We Were Here Series
Genre(s)First-person, puzzle
Developer(s)Total Mayhem Games
Publisher(s)Total Mayhem Games
Platform(s)Steam, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Series S, PlayStation 5
First releaseWe Were Here
February 3, 2017
Latest releaseWe Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip
September 14, 2023

We Were Here is a franchise of cooperative first-person adventure video games, created by the Dutch studio Total Mayhem Games.

Premise and gameplay

The We Were Here games are cooperative first-person adventure games with puzzle elements. In each game there are two players who take on a different role. They must work together to solve puzzles, generally while in different rooms and unable to see the other. Each player has a walkie-talkie to communicate with the other, which is what allows them to solve the puzzles they face.[1]

History

Release timeline
2017We Were Here
2018We Were Here Too
2019We Were Here Together
2020
2021
2022We Were Here Forever
2023We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip

The first We Were Here was developed by Dutch studio Total Mayhem Games as part of a student project while studying at the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences. It was a student entrant for the Independent Games Festival 2018, and won the Best Indie Game Award in 2017 at the Indigo showcase in the Netherlands. It was released for free on Steam in February 2017.[2][3][4]

The original We Were Here was first released on PC on February 3, 2017, with the sequel We Were Here Too releasing on February 2, 2018. An Xbox One version of We Were Here released in September 2019, and We Were Here Too for Xbox One was released on October 2 the same year. The third game We Were Here Together was released on PC on October 10, 2019, and Xbox One on June 5, 2020.[5][4][6][7]

All three games were released on PlayStation 4 on February 23, 2021. We Were Here was released as a free to download on PlayStation Store from February 9 until February 22, as part of the release date announcement.[8][9][10]

We Were Here (2017)

We Were Here is a cooperative first-person puzzle video game developed by Total Mayhem Games from The Netherlands, released for free on February 3, 2017, on Steam for PC. Two players take the role of Antarctic explorers who have become split up in an old castle, called Castle Rock. They must solve puzzles by communicating via walkie-talkies.[3][11] It was released on Xbox One on September 16, 2019, and was featured in Xbox Games with Gold.[5][4][12][6]

We Were Here Too (2018)

We Were Here Too was the first commercial release by Total Mayhem Games. The gameplay is similar to the original We Were Here, with two players who are split up and must solve puzzles by communicating via walkie-talkie. The game was released on February 2, 2018, on Steam for PC, and on October 2, 2019, for Xbox One.[1][11][13][6]

We Were Here Together (2019)

We Were Here Together was released on October 10, 2019, on Steam for PC, and on June 5, 2020, for Xbox One.[14] In a twist on the series' usual gameplay, players spend some of the game in the same area together, where they can both visit the same locations. There are new locations including the base camp where their expedition began, ice caves, and Antarctic outdoors. Working together is still required to progress.[15][16][17]

We Were Here Forever (2022)

We Were Here Forever was announced for PC, PlayStation 4 + 5, and Xbox One + Series X|S. It was released on May 10, 2022, for PC only, on Steam and the Epic Games Store. The console versions for Xbox and PlayStation were released on January 31, 2023, and included a crossplay update for the PC version, allowing players from all three platforms to play together. We Were Here Forever was the first game in the series to support crossplay.[18][19] The game has new areas, puzzles, and an improved interface.[20][21][22][23]

We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip (2023)

We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip released for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation on September 14, 2023. The game shadow launched for free till October 13, 2023 on Steam, the Epic Games Store, and the PlayStation Store, offering a free permanent access to players. Additionally, Xbox users had the opportunity to try out a free 10 hour trial version. Like the other games in the series, We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip follows a two-player cooperative gameplay format but it introduces a new element as well: replayable puzzles where players can earn bronze, silver or gold medals. The game is notably less narrative-focused than the previous titles of the series. However, it continues the series' support of crossplay, allowing players on different platforms to play the game together.[24]

Reception

Aggregate review scores
Game Metacritic
We Were Here (PS4) 63/100[25]
We Were Here Too (PC) 69/100[26]
(XONE) 72/100[27]
We Were Here Together (PC) 77/100[28]
(PS4) 62/100[29]
(XONE) 70/100[30]
We Were Here Forever (PC) 77/100[31]
(XONE) 81/100[32]
We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip (PC) 82/100[33]
(PS5) TBD [34]
(XSXS) TBD [35]

In their review of We Were Here Too, Adventure Gamers described the first game as noble, saying that "though bite-sized, it offered a neat concept and was well received".[36]

We Were Here Too received "mixed or average" reviews, with outlets largely praising the puzzles and core gameplay, but noting that the game was fairly short. Adventure Gamers found that "solving puzzles co-operatively is very satisfying", but criticized the game for being short and lacking detailed story. Vgames praised the puzzles and atmosphere, but also found it short and lacking replay value. PLAY! Zine described the puzzles and communication gameplay as strong points, but criticized the story and some technical issues.[36][37][38]

We Were Here Together received "mixed or average" reviews for console and "generally positive" reviews for PC. The puzzles and core gameplay were well received, and critics appreciated the game being longer than its predecessors. However, the narrative part of the game was largely seen as underwhelming or distracting. Adventure Gamers praised the puzzles and communication gameplay, while encountering some technical issues and finding the story unclear. Game Watcher described it as 'a must-play for fans of both co-op adventures and challenging puzzles', while also noting some technical issues. Games.cz called it 'by far, the best installment of the whole series' but criticised its story as weak.[39][40][41]

We Were Here Forever received "generally favorable" reviews, with critics praising its tight co-op design while criticizing its sometimes unbalanced puzzle design.[42][32]

References

  1. ^ a b "We Were Here Too is a co-op escape game that aims to keeps the players apart". PC Gamer. 2 February 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  2. ^ "We Were Here IGF". Independent Games Festival. 12 October 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  3. ^ a b O'Connor, Alice (6 February 2017). "Co-op puzzler We Were Here released free". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "The We Were Here Series is Headed to Xbox One". GameSpew. 2 May 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  5. ^ a b "The We Were Here series is coming to Xbox One!". The Xbox Hub. 2 May 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c "We Were Here debuts for free on Xbox One thanks to Games With Gold as We Were Here Too gets release date". The Xbox Hub. 16 September 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  7. ^ "We Were Here Together Is Now Available For Digital Pre-order And Pre-download On Xbox One". majornelson.com. 22 May 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  8. ^ "The We Were Here Series puzzles its way to PlayStation!". gamasutra.com. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  9. ^ "We Were Here Series - Announcement Trailer PS5, PS4". YouTube. February 9, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  10. ^ "We Were Here Too And We Were Here Together Out Now For PS4 – Watch The Launch Trailer". psu.com. 23 February 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  11. ^ a b "We Were Here + We Were Here Too". theco-opcouch.com. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  12. ^ "New Games with Gold for September 2019e". Xbox Wire. 29 August 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  13. ^ "We Were Here Together Aangekondigd". IGN Benelux. 12 September 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  14. ^ Clayton, Natalie (13 October 2019). "We Were Here Together launches with some chilling cooperative brainteasers". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  15. ^ Tarason, Dominic (12 September 2018). "We Were Here Together makes the co-op puzzler series a trilogy next year". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  16. ^ "We Were Here Together". Gamereactor. 14 April 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  17. ^ "We Were Here Together - In diesem Koop-Adventure müsst ihr miteinander reden, um zu überleben". GameStar. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  18. ^ "We Were Here Forever heads to PlayStation and Xbox with cross-play in January". VG247. 11 November 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  19. ^ "We Were Here Forever Review (Xbox)". Xbox Tavern. 1 January 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  20. ^ "We Were Here Forever - Release Date Reveal". YouTube. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  21. ^ "Next-Gen Puzzler We Were Here Forever Announced". IGN. 10 March 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  22. ^ "We Were Here Forever Review". IGN. 12 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  23. ^ "We Were Here Forever Review". Video Chums. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  24. ^ " "We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip shadow drops out of nowhere". Destructoid. 14 September 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  25. ^ "We Were Here for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  26. ^ "We Were Too for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  27. ^ "We Were Too for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  28. ^ "We Were Together for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  29. ^ "We Were Together for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  30. ^ "We Were Together for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  31. ^ "We Were Forever for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  32. ^ a b "We Were Here Forever for Xbox Series X". Metacritic. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  33. ^ "We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  34. ^ "We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  35. ^ "We Were Here Expeditions: The FriendShip for Xbox Series X". Metacritic. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
  36. ^ a b "We Were Here Too". Adventure Gamers. 26 March 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  37. ^ "We Were Here Too - ביקורת". Vgames. 4 September 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  38. ^ "REVIEW: We Were Here Too". PLAY! Zine. 20 March 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  39. ^ "We Were Here Together - ביקורת". Adventure Gamers. 6 December 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  40. ^ "IS WE WERE HERE TOGETHER THE BEST PUZZLER OF 2019?". Game Watcher. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  41. ^ "We Were Here Together – recenze jedinečného koopu". Games.cz. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  42. ^ "We Were Here Forever for PC". Metacritic. Retrieved 2022-05-28.

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