Growing Up

[b]Merits:[/b] ▪ Nostalgic 90s setting with charming visuals ▪ Well-written characters and emotional storytelling ▪ Multiple endings [b]Flaws:[/b] ▪ Mechanics feel repetitive over multiple playthroughs ▪ Limited choices, most of them are meaningless ▪ Limited customization options for characters [b]Verdict:[/b] Growing Up sets out to be a heartfelt life simulation, but its depth is lacking. While the nostalgic setting and emotional themes make for an engaging concept, the gameplay quickly becomes repetitive, and choices often feel inconsequential. Rather than a true simulation, it plays more like a structured choice tree with limited meaningful impact. There’s charm to be found, but the shallow mechanics hold it back. Not worth more than $5. [b]Rating:[/b] ★★☆☆☆ - Average

10/10 game! I'm very addicted! Kinda sad that we don't get to play the characters in their adult life, nevertheless love the game.

Fun little simulation game. Only thing I slightly dislike are the mental health and parent satisfaction points. Every entertainment option increases your mental health but decreases parent satisfaction. All skills (school work and side skills) decrease mental health but increase parent satisfaction. Work decreases mental health, earns money, and has no effect on parent satisfaction. What's frustrating is the character(s) have no personality at all. Not even something you can develop as you play. So all the work, skills, and entertainment affect you the same way every time. I personally wouldnt be disappointed in my son if he engaged in hobbies as long as he did keep his grades up, but in this game you have to find a balance because anything that makes you happy, disappoints your parents. Basically lol.. Unless it's a parent expectation quest where you have to meet their expectation within the specified time frame. You'll be rewarded if you do and there will be consequences if you don't. Like why are my parents angry with me for not performing an athletic skill 10 times? Sorry I'm getting ready for the exam lol And because you only have so many schedule slots and action points in one day, you're limited on what you can do to increase skills etc. I feel like if you had more turns before the exams it would be better. You can get more action points, brain points, and schedule slots if you earn them/buy them using in game currencies. What is frustrating the most is no matter how well I do towards the end I can't seem to get a grade higher than a D on the final exam. I got a C once. lol maybe I forgot a lot of the specific rules and it's affecting my gameplay but overall a few tweaks would make the game at least twice as better compared to how it is now.

The story of each characters was deeper than I thought! I was having great time playing this game!!

i may not be joking when i say this is the most emotional i've ever been made by a game. my first playthrough was gut wrenching in it's own right, (i wasn't ready for it to end) but then on my third playthrough, Nathan tore my heart out. everything about him was so realistic! gets a tiny bit repetitive after a while, but that can be negated through doing different things. all in all, 9.5/10 game. i would like if we were able to interact with the characters a bit more, and maybe an option to (once you've completed a playthrough) do a sort of plus thing where it's a lot longer and the characters are more fleshed out. just a thought!

I really loved this game the game play and the different characters stories just drew me in there is some things I would have like to see like changing the MC body type or the parents saying different lines in reference to their story line I would love to see a sequel.

Much better than I expected, but other reviews are right. It needs more. It gets redundant. I wish there were more dialogues/reactions from parents, especially when it's a previous mc. I wish choices in a previous life impacted the next one, like if the parent was super athletic, they would push more sports than academics, for example. Less important, but more customization would be nice, like bedrooms. It would be cool to see how other characters turn out, like Joseph from Alex's story line and Mort from Jake's story line, or maybe have the option to be their friend instead/as well. More organized stats would be cool. Maybe progress bars for learning about characters, family trees, and things like that. As it is, it's a good game, but it could be way better.

more of a puzzle game, and not really whatever else you'd want to have

•Repetitive gameplay •Limited choice •Every choice is not giving you big impact in story •Developer abandon this game My rating 7.3/10 •Almost every character in this game is not intersting The good about this game •Music •90s vibe •And solid artstyle

Okay, so this is a pretty niche genre of game. But there are a few of them out there — I’ve played three: – Chinese Parents (2018), which has over 22,000 reviews – Volcano Princess (2023), with over 38,000 reviews – Growing Up (2021), which surprisingly only has around 3,000 reviews Games in this niche usually sit around the $10 mark. Growing Up is priced at $15, which I think is a bit steep. That said, I actually think it’s the strongest game in the genre. It’s a simple game, clearly aimed at people who already enjoy this type of thing — 2D graphics, some light narrative, and ultimately more of a puzzle game at its core. I like it. And I’d recommend it. P.S. I’m probably in the top 10 players in terms of playtime.

So fun! Need a sequel game that takes you to adult and senior hood. Love it!

A much better clone of Chinese Parents with a nice soundtrack 👍

10/10 messed up with Richard first play:[

it's an absolutly adorable game!

Good game. Wish there was a sequel.

this game is so yummy

I'd rather watch paint dry then play this again

gud game

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