Platform reviewed: PC (Steam)
Also on: Switch, Xbox Series X/S, PS5
Price: $16.99
Story-driven games have always been a favorite of mine. I’m more interested in a game if its story or lore is unique and entertaining, you know? So, I jumped at the opportunity when I was offered to play through Last Time I Saw You. The character you play is a young boy named Ayumi, who is experiencing some odd dreams about a girl who is slightly older than him. As you begin to play through his adventure you begin to uncover the lore about the small Japanese town of Amatsu and Ayumi’s personal home life with his parents, all the while trying to figure out who this mysterious girl is and how she’s connected to the forest connected to the town.
Sprinkled throughout the environment, you have many objects and people you can interact with that Ayumi will comment on. It gives you context that adds more to the story and keeps you wanting to explore more. I did not find this to be too much? Even though I found there to be a lot of hidden dialogue, it is not hard to encounter if you take the extra few seconds to side-scroll to the next area or explore every inch of the screen. Every now and then you are met with a moral decision, whether this affects the game at all, is unclear and would require a fresh playthrough, but do you really want to upset your ancestors? You also have Ayumi’s journal which is packed full of extra tidbits of lore. Highly recommended to check that frequently! It also holds your main quest objectives as well as any side quests you have picked up along the way.
Combat in Last Time I Saw You is casually introduced early on. My only complaint about this was not realizing I could move around to hit the ball that was being tossed at me or that I could change directions by simply aiming upward. Having already been introduced to their in-game cutscene transition, I found myself standing still during the “tutorial,” idly clicking through the mixed-in dialogue, and missing a few balls. It was not until later that I discovered I could jump and run around during this training. That said, combatting the enemies came easy when I did occasionally encounter them. Admittedly, I began playing with my mouse and keyboard, but I switched to my Xbox controller about 2 hours into it and never looked back. The movement felt much more fluid using a controller than a mouse/keyboard. And using my bat came much easier to me as well.
Overall, I highly enjoyed it! The game is full of hidden story bits as well as some collectibles for the completionists out there. Its minimal combat keeps you on your toes when you enter a new zone but does not distract you from the much larger threat that is told through the plot. And let us not ignore the beautiful, hand-drawn artwork that is in this game. Beautifully designed in my opinion.
And yes. You can pet the dog.
Final Grade: B+
Last Time I Saw You offers a rich, unique story that is told through scripted dialogue, sought-out interactions, and some side reading. I appreciate that combat is minimal, but enough that it kept me aware when I entered a new area just in case something came from the dark. Despite some self-discovery of mechanics, progressing through the game is very fluid. I found myself wanting to learn more about each character’s story as I spoke with each of them, and it gave me a small-town feel with an ancestral history that only added to the plot! I highly recommend giving this hand-drawn game a play-through!
Review code provided by Stride PR.
Comments