Frank is a young boy who develops a crush on his bird-obsessed classmate Sylvia. Unsure of how to get her attention, Frank cooks up an audacious plan to transform himself into a bird. As he works his way up to unveiling his creation, Frank has to complete a series of tasks through 4 days in the hope that his big plan pays off.
‘The Day I Became A Bird’ is a new addition to the ‘cosy’ game genre, and it’s aimed at children and families. Based on the book by French author Ingrid Chabbert, which was illustrated by Guridi, the game is a faithful retelling of the beloved story. Adopting the gorgeous aesthetic from the book, the game puts you in the shoes of central character Frank. While never overly challenging, ‘The Day I Became A Bird’ is at least inventive, giving players different tasks to complete. Each day finds Frank having to locate objects and place them in specific places e.g. a picture of a bird that has been torn into three by arguing kids, and he can interact with the other children and objects in his environment.
While the tasks are the main objective of the game, Frank can also collect golden feathers that are distributed around the environments. At times, the game switches to controlling Frank on his bike and you have to move him through rings, avoid obstacles and collect feathers. Later on in the game you get to fly a few times too, which gives the game a bit of variety. At regular intervals you are given jigsaw-like puzzles to complete where you pick up the pieces, rotate them and place them in the right squares. This is a nice touch and it adds something a little extra.
Each of the days finds you having to complete task in different scenarios like in Frank’s house, at his school and in the park. The environments aren’t huge but they are large enough to wander around and explore, as you look for the items you need. One task asks you to collect branches from bushes, cardboard boxes, leaves from trees and coat hangers from bins. This is probably the most challenging part of the game. During the final day, Frank has to make his costume – this is quite a tricky bit of the game – and then he marches down the corridor at school as his fellow classmates laugh and watch him in amusement.
‘The Day I Became A Bird’ is easy to get to grips with. You can use a controller with your PC or you can just use the keyboard. I opted to use the keyboard and I found the gameplay very easy. Using W, A, S and D you can move Frank around the screen with E to interact with objects and Q to drop them. It’s as simple as that. The game ran very smoothly with its outstanding graphics a strong point and its soothing soundtrack adding to the overall cosy vibe.
The game comes with a 15-minute animated film that tells the story of the original book, which is a really fantastic bonus. There’s also additional material that shows you the concept art and takes you behind-the-scenes.
‘The Day I Became A Bird’ took me around 75 minutes to complete in total. The time flew by and the game is surprisingly addictive. As the story is so lovely, it’s a real pleasure to watch and the elements that retell parts of the book are wonderfully brought to life. This is a title that children will love and it’s a game that parents can play with their little ones. Short it may be, but it’s very sweet and incredibly satisfying.
Publisher: Numskull Games Ltd Developer: Hyper Liminal Games Ltd Release date: 16th April 2026 View ‘The Day I Became A Bird’ on Steam
