Free Game Friday: Where We Remain
Some games have a certain quality about them that leaves you inexplicably mystified. Where We Remain contains a simple charm on the surface, and yet something a bit darker when you take the time to peel back the layers. It is described as something of an adventure game, but I find it a little difficult to categorize in its entirety.
You play a young man who has washed up on an island, and upon finding a letter from his beloved, he sets off on a journey to find her within one of the island’s caves. The premise is simple enough, and the gameplay is no different; the island is randomly generated each time you play, and you must collect a series of purple flowers which allow you to enter caves without their ghostly residents booting you back outside.
As you explore each cave, you may find an item which will aid you in some way, such as a compass that shows you the location of each cave on the island, or you may find your girlfriend, sometimes immediately, prompting one of the game’s three endings followed by your score. Sometimes you might play the game only for a few minutes before locating the girl, and sometimes you might search rather extensively, although the island is never enormous in its generation.
As I said, a very simple premise, but the uniqueness lies in the island’s monsters, frighteningly large and rather abstract behemoths that will kill you the moment they come into contact with you, and they are terribly difficult from which to escape. Fortunately, the game offers plenty of clues as to how close in proximity you are to one of the monsters, with the screen growing darker, and the wind becoming louder. And believe me, when you’ve been spotted by a monster, you’ll know it immediately.
There are a few tricks that allow easier escape from the monsters, but I’ll let you experience it for yourself, as the learning is really a large part of the game’s ambiance. There is no music, and the sheer feeling of aloneness is startling, given the game’s apparent innocence.
With three endings to discover, three difficulties, and each island randomly generated, Where We Remain is surprisingly fulfilling. It can be played right in your browser at Twofold Secret’s website.
