After 23 years, Sonic Adventure's Chao Garden mode returns in an indie game with a zombie protag, cute pets, and Stardew Valley inspirations

Sonic stans, it's happening for real this time - someone's finally making the Chao Garden game you've all been dreaming about for two decades (not me, though, I've only been asking for this since I played Sonic Adventure a couple months back, so, thank you, universe).

Bobo Bay is an upcoming indie game that's taking inspiration from Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2's Chao Garden modes - pronounced like ciao, not chaos - that forced our hedgehog to slow down for once and nurture adorable little creatures called chao. Babo Bay is instead stripping out the lightspeed platforming sections to focus and expand on the the pet-simulation that fans have been wanting to see return since 2001. 

"I'm making the Chao Garden game that I've always wanted to play," the game's mostly-solo developer NewFutureKids explains in the first developer vlog seen below. "People have been wanting a game like this for years, so I knew my job was to take that formula that worked and expand upon it, rather than completely change it. I also couldn't forget that this game needs to appeal to people who have never even played or heard of Chao Garden before."

Making the ULTIMATE Chao Garden Game [Devlog #0] - YouTube

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Everything else about Babo Bay's first vlog had me internally screaming 'yes, perfect!' every two minutes. There are apparently "millions" of possible babo combinations this time around as patterns, colors, adult forms, and more can affect how your babo looks. Other core chao elements are being improved too, as NewFutureKids shouts out "cute designs for the creatures, tons of customization possibilities, breeding, stat progression with depth, races and fighting" as areas that they're focusing on. Oh, and you can still chuck the tiny critters across the place. Perfect!

Since Sonic and his speedy escapades aren't here - because, "erm, Sega isn't gonna let that happen" - NewFutureKids is expanding on the more wholesome simulation elements instead. Babo Bay introduces an in-game calendar, "like Stardew Valley but without the stress," with new competitions, events, and seasons opening up as time goes on. I can't say I miss the Blue Blur much - or at all - since his replacement is literally a zombie with a skeleton arm called Miss Parfait Bags. Perfect! "Actually, everyone in the world is a zombie too," the video explains without elaborating.

"You are able to feed your Bobo an old shoe which is kinda funny," the Steam blurb reveals, which is also, as you might have guessed, perfect for this kind of game.

Babo Bay is due to come out sometime in 2025, though a Steam demo coming in the next few months should tide us over until then, while a public alpha test goes live tomorrow, July 18. You can also get a taste of the Chao Garden in Sonic Adventure 2, which is still available on Steam and Xbox Series X|S. 

In the meantime, check out some other exciting upcoming indie games from 2024 and beyond.