"The Day I Became A Bird" tested: amorous nonsense with a lot of heart

Kevin Hofer

6/5/2026

Translation: machine translated

Pictures: Kevin Hofer

What won't you do for love? In "The Day I Became A Bird", clumsy Francs turns himself into a bird without further ado - just to win the heart of a girl he has never spoken to.

Frank falls out of bed in the morning. Flat on his face. Before he goes to school, he gives his dog Chief a slice of toast and dances briefly in front of the radio in the courtyard. It's these little moments that give «The Day I Became A Bird» its irresistible charm.

An flat full of feathers, a story full of emotions

Golden feathers float in the rooms. They are everywhere. I collect them as I follow Francs's everyday life - from the breakfast table to the school run to the classroom. Apart from one success, it doesn't achieve anything, but I do it anyway, quite automatically.

On the way, I hear dialogues that remind me of childhood days long gone: wild, senseless, familiar. One child claims the teacher has tentacles. Another is thinking about which video game she wants to play in the evening.

But Francs doesn't care about any of this. He only sees Sylvia. An introverted girl who the others don't understand and who fancies birds. To get closer to her, Francs makes a decision: he becomes a bird himself.

What follows is both quirky and touching at the same time.

Short, but emotional

«The Day I Became A Bird» tells its story in just over an hour. That's quite enough. No moment drags on, no section feels like filler. The game knows what it is: an interactive picture book with warm humour and real heart.

Francs in particular bears the brunt of the experience. He stumbles, is naive and so genuinely in love that you can't help but like him. His eagerness to actually dress up as a bird seems absurd and touching - a metaphor for all the strange things you do for that first feeling without being able to name it.

Playfully simple, but never boring

In terms of gameplay, «The Day I Became A Bird» relies on quick-time events, simple fetch quests and small puzzles between chapters. The mini-games are relaxing. There's only one task where I have to trace shapes that I don't immediately understand. But even that is fun - the error animations are delicious.

Illustrations like from a children's book

Optically, «The Day I Became A Bird». The style is reminiscent of a hand-drawn picture book: soft colours and clear lines radiate warmth. The illustrations carry the story. Each scene looks like a page from a book that you didn't want to put down as a child.

The soundtrack remains discreetly in the background and emphasises the mood without imposing itself.

«The Day I Became A Bird» has been available for PC since 16 April.

Kevin Hofer

Senior Editor

kevin.hofer@digitecgalaxus.ch

From big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.

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