When I was approached to write Siliconera’s playtest for When the Past was Around, I was not prepared for such emotional ups and downs. I came in expecting a beautiful puzzle game and was sucker-punched by feelings. I blame Jenni for the ridiculous amount of comfort cookies I ate last Saturday.
The story of Eda and Owl is experienced somewhat disjointedly. Early on, we see Eda as a woman grieving. The love of her life is gone. Each new scene we explore unlocks memories, good and bad, that Eda has suppressed over time. Clues to their past, how they met and fell in love, are woven together in such a way that you can’t help but wonder as to the significance of the items used to complete the game’s several puzzles.
One particular scene that stuck with me all weekend revolved around Eda and Owl enjoying a day at the beach. The scene began by showing me that the couple are going to make a memento bottle. Each one had items they wanted to place in the bottle. As I clickee around the beach, there was this perfect relationship moment at the ice cream cart where they split a popsicle. It may be cliché, but I’ll be damned if that moment didn’t wreck me knowing full well how painful recalling a memory like this would be if I lost my partner.
Another visual that resonated with me was When the Past was Around‘s use of feathers to represent Eda’s memories. This isn’t the first time I have seen memories materialize as feathers; CLAMP’s Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE used the concept brilliantly. Eda’s feathers, those pieces of her soul entwined with Owl’s, are important to her grieving process, as well as finding the strength to move on without him.
All of these come together to tell a poignant story, and players are there as Eda deals with it. Her loss becomes your own. When the Past was Around only takes about an hour from start to finish. That hour is all it takes for it to latch onto your soul. Do yourself a favour and play this game wrapped up in your security blanket with a healthy pile of cookies. No one here will judge you.
When the Past was Around is available on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
