Reviews by Kinetic Mouse Car

Growth under the Dome is an Ink game that describes itself as a “Solarpunk coming of age story.” A compelling story, but also one that is hobbled by various issues.

Being a submission to inkJam 2025, it appears that the author created an improved, post-comp version of the game. According to its itch.io page, this is identified as Growth under the Dome - fixed. My review will be based on this version.

Overview
Everyone lives in a structure called the “Dome.” Life thrives, but has rigid societal roles. Reminiscent of the Divergent series, the transition to adulthood occurs in a ceremony where young people publicly select the role they will have for the rest of their life. This ceremony serves as the game’s intro. The ceremony involves placing a wood tablet engraved with one's name into one of four baskets: farming, maintenance, lake management, and record keeping/public speaking.

The night passes, and you certainly enjoy this last party as a child.

Tomorrow, you’ll wake up as an adult.

The time has come for you and your peers to make this decision.

Gameplay
After the ceremony, gameplay moves in monthly increments. At the end of each month, the game asks where you want to do next. It’s (highly) expected that you stick with the role that you initially chose.

What will you be this month?

Sun Director (level 0)
Lake Tickler (level 0)
Dome Fixer (level 0)
Voice Lender (level 2)

I will be none of that

However, switching roles, while frowned upon, is not forbidden (slacking off is also an option). The game makes it clear that you must change roles to advance the story. A happiness mechanic is used to illustrate this.

You sense it’s taking a toll on your moral and your body.

(-1 happiness)

The aim is to sample each role to discover a new insight about the Dome, opening up opportunities to cause mischief and better understand the Dome’s limitations. With enough persistence, (Spoiler - click to show)it’s possible to leave the Dome entirely. Otherwise, the game ends with the Cloudmouth festival, 21 months after the intro.

Unfortunately, the gameplay doesn’t always acknowledge the player’s choices.

Your second month as a Sun director flies by… People seem to avoid you since you left and came back.

Left and came back? I was only here for two months! When the Grassgrowth season begins, your friends inform you that your constant switching of roles is making people nervous. Except, this conversation still occurs even if you never switched.

Story
Backstory is scarce with only brief mention of an “Accident” prior to the Dome’s construction, but it’s not enough to answer basic questions we may have. Was it built in response to a natural or human-made disaster? If we break one of the roof panels to see outside, we glimpse a thriving wilderness, not a wasteland. But people are more interested in remaining in the familiarity of the Dome where the sun is displayed on the ceiling via a control panel. I am curious about the history behind all of this.

My main frustration is how the story starts out strong concept but starts to deteriorate and towards the end. It loses focus.

It would have been interesting if the game elaborated on the purpose of singing. Apparently, singing is used to direct sunlight to crops among other applications. I wonder how that works.

Characters
This game also reminds me of The Giver in the sense that there is a growing divide between the protagonist and their peers when it comes to questioning the status quo of the world they live in. In both works, there is an “outside” world said to be full of danger. Fortunately, everyone is content to stick to their assigned roles in the safety of a sequestered community. The protagonists find themselves at odds with said community when they start asking questions that no one wants to consider, especially questions about (Spoiler - click to show)leaving.

It’s suggested that the game’s protagonist is somewhat of an outsider. They seem to have a history that sets them apart from everyone else. The closest answer get is through the protagonist’s relationship with their mother. She wants them to follow expectations and adhere to tradition. Apparently, something happened to their father. He is dead, although their mother is strongly in denial of this.

The protagonist’s central trait is their rejection of conformity and how they challenge the taboo of changing roles. Why should one’s life be determined by a tablet in basket? It leaves no room for flexibility. The game does a nice job in conveying the quiet scandal people associated with such abnormal choices. Everyone’s all did you see that? They changed roles! Meanwhile, the protagonist shrugs off any disapproval, though they do find themselves growing apart from childhood friends.

The bottom line is that the protagonist doesn’t fit in with the society inside the Dome. (Spoiler - click to show)They want out. Only then will they have room to grow.

Final thoughts
It seems that solarpunk stories are becoming more common, and I’ve enjoyed playing games like Growth under the Dome.

The game’s overall premise is intriguing because it allows players to choose their own role in a structured society and whether they want to commit to it or go against the grain. By choosing the latter, we get an exhilarating sense of freedom anytime we break the rules. The protagonist’s imagination of the outside world is contrasted with the stifling life inside the Dome, (Spoiler - click to show)setting stage for when they finally leave it all behind.

That said, it has glaring flaws that detract from the experience, even as a post-comp release. Besides the implementation and narrative issues that I’ve already discussed, there are a lot of spelling and grammar issues, particularly with formatting dialogue. But as a coming-of-age story with a slight sci-fi bent, Growth under the Dome is still worth your time.