While I’m not normally the type to play casual games, I’ve been finding them to be increasingly relaxing as of late.  In particular, I’ve been trying out demos for various point-and-click puzzle games, one of which is called When the Past Was Around.  The game has a simple, but pleasant art style and tells the wordless story of a girl named Eda and a man known simply as The Owl.  Based on the description, the story seems to be about love and heartbreak.

The demo covers the prologue, where we peruse several screens showing Eda and the mysterious Owl man in different rooms.  Puzzles consist of looking for various items hidden around and figuring out how one object interacts with another, such as needing to plug in the blender and use it to reduce some bread into crumbs.  Simple as it sounds, I really find this kind of thing relaxing, and it’s quite satisfying when all the pieces come together, so to speak.

What makes this game compelling, and what sets it apart from other puzzles games, is the symbolic story, which reviewers online were calling beautiful and stating that it made them cry.  I hear the game can be completed in fewer than 2 hours, and it costs $8.49 on consoles and $7.99 on Steam.

This post was originally published on The Duck of Indeed on November 5, 2021.