A very short point-and-click puzzle game. The main theme is about Eda, a pianist that lost someone most dear to her. We follow her life a little from what she had to what she lost.
Our sincere thanks to the developers at Toge Productions and Mojiken Studio for entrusting us with this review.
Gameplay
There is no dialogue or narration given in the story so you will have to interpret it all on your own. The animations are very well done as is the music but jumping from puzzle to cinematic is all you will do in this title so if you don’t like that already then choose another game for you.
As a point-and-clicker puzzler, I was very happy to see touchscreen compatibility, the puzzles themselves are quite simple and straight forward, many of them revolve around their love for music and at the upper right corner, there is a light bulb icon that always lets you know which objects you can interact with, so extraordinarily helpful.
Also, you interact with certain instruments like the piano, for example, I had a lot of fun making my offbeat music while playing even if it was limited to only a few keys, it was a lovely idea from the developers.
Conclusion
I liked the experience, cried at the end too but I feel the story could have switched things up a bit, if we had a more linear narrative it would let us feel what Eda felt when it was the time to feel it. It just amplifies the emotions so much more. Have us feel happy for her life with him first and see them happy together and then just like with Eda felt, take it all away from us in less than a second.
Because we started the game with more than enough clear hints that she had already lost him and then see what their life was like it didn’t work as well as it could have been otherwise. I also wished we could have spent more time to feel attached to them and their relationship, not only their happy moments but also the differences, how they worked together to make it work and then lose all of it at the end.
So… should not take more than 2 hours to reach the ending of the story which is a little too short for the price honestly. If you can buy it on sale then got for it though, When the past was around is one experience you might not want to miss out on, the emotions I collected will certainly linger inside me for a while.
