We Were Here (PS4) Review

 

We Were Here is the first part of a coop puzzle adventure series. In the first weeks of February the game was given away for free in order to promote the franchise. I did try it out and want to summarize some of my impressions in a short review for this game.

The main aspect of the game is the cooperation between two players (either friends or strangers) in order to solve puzzles. The story and presentation are rather minimalistic. The intro and outro 'cutscenes' for example are just animated slideshows. Two players get lost and separated in an abandoned castle, where they were trying to escape a snow storm. I will not spoiler any of the puzzles/riddles since they are the reason to play the game. What I can point out however is, that both players have different perspectives on every riddle. One player is the explorer, who is usually in the middle of the 'puzzle-action', whereas the other player is the librarian, who has to decode clues and notes to support the other person. The catch is that both players only see their own perspective and they have to use voice chat in order to explain the other player what they are seeing and how their clues might be interconnected.

The process of talking to the other player and trying to figure out the riddles is the main catch and fun point of the game. Some of the puzzles have a time-limit, but most are just about figuring out what you have to do.

The riddles and the coop aspect were done really well and I truly enjoyed my time playing with a friend. I also still enjoyed our second playthrough, when we switched roles. After that point however the game will lose a lot of its appeal (to be fair most puzzles games are simply not meant to be played in rapid succession). The short length of the game of 1-2 hours even for the first playthrough are something to be aware of. After you know what you are doing, the game could probably be beaten in around 20-30 minutes.

The visuals of the game are not that great (Textures are mostly on a PS3 level), but that is certainly not the reason to play We Were Here. The castle insides however were designed well and did give the immersion of being in an abandoned castle, from which you have to escape. The controls work well, which admittedly isn't so hard with the limited gameplay options. I appreciated the option to open private lobbies in order to play with a friend, but playing with strangers in public lobbies could also be fun (In public lobbies you need to use a walkie-talkie to communicate with each other and you can't speak simultaneously).

 

Pro:

- Great Coop feature

- Riddles/ Puzzles done well

- Replayability through second perspective

- Immersive abandoned castle atmosphere

- Free in February

 

Contra:

- Too short (only 1-2 hours)

- Minimal presentation; dated visuals

- Story didn't use the potential

 

Result:

Overall I really enjoyed We Were Here as free coop puzzle game. The short length of the game however would certainly prevent me from investing more than 5-10 Euro/Dollar for it. Visuals, presentation and gameplay are rather minimalistic, but they were certainly not the priority on this game anyway. The riddles were done well, it just should have been at least 4-5 more. The premise of the story was also pretty interesting, but they didn't really utilize the potential in my opinion. I would still recommend the game, especially for free.

7/10