In We Stay Behind, some residents refused to evacuate their town even though a comet is headed directly towards them. Why would they stay? What’s going on here?
The Backstory of We Stay Behind
I played as Laura, a newspaper reporter. She wanted to write an article about the town of Laburnum Creek, a small community that used to be a popular health resort. There’s a comet headed directly towards the town, and it is predicted to devastate the entire area. The government had declared the area an emergency evacuation zone. Most of the residents left, but a few stayed behind. Why? What mysteries will the plucky Laura uncover as she researches her story?
The Look and Feel of We Stay Behind
The health resort area of Laburnum Creek was very bucolic. There were lots of trees, lovely A-frame houses, a lake and lots of space to breathe. The interiors of the A-frame houses were furnished beautifully with stylish furniture and gorgeous accessories. I would like to live there! The center of town was a little different story. In the center of town, there were many homes, not quite as beautiful as the A-frames in the resort area, and they were mostly boarded up. In one home, the garage door was open, and the former occupants’ items were just sitting there. It was a very eerie place.
In the very beginning of the game, there was a calm, soft soundtrack. That was soon replaced by superb voice acting in the indoor scenes, the sound of my car tyres when I travelled on gravel roads, and bird songs and chattering squirrels in the outdoor scenes. In spite of the abandoned houses, all parts of the town were still beautiful and very well rendered. The whole game was a treat for the eyes and ears.
We Stay Behind was a 3D open-world adventure of the best kind. At the beginning, when I had just met my first NPC, Maggie, she invited me to her home for a cup of tea. As she led the way, I decided to explore the edges of the trail and just wander around the forest a bit. Maggie very patiently waited for me and did not go to her home until I was following her. I love being able to explore freely like that, especially in such a beautiful setting.
Although the setting is lovely, there is another creepy thing about We Stay Behind. There are signs all over asking for help to find a missing woman. What happened to her? What is the backstory there? I spoke with a resident, Mr Harris. He said that local people speculate that some sort of monster was involved in Vicky’s disappearance. He kept hinting about the water in town? Yikes!! He said there’s more to worry about in town than just a comet ,which may or may not even land there. Mysterious for sure.
The Gameplay of We Stay Behind
The story of what happened during my time in Laburnum was partly told in retrospect, using cut scenes of my sessions with a therapist. Through this method, I was given a little bit of information at a time, just enough to progress the story a bit. It was tantalizing!
There was very little instruction given when the game began; it simply was not necessary. We Stay Behind is an interactive story, not a platformer or puzzle game. My actions were to walk around, click on items which gave an indication they could be interacted with and carry on conversations with NPCs. In most instances, I was given choices of replies to the NPCs’ dialogues. Although my choices don’t affect the outcome of the demo, they will definitely affect the outcome of the full game. I really had a good time with this! I loved the pacing and the lack of pressure.
In the demo, Maggie told me about some town residents I should interview. I was also given a map of the area and the ability to fast travel in my van. I would walk to where my van was parked, open the map and choose where I wanted to go. After a brief traveling scene, I was there. Sure beats walking!
During my initial conversations with Maggie, she asked how I was feeling. I told her that I had a headache, and I blamed it on lack of sleep. But Maggie said that the area of Laburnum Creek was special with vibrations, cosmic rays and other mystical properties that were affecting me. She said it will take time for me to become accustomed to the place. I’m not sure where that is going, but it was very mysterious, and I wanted to know more.
A Couple of Difficulties
I ran into a couple of issues playing We Stay Behind, including one short scene at the end of the demo where an NPC speaks in German! So I reached out to the game dev, who got back to me very quickly. They are currently working on an updated demo, which will fix the difficulties I encountered, including the German text. I was assured that none of the issues was critical to the game outcome, they were just annoyances. I’m always impressed with game devs who are very responsive to players. To me, it indicates that they are committed to developing an excellent game and want to make sure the players have the best possible experience with it. So Bravo to Blackwoods Entertainment!
Final Thoughts
The last NPC I encountered in the demo of We Stay Behind was Mr Lovell, the store owner. I found him to be agitated and very frightened of something. He told me he was sleeping badly. Some of the other things he said to me were “feels like this place is pulling me apart” and “I know what I need to do”. He stated he was seeing things out of the corner of his eye, but when he’d look closer, they were gone. He insisted that he’d met me before, but that was not true; this was my first time there. He ended our conversation by telling me to leave, which I did. (I do need to caution that Mr Lovell uttered a choice word at this point, so this game may not be suitable for younger players.) But Mr Lovell was quite upset! I had a final session with my therapist and went home to bed. During the night I heard an explosion and saw that Mr Lovell’s house was on fire. And that’s how the demo ended!! Wow, I need to know more.
I am looking forward to playing the full version of We Stay Behind; it’s very mysterious. You can play the demo on Steam now, but there’s no release date yet for the full version. I hope it’s soon!
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