Adventure · September 22, 2020

When The Past Was Around (2020)

trophy20 achievementsextension2 DLClocal_offer-40% current discountgroup100k–1M ownersrecommend3.7k recommendations
From Brigitta Rena, the creator of A Raven Monologue and She & The Light Bearer . When the Past was Around is an adventure point-and-click puzzle game about love, moving on, letting go, and the joy and pain of everything in between. This is the story of Eda, a girl in her early 20s. Like anyone in her age, she’s lost. She lost her way in the journey to achieve her dreams. She lost her way in the journey to find love. That until she met The Owl. The man that would help her burn her passion, the man that would help her find the spark in a relationship, and also the man that would teach her about heartbreak. The game tells a bittersweet tale between a girl and her lover in a surreal world consisting of disjointed rooms from memories and time. With each gathered clue, solved puzzles, and unlocked door, the girl will find her way, unraveling the secrets between her and her lover, the secrets which she used to know. Features: A picture speaks a thousand words. Experience the game’s story not through words nor dialogues but beautifully hand-drawn art created by famous Indonesian artist, Brigitta Rena. A short, sweet and whimsical journey. Explore a bittersweet tale between a girl and her lover in a surreal world consisting of disjointed rooms of memories and time. Personal and ubiquitous. a game about overcoming the past and finding the self. Solve brain-teasing puzzles. Various intriguing puzzles to solve and stories to uncover. Let the music guide you. Atmospheric violin music will accompany you from the peaceful days to the angstiest moments When The Past Was Around is a short silent narrative experience that can be finished in less than 2 hours. Even though it is a short game, we’ve put all our hearts into delivering a deep and meaningful experience for you. We hope that the brief moment you spend with Eda and Owl would be priceless and unforgettable.

Adventure releases from 2020

100 Adventure titles launched in 2020 — top 6 by review volume.

Peer Adventure titles

Comparable titles in the same genre and review-volume band — ranked by Steam positive percentage.

Community Tag Signals

Tag weights reflect how many Steam users voted each descriptor — larger pills = stronger consensus.

  • Cute · 770
  • Hidden Object · 770
  • Female Protagonist · 765
  • Relaxing · 756
  • Surreal · 743
  • Interactive Fiction · 712
  • 2D · 658
  • Singleplayer · 655
  • Puzzle · 646
  • Point & Click · 645
  • Story Rich · 623
  • Abstract · 623
  • Romance · 621
  • Casual · 611
  • Colorful · 592

Position in Adventure

MetricThis titleGenre position
Review volume4.0k Steam reviewsTop 55% in Adventure
Positive rating95% positiveGenre average: 87% — this title sits in top 29%
Metacritic77/100Genre average 77 — top 59% of Adventure titles
Engagement hours1 h averageTop 94% for session depth among Adventure

Localization Coverage

Interface / Subtitles (12)

  • English
  • French
  • Italian
  • German
  • Spanish - Spain
  • Korean
  • Russian
  • Vietnamese
  • Japanese
  • Portuguese - Brazil
  • Spanish - Latin America
  • Portuguese - Portugal

Reception Metrics

Steam community

95%Overwhelmingly Positive · 4.0k reviews

3.8k positive · 202 negative

Metacritic

77/100 critic aggregate

Open Metacritic page

Metacritic user score

6.8/10

Curator recommendations

3.7k

Press Quotes

“Full of lovely things to poke at and good music to listen to” Rock Paper Shotgun “A slightly fantastical, sweet and whimsical adventure” PC Gamer “Breathtakingly Beautiful” IGN Southeast Asia

Features & Capabilities

Community

  • Steam Achievements
  • Steam Cloud
  • Remote Play on Phone
  • Remote Play on Tablet

Input & Comfort

  • Partial Controller Support

Other

  • Single-player
  • Family Sharing

Release & Availability

Release dateSep 22, 2020
DeveloperMojiken
PublisherToge Productions
Base price$4.79 -40%
DLC / Add-ons2 released
PlatformsWindows, macOS
Estimated owners100k–1M
External linksMetacritic page · Support · [email protected]

Engagement Profile

All-time avg

1h

brief (under 5 hours)

Median

1h

Typical completion time

Achievements

20

Steam unlocks available

More from Mojiken

Mojiken has 3 titles indexed — all listed below.

Editions & Packages

  • Buy When The Past Was Around