Saying goodbye is something we can all relate to — whether it’s a quick kiss goodbye before work or a more profound farewell when leaving home for the first time. Goodbyes often mark important milestones and events, creating memories that last.
Some Goodbyes We Made explores this theme in a deeply personal way. Through eleven short, yet distinctive mini games, you’ll experience the goodbyes that left a lasting impression on the game designer’s life.
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I’ve never really thought that hard about the concept of goodbyes, but this game had me glued to my screen, enraptured in each scenario laid before me. This kind of experience is why I love video games.
Before reading on, just a quick warning that there are some slight spoilers in this review.
An Experience Worth Having
The game is set on a virtual computer, where a hard drive contains 11 interactive experiences for you to explore. In each one, you’ll be asked to say goodbye to someone or something significant. While there is a suggested order for playing, you’re free to tackle the memories in any sequence you choose — and revisit them as many times as you like.
Playing through some of a stranger’s most emotional memories was a surreal experience. I didn’t know this person, but their stories resonated with me through the medium of games. From graduating high school, to moving house as a young child, these were significant and relatable life events, which caused me to reflect upon my own experiences.
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Bite Sized Goodbyes
In Some Goodbyes We Made, every game has a different, yet beautiful, art style. From 3D models, to pixel art, to an amazing collage looking game where you wave your arm rapidly as you say goodbye to your dad. I appreciated the effort the developer went to, to ensure each experience felt unique.
Music and sound is also used to differentiate each mini-game. From chilled lo-fi beats, to haunting emotional tracks, or the simple sound of fireworks on New Year’s Eve. The breadth of art styles and sounds used within Some Goodbyes We Made creates an alluring experience that is hard to put down.
The gameplay was also defined a little differently as well. There were no timers, no high scores, no deaths — no real goals except to live in the moment put in front of you. I honestly loved this; with less focus on gameplay, I was able to connect and reflect on the significant goodbyes I’d had in my own life.
Three Mini Games That Stuck With Me the Most!
An Almost Goodbye
In this goodbye, two friends are slowly walking towards a fork in the road; one of the friends has a huge secret to tell, but is nervous about losing their closest buddy by telling it. You’ll need to carefully select what to say from a number of options.
Having been in this exact scenario myself, this scene really had an impact on me. It made me think about how some goodbye’s in our lives are just every day “see ya laters”, while others are big, life changing events that you will remember forever.
Preparing for Goodbyes
This cute little 2D platformer has you jumping up cliffs and diving into the ocean, where a very funky tune would kick in. I enjoyed the music so much that each time I resurfaced I wanted to hear it again right away. I would climb higher and higher so I could dive deeper into the water, and hear more of the music before coming up for air once more.
This game made me consider how certain memories, and certain goodbyes, are often tied to music. It made me really nostalgic for the song ‘Sweet Disposition’ by The Temper Trap which I strongly associate with my time living in the United Kingdom.
Land of Lost Items
We’ve all lost something important to us, and despite the hope it’ll turn up eventually, it’s never seen again. I have always wondered what happens to those lost items, and this mini-game offers one explanation… They make their way to the ‘Land of Lost Items’.
You play as a misplaced parrot plushie called Louis Star and make the long journey to join other lost objects high in the sky. As you flap your way towards the entrance, you pass many lost items, stopping to talk to them about their feelings of loneliness and their desire to be found once again.
This one resonates as I think we’ve all felt discarded in life at one time or another, longing to be found and appreciated once more.
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Please Come to Say Goodbye!
Some Goodbyes We Made is a wonderful experience, exploring a topic we can all relate to. With a brief one hour playtime, it’s remarkable how deep a connection it can make in such a short space of time. Its eleven mini-games explore a variety of goodbyes, with each impacting me in some way; I was encouraged to reflect on some of the important goodbyes I have had to make in my own life.
With a beautifully curated soundtrack and a stylish collection of art styles, I was instantly drawn into these well told short stories. Art, gaming and interactive storytelling blend together to create a personal and reflective experience, that challenges what it means to be a game.
Some Goodbyes We Made has a demo out now and will be available on October 25th to download on Steam.
Quest Daily Scores Some Goodbyes We Made:
8.5/10
A copy of Some Goodbyes We Made was supplied to Quest Daily for the purpose of this review.
