We Were Here Forever is the fourth games in the “We Were Here” series from Total Mayhem Games. It further refines their highly original and entertaining brand of co-op gameplay, and with full cross-platform support it’s a great moment to dive in. Here’s our review, based on PlayStation and PC cross-play.
We’ve always loved the idea of collaborative play, and seeing the industry react so well to It Takes Two was great to see. There are tons of other great co-op experiences out there though, like Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, which is still a VR favorite of ours. The We Were Here Series isn’t as well known as those two examples, but the concept is great and we’ve enjoyed all three games that came before. Essentially, you both play on your own system, but you have an active audio connection to help you collaborate and solve puzzles.
It has its limitations (you can’t play local co-op unless you have two machines), but as long as you meet the criteria (and this is a game you can play with a long distance friend as well) it’s a blast to get through together as you test out your verbal communication skills as much as you test your gaming skills.
In that sense, We Were Here Together is very much like a real escape room – communicating about what you’re seeing in order to help the other person with clues and/or connections. As with an escape room, one player might be working on a puzzle while the other stumbles upon a clue for said puzzle. And because you’re not confined to a single room in this virtual environment, you could find yourself trapped inside a maze while your buddy helps guide you through it.
What makes We Were Here Forever stand out from regular escape room is also the length of the campaign. With a story that’s over 10 hours long, this one offers great value for money – and not just because of its length, also because of how diverse the campaign is in structure. You can find yourself exploring and navigating for a while, then solving a complex puzzle together, or collaborating on a timed challenge.
We Were Here Forever isn’t perfect though – some of its puzzle designs feel too random for their own good, and we resorted to some online help for two of them even though we’re fairly seasoned puzzlers. In addition, the pacing for some of the maze-like sections and times challenges also felt a little off at times – at least compared to some of the top-notch puzzle games out there. Games like Portal or (in co-op land) It Takes Two will constantly keep you engaged, and we found that there was an ebb and flow to how immersed we were in this one.
Still, if you enjoy co-op puzzle experiences, which are still a rare breed, this is a must-play experience. With cross-platform play, a diverse and lengthy campaign and a unique format where verbal communication is key, this is a format we’d love to see more of.
Score: 7.5/10
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