By 
Reviewed On: PS5
Also Available On: Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC
Price: $16.99 USD
Developer: Maboroshi Artworks
Publisher: Chorus Worldwide
Release Date: October 10th, 2024
Please Note: A review code was provided for this review but does not influence the opinions stated here in any way.
I play loads and loads of indie games, so when a new one comes out an grips you more than you think it would, that has to be noted. Last Time I Saw You is from Maboroshi Artworks, a brand new development studio where this is their first title. This game shows that even if an indie studio is new, it is possible to truly care about its finished product. I believe that most, if not all, developers care about the products they release, but sometimes I feel like games aren’t always quite ready for the world to experience. Chorus Worldwide is the publisher of this game, and they are known for big story driven adventure games like Coffee Talk, A Space for the Unbound. I haven’t finished A Space for the Unbound yet, but I think they are similar in a lot of ways from what I have played from it. Last Time I Saw You isn’t a perfect game, but it definitely is a game that shouldn’t be missed by fans of a gripping narrative.
There are many different things I want to say about this story, but I am also not going to spoil it. There are many twists and turns that take place in this game that I didn’t see coming. Sure, there are moments of predictability in the adventure, but there are fewer than I thought there would be. You play as a young boy named Ayumi and you keep seeing someone in your dreams during the night. In the beginning of the game, there is a tsunami coming that you are unfortunately caught up in. You quickly learn that this is in no way a normal tsunami. After you get better from this incident, you will eventually make your way into the creepy forest in the area. There you meet with a bunch of different characters and creatures, plus the person from your dreams named Amibitsu. She warns you of an even bigger storm on the horizon and asks for your help to stop it. To stop it, you have to do a few things including repairing relationships, finding certain key pieces to perform a ritual, and learn of the truth about who Amibitsu is.
The game’s story isn’t just focused on this forest and stopping the incoming storm, but also about your own personal life at home and with your friends. Besides the characters you meet in the forest, you also have your best friends Nao and Manabu. There becomes a massive friction between you and the other two for a few reasons and it is a bit heartbreaking consider who they are to Ayumi. On top of your friends, there are other supporting characters and there is also your mom and dad. Your dad works a lot at the publishing house, while your mom is always home. There is a friction between them that grows throughout the story for different reasons. Some of this part hurt me in certain points because it reminded me about things from my childhood about fighting between family relationships. There is even more in this game but I don’t want to spoil everything it has to offer. Some of the themes include things like self confidence, joy, depression, hope, trust, pain, life, death, and friendship. There are more than these, but I don’t want to spoil them. The narrative in the game was very well crafted and it gripped me from beginning to end.
The gameplay in this game is very simplistic to be perfectly honest. The story is what kept driving me to play as it really was great, while the gameplay was less engaging than I hoped. A lot of what you are doing in the game is exploring the forest and town you live in. In order to progress the story, you need to help people see different perspectives of the world. In order to do this, you need to find key pieces to complete a ritual. To do this, you have to solve basic puzzles, complete simplistic platforming, and make friends with some of the characters in the world. When you aren’t in the forest, you would either be in the town area talking with different acquaintances, or you would be at home. The game has a prologue, three main acts, and then an epilogue and only lasts about 10 in game days.
On top of progressing the main story, there are other optional side missions and collectables to find in the world around you. Some of these collectables are easier to find than others, and unfortunately I am missing two of these items that I couldn’t find in the game. Unfortunately the side quests are very similar and not all that engaging since most of them are fetch quests. There are bonuses you get from completing some of them, but they don’t always offer new items besides money which is mostly useless after a certain point in the adventure. There is also a dog in the game that you can pet and you get a trophy for petting it. There is a retro game as well that you can play on certain days, and that part is actually harder than the main game. Overall, the story pulled me through certain mundane things in the gameplay aspects, but nothing is down right bad in any way.
The music and audio design in the game was very well crafted. There is a lot of dialogue in the game; however, there is absolutely no voice acting. I actually think that you can sometimes think of a voice for the characters in a game, and I this game had that feeling for me personally. In terms of the audio design, I think that it is well done from the movement of the world around you and also different sound effects from different interactable objects or activities. The music in the game is beautiful from the calming areas to the more intensive sections. Below is a clip early on that shows some of this in action.
The art in the game is absolutely stunning from the different sections of the forest to the local town. Every area of the game feels unique where it never feels too similar to a different area. Some of the different objects in the game are less beautiful than others, but I didn’t expect every single last piece of art to be as beautiful like the backgrounds from the adventure. The characters in the game are also great with their designs as each of them match with the kind of character that they are. The visuals in motion are also beautiful from the trees swaying in the background to the beautiful way the characters move in the game. The retro game area is also pretty nice from how it feels old school. Unfortunately, the frame rate is less polished compared to the art as there was a lot of inconsistency throughout the game. As a whole, it was mostly fine but sections of the world ran a bit slower than others and the entrance of the forest was extremely bad. Thankfully, for the most part, the town section was pretty stable.
The overall game is pretty solid in terms of the quality that was put into it. There were zero crashes throughout my entire 7 hour playthrough. I have to give them credit for that as I don’t see that as often anymore! There were a couple of bugs, but thankfully none of which were all that bad. One of them was sometimes I would have to press the action button twice for an action to register, but I don’t think that is all that bad for this game. A second bug is somehow I got PC key inputs a few times during my time on the PS5 version. Resetting the game did fix it, but it definitely was weird to see. The last bug that I occasionally had was when I tried to pull up my journal. Sometimes it worked just fine but other times it wouldn’t work unless I first pressed the start button to pause the game and then retry to go back in the journal. I don’t think these bugs are all that terrible in my book, but they definitely need to be noted.
In this Japan setting, there are both good and bad things that you will experience. Thankfully the story, themes, and characters are all terrific! The gameplay of the title is not the greatest from the weak “combat”, basic yet annoying platforming, and somewhat boring side missions. The music does help the overall feeling of the game, and the art is just very stunning for the most part. The lack of voice acting isn’t a deterrent for me, but it definitely is noticeable after a while when you are reading a lot. Even though the performance wasn’t the most solid, the lack of crashes and major bugs makes up for that in my book. Sometimes, having a relaxing game is very important in order to balance out the intensive ones. I consider this a nice pallet cleanser in between bigger games. I definitely recommend checking out this title as I feel it will connect with many different people.
Review Score: 7.5/10
Small Update (10/9/2024): Thanks to the help from the team, I ended up finding the last two collectables and I got my Platinum Trophy for the game. Very friendly and helpful, and I seriously hope the game is very successful as it is deserved!
By 
