Developer: Total Mayhem Games
Publisher: Total Mayhem Games
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
We Were Here Together – Review
After the success of We Were Here and We Were Here Too, it must have been pretty clear to Total Mayhem Games that they had a good formula on their hands. So it’s not very surprising that another game in the series, We Were Here Together, released only a year and a half after the previous one (which in turn released almost exactly one year after the first one). In other series, such short notice between games might have been a reason for concern, but luckily this studio has a perfect grasp on what works and what needs changing to keep things fresh. And with challenging co-op games always being in low demand, the puzzles in this titled are sure to stump both you and your friends.
Story
After a short cutscene detailing a nightmare, two Artic explorers wake up in their base. While their house is cozy and warm, the radio soon alerts them to an incomplete distress signal being sent out from somewhere nearby. After going through some trouble to get the radio to work properly, effectively introducing you to the mechanics of the game, the signal becomes clear to hear. Somebody got trapped in a cave deep in the icy wasteland of Antarctica and it is up to two brave explorers to set out and rescue them. Along the way we are very sparingly given a few more cutscenes detailing strange going-ons which might tie into our frequent nightmares as well as the strange castle you find in the middle of nowhere, which you might recognize from the previous games.
Graphics
We Were Here Together uses almost exactly the same graphic style as its predecessors, though this is certainly not a bad thing. Previous games looked good and so does this one, with plenty of atmospheric lighting and detailed environments to explore. Some settings even look pretty impressive, especially since this game has segments that take part outside in the frozen waste with towering buildings and mine-shafts.
Sound
The music in this game fits the atmosphere perfectly as well. It’s simple and slightly mysterious, probably to not distract from the more important sound effects you often need to solve puzzles. Every time you successfully complete a task, expect to rewarded through a short upbeat tune. The few cutscenes the game has are fully voiced as well. One of the main mechanics of the game requires you to communicate with your partner through the walkie talkie, which means a mic is required to play the game.
Gameplay
We Were Here Together is a cooperative puzzle game that does require a friend to play. Both of you will need the game, an internet connection and working microphones to be able to play this game, just like the previous games in this series. Together with your friend, you are dropped into an environment where you will need to solve various types of puzzles to proceed to the next rooms. The mechanics of the puzzles vary greatly, so some might be easier for you than others, depending on your strengths. There is no hint system so if you get stuck, you will need a walkthrough to proceed or try and guess the solution by trial and error.
Communication is key to completing this game. Almost all of the puzzles (except a few in the beginning) will require you to separate from your partner and be in two different places. Later on, you are even in completely different areas with no way to get to each other. This means that working together also hinges on how good you are at describing your surroundings and certain puzzle elements to your friend. To make things a bit more complicated, communicating is done through a walkie talkie. This means you’ll need to press down on a button to talk, and you can’t talk to each other simultaneously or you won’t hear each other. A good solution for this is using some word at the end of your sentences to signify you’re done talking, such as the traditional ‘over’ used for walkie talkies in real life.
As you continue, the puzzles, of course, get gradually harder and start adding new elements. Later on, puzzles might only give you a limited amount of time to solve them, such as an electric circuit lowering into the floor of a room filled with knee-deep water meaning there is a sense of urgency to complete it or you will have to start all over. A common complaint of the previous games was how short the games were, but We Were Here Together clocks in at a noteworthy six to seven hours of gameplay, depending on how puzzle-savvy you and your friend are, which is almost thrice as much as the previous game.
Conclusion
We Were Here Together delivers once again with the same excellent quality we have come to expect from this series. Anybody who likes brain-breaking puzzles or co-op can enjoy this, and with the longer length there really is hardly anything to complain about anymore.
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