Let's Try: The Kids We Were
0Note: I was given a key for this game.
The Kids We Were is a narrative game taking place in Japan. It starts with you, your sister, and your mother going to your mom's old town for a memorial to some kids that died 33 years ago. You suffer from premonitions, and your mother and sister have unknown (or at least undiscussed) fatal plot diseases, so the game really starts on a positive note. It is very much throwing you into the heavier stuff right out the gate.
As you wonder the town, it is revealed that you are actually looking for your father, whom you've not seen since you were young (parents divorced). That doesn't quite work out, but you do find a time travelling machine that lets future you tell past you to go even more into the past to stop a bunch of bad things from happening. It gets a little fast and loose with time travel rules.
Overall I think the game is cute. It's got a cute voxel style to it, the music works well, the dialogue is fine, and the story (as much as I played it) was okay. I'm not sure I'm going to revisit it, as I think the game is trying hard to latch onto your emotions, and I don't think it earns it within the time that I played. It's an interesting conceit for a game (Back to the Future, but Japanese!) but I don't know if there to justify the lack of polish to hold it up.
It's a cute game, and if you like the aesthetic, the location, and the times in which it takes place, maybe pick it up (it's on Steam, Switch, and phones). I'm sure it's a fine way to burn a couple hours, but it didn't wow me.
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