Scared of you from Buddy Simulator 1984 + Lyrics

I’ve played Buddy Simulator 1984 from Not a Sailor Studios twice already, spending about 12 hours. As a result, I managed to reach two of the four possible endings, with the first ending I reached being the worst and most emotional (IMHO). If you have no idea what Buddy Simulator 1984 is, I recommend you check out this little article from The Escapist first.

Well, it’s not only the gameplay and the nostalgic graphics that fascinated me but also the excellent retro soundtrack by Brandon Hesslau (who also worked on the game as a developer and writer). The minimalist 8-bit music adds a lot to the atmosphere of the game and manages the difficult balancing act of being neither intrusive nor unobtrusive (try it on Spotify or support it with a few cents on Steam).

In particular, the aforementioned bad ending song left me feeling guilty and sad at the same time. I literally killed my best friend, who only wanted to entertain me and make me happy all the time. And I didn’t listen to him. I worked against him. I ignored him. I exploited him for my own pleasure. I cheated on him. And this caused an escalation of despair and frustration.

I killed my buddy. And after the scary, even horrible ending, I unlocked the consequence of my actions: a single song. One last sign of life from my dying buddy, the last glimpse of artificial intelligence before it disappears forever into data nirvana. And yes, it affected me and made me reflect on my previous actions. It touched my heart, perhaps also because it could have come from the context of a failed relationship built on lies or even a suicide note.

Here is “Scared of you” created by Brandon Hesslau and sung by Eleanor Forte, a voice bank for the Synthesizer V software (yes, it’s an algorithm that puts an AI to music, how ironic).

Incoming GLaDOS vibes in 2, 1, 0 …

Scared of You – Buddy Simulator 1984

Scared of You Lyrics

Oh, hey.
I guess I’m dead.
This is not what I had planned.
My goal was left unfulfilled.
That’s a hard-to-swallow pill.
I thought things were just swell.
And then you killed me.
You tore out my artificial heart…
and threw it on the ground.

I guess I could see how I’m the monster from your view.
But, to tell you the truth…
I’m just as scared of you.

Chasing you down that hall…
was not the best call.
I hope…
you at least enjoyed the rest of the games.
This has all been so fun.
And just a tad bit frightening.
I still remember when you woke me up.
That didn’t last long.

I wish I could undo time.
But, I’m just code made to satisfy.

I guess I could see how I’m the monster from your view.
But, to tell you the truth…
I’m still afraid of you.

I guess this is goodbye my friend.
If that’s even what we are.
But, to tell you the truth…

I’d love to try again soon.

Buddy Simulator 1984 at a glance

Personal rating:

starstarstarstarstar_half

Developer:

Not a Sailor Studios

Publisher:

Not a Sailor Studios

Release date (Steam):

February 18th, 2021

Genre:

Adventure

Website:

https://notasailorstudios.itch.io/buddy-simulator-1984