics and illustrations, interacting further with the world unveils more to appreciate than you initially thought.

The soundtrack is varied, too. You’ll be treated to a slew of tunes like adorable 8-bit bops, creepy atmospheric tracks, and full-on broadway-level musical productions. The soft, melodic vocals harmonizing in the game’s overworld somehow never feel out of place or outstay their welcome. The choir only helps you become even more immersed into the world, calling back to the significance of the church to the townsfolk. It also brings to mind classic Disney films, which carries with it the storybook fantasy this game’s aesthetics is selling to me.

Little Goody Two Shoes’ themes of always wanting more than what you have hit particularly close to home. Elise’s desires are always surrounding you – and always just out of arm’s reach. The developers of this game took great care into shaping this beautiful world to fit with Elise’s characterization. This game is simply oozing with charm. You can feel the love and dedication that went into creating this game at every moment, in every aspect – from the artwork to the story to the sound design.

Little Goody Two Shoes will be released on October 31, 2023, on Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PCs via Steam.