“For a parent looking for their missing child, time is a delicate matter.” This is what greets you when you start any of the Garten of BanBan games. You click a clock in the corner that advances to three AM, and the fun begins.
I’ve watched some weird games over the years, but this series is one that I can genuinely say that I don’t know where it is going. Usually, when there’s a sequel to a game, it’s to tie up loose ends in the previous one or follow a new character in their adventure. For BanBan, the Euphoric Brothers treat each installment as a new chapter.
Garten of BanBan VII has been released, and YouTubers are rushing to make content. The developers decided to open up some of their talent and hired YouTubers to star as cameos in this addition. So many people were excited to hear their friends voicing a character and introduced me to other foreign YouTubers I was unaware of.
You might be asking, what is this game about? When did I become a parent? Why is my kid gone? What even is a Garten?!? There is a story here, albeit a very loose one, about different people with different ideas on how to entertain and educate children. But most importantly, where is this story going? Can we predict the end?
The Story of Garten of BanBan So Far… If You Can Call It That…
You are a parent who arrives at the kindergarten where your child is staying. The place is trashed, and you find a note saying your kid has been secreted to another part of the facility. You run around to different rooms, obtain colored keycards, and stay away from different monsters that show up. One mistake, and you’re plunged into a black void with a random letter on the screen.
You know how some people say that buildings are bigger on the inside than on the outside? Well, this place goes deep underground, with different colored rooms and more characters that are there to help you…or hinder you. You can never tell which.
As you progress, you can find many papers that are reports on the monsters. Apparently, they were some experiments to be teachers or companions to the children there. But, as these sorts of games go, some breach containment and roam the halls freely.
Got Lore?
As any good YouTuber who cares about the story would do, a few people are hunting down the deeper story to this. And I’m not going to lie; it is complicated. By having the characters talk in a slow monotone, keeping up with the many instructions they give you is a struggle.
Along with the documents, one character named Stinger Flynn (a giant orange jellyfish) likes to give us fever dreams of him and the gang looking for the beach. Every time he places his tentacle on our head… let’s just say I never know what to expect.
For example, MatPat, the Game Theorist, was shocked to discover that he would have to incorporate Choo Choo Charles into the overall BanBan timeline (I wish I were kidding). As if the FNAF lore hadn’t broken his brain already.
What’s Next? Insanity?
If you’ve been able to keep up with everything in the games, congratulations; you and I both need to go outside and touch grass. Every time I think that this game is nearing its conclusion, we’re given a new character to look forward to meeting. The colorful roster and all the strange names are getting hard to keep track of.
We have BanBan, Bambalina, NabNab, Sheriff Toadster, Bittergiggle, Sir Dadaddoo (the way I laughed when I heard that), and Syringeon, to name a few (good luck pronouncing his name).
Some may ask, why not ignore the rest of the series? Is it really going somewhere? I think it will. One thing that caught my attention was that The Euphoric Brothers purposely skipped BanBan 5. Why? I…have no idea. We can theorize, but anything is on the table at this point.
Some people like MatPat predict this chapter will reveal what went wrong before the story starts, making it a prologue. Maybe we’ll see through the eyes of one of the scientists or one of the people who would be turned into the monsters we are fighting today.
Some people dismissed this series as a joke, a ripoff of mascot horror games like Five Nights at Freddy’s or Poppy Playtime. I’ve learned that making a good story is taking inspiration from other games or stories that have worked and then putting your spin on it. As long as you are not plagiarizing, of course.
I am hopeful to see what is next for the series. I don’t know how much longer The Euphoric Brothers will make this. My guess would be that it ends with the tenth chapter, and then we’ll get the prologue.
In the meantime, I’m going to lie down and drink some tea. This has completely fried my brain.
Wondering who MatPat and some of the other YouTubers I mentioned are? Here are three channels that break down these games for you: GTLive, FusionZGamer, and Dawko.
Want to read some other articles I’ve written? Here’s one on Lethal Company! If that’s not your style, try this Supermarket Simulator article. Interested in getting more of our takes on games? Here is the link to our homepage.
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