The Kids We Were ready for play time on PC and Switch

Written by Jack Allin — January 15, 2022 at 10:52

Many time travel stories are epic tales with world-saving importance, but the stakes are much more personal for the protagonist of The Kids We Were, a former mobile-exclusive narrative adventure that has now made its way to PC and Switch. 

A boy named Minato arrives in the small town of Kagami, an "exceptionally ordinary sort of place in a sleepy suburb of Tokyo," in order to search for his missing father, who supposedly lives somewhere nearby. Soon he discovers the first major clue to his father's wherabouts, a "mysterious notebook left for him with the portentous title 'The Seven Mysteries.'" With its help Minato is able to travel back 33 years to the late 1980s, and specifically the time when his mother and father first met. Seeking to "change the past in the hopes of easing the pain of [his] family in the present," the young protagonist starts out "alone and friendless" in an unfamiliar time, but soon "discovers allies willing to aid him on his path, and together these young heroes overcome challenges, solve mysteries, and slowly uncover a terrible truth."

Presented in a 3D voxel art style, The Kids We Were allows players to freely explore the colourful cityscape in a "nostalgic journey through a unique time in Japan's recent history." In this "cinematic adventure game with a heavy focus on narrative," you'll find yourself searching for clues, interacting with a variety of other characters, and collecting "over 90 retro items hidden in the nooks and crannies." The story promises to make you both "laugh and cry," with a projected play time of about five to six hours in total.

Created by indie Japanese developer Gagex and released as a mobile exclusive in February 2020 on the App Store for iOS and Google Play for Android devices (free to try with in-app purchases), The Kids We Were is now available on Steam for Windows PC and the Nintendo eShop for Switch. The new versions come packaged as a "Complete Edition" with added collectibles and a bonus episode called "Mirai's Pendant," set after the events of the main story and following "the tale of a certain familiar little girl."