Everything is going to be OK
Release date: Apr 13, 2023
Developers: alienmelon
Publishers: alienmelon
Genres: Indie
Categories: Single-player, Family Sharing
Supported languages: English

'Everything is going to be OK' is a desktop labyrinth of vignettes, poetry, strange fever dream games, and broken digital spaces. It is a collection of life experiences that are largely a commentary on struggle, survival, and coping with the aftermath of surviving bad things. On the surface it comes across as dark comedy, and humor is a prevalent theme, but as you interact the themes start to unravel and facilitate a deeper discussion. This is an anti-capitalist trauma-core 2D desktop-sim with clicker game action adventure elements based in an erratic cartoon world. “Everything is going to be OK” features traditionally animated cartoons in eclectic worlds that you can explore. Everything is voice acted. In each space you interact with silly and distraught characters that you help survive or guide through reconciling with their fate. The circumstances are often humorous. It is a dark comedy about life. There are hidden tangents, strange spaces, and lost digital worlds to uncover… all of which feature personal essays, fiction, and poetry hidden throughout. It includes a number of secret branching tangents in which you find silly artistic tools or cryptic toys that add to the humorous and often strange experience. It is the type of game that is hard to describe and best experienced for yourself. If you like fever-dreams, walking simulators, glitch art, arthouse games, alt games, or the absolute bizarre type of experimental play that leaves you both baffled and laughing… then this is for you. 'Everything is going to be OK' has appeared in a number of festivals, and publications... such as Game Developer, PC Gamer, Wired, Mashable... and winning IndieCade's Interaction Award, and AMAZE's Digital Moments. It was an IGF finalist for the Nuovo Award. It is also in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, and was exhibited in Never Alone: Video Games and Other Interactive Design at the MoMA. Sensitivity Warnings: This features bright flashy graphics and colors. Mature themes are featured. Please respect the Content Rating and age-gate. Difficult topics dealing with mental health and struggle are discussed.

Press reviews: “At its strongest, it shows the quiet dignity of simply coping with pain, underneath the performance of being a survivor. Everything is Going to Be OK wants to be seen and wants to get away from the burden of being seen, and helps you understand how it's possible to feel both of those things at once.” PC Gamer “You are not OK. Everything is not OK. But, when you play, you can't help but feel that, somehow, it will be. Because the person on the other side of your computer screen knows what your weird, broken, and beautiful soul is.” Mashable “Everything Is Going to Be OK, by independent creator Natalie Lawhead, is a loud, colorful exploration of trauma, resilience, and the things people do to get by.” Wired 

Notes: Language, Cartoon Violence