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Review
baby:OFF is a short Ink game submitted to Bare-Bones Jam 2025. It follows a protagonist who is struggling with the aftermath of a failed relationship with someone named TJ. To cope, they buy a customizable android known as a “GenDroid.” Designed to look exactly like TJ, the protagonist calls the android Not-TJ.
Gameplay is rather linear. It all takes place in a cheap motel where the protagonist is getting personal with Not-TJ. Choices are made to alter the immediate moment but have no broader effect on the story in general. However, the player’s choices reveal different details about the story, providing incentive for multiple playthroughs.
I want to give a quick shoutout to the writing.
Firmly secured under heavy layers of bubble wraps and blocky styrofoam was her sleeping figure... A sleeping doll yet to experience the world outside its cocoon.
There’s something about its descriptiveness. It does a good job at helping you visualize the technology featured in the story.
TJ
I wish there was more backstory on the protagonist’s relationship with TJ because what we’re told feels extremely one-sided. It sounds like TJ had a controlling streak towards loved ones that would manifest physically and emotionally. But when the protagonist started to become more successful in life, TJ ended things out of jealousy. That’s pretty much it.
Using their new wealth, the protagonist then bought a GenDroid to model after TJ. A recurring theme is how the protagonist simultaneously relished and despised TJ’s destructiveness towards them. Not-TJ serves as a way for them to revisit this dynamic on their own terms.
Despite the overall antagonization of TJ’s character, I liked that the game also recognizes her as a person with multiple dimensions, and this is symbolized through how she experimented with different hair colours.
Sun-kissed brown.
Aimless.
Vulnerable.
Honest.
Of course, in Not-TJ’s case, this is just another thing we control.
Not-TJ
In creating Not-TJ, the protagonist projects their past onto something they can control: An android, programmed to serve. Whether that be for expressing affection or acting as a means for the protagonist to vent their frustration. And yet, it feels hollow. GenDroids sell a fantasy for the consumer. Any obedience or affection is the product of an algorithm.
Until Not-TJ challenges this by deviating from their original programming.
Briefly, the game discusses “Song Bug,” a computer glitch that can supposedly cause GenDroids to develop consciousness. At one point, the protagonist is forced to consider this possibility with Not-TJ.
Not-TJ brushes its small finger on the edge of your thigh. This is not one of TJ's gestures. Where did it learn this? Were you the one who taught it to act this way?
"Please forget her," it continues, "there is only me here with you."
For our protagonist this is quite a shock and opens the door to all kinds of uncertainty. Throughout the game there is a subtle flip-flop of “it” and “she” when referring to Not-TJ.
You swear you detect hurt in its voice. It can't be, can it? Would she cry tears if she could? Abstain from apologising if you tinker with her programming?
This illustrates the protagonist’s indecisiveness with viewing Not-TJ as a controllable object and viewing them as a self-aware individual capable of experiencing love. Ultimately, they spend the night together.
The game snowballs from here, wrapping up surprisingly quickly.
(Spoiler - click to show)When we wake up, Not-TJ is now “NJ.” I’m not sure what “NJ” means. A typo or variation of “TJ?” Either way, the protagonist’s view of their companion has clearly changed. Before we can explore this further, the phone rings. Someone named Brighty. Our dialogue with him implies that we’re in a relationship, possibly like the one we had with TJ. Could we be cheating on him with NJ?
There’s really only one ending. We promise to be home soon and hang up. The only difference is that sometimes the game ends with the protagonist crying afterwards. Either way, the game ends here.
This sort of felt like a cliffhanger to me. And a bit vague. Is the “Song Bug” responsible for NJ’s deviation from their programming? What is the implication of the protagonist viewing Not-TJ as NJ? I feel like there is character development that gets cut short.
I’m also curious about the title. Initially, I figured it had to do with being able to choose if your android is off or on. But then when Brighty calls…
"Baby, babes, babe..." Brighty clicks his tongue.
Does this have any correlation with the title as well? Or am I overthinking it? I’ve got so many questions, but only because I’m really curious about the game’s world.
Final thoughts
I realize that baby:OFF may have subtleties that were lost on me, but overall, I liked the ideas presented. The writing is descriptive and precise, allowing us to view the world, or at least its technology, from the protagonist’s perspective. And while there’s sexual content, it never felt overwhelming or distracted from the story.
However, the ending feels too abrupt to be conclusive. So many interesting developments that get cut short. Also, I wish the game was less one-sided in its coverage of the protagonist’s relationship with TJ. Interesting characters, that’s all.
A memorable game, nonetheless.
