How We Know We’re Alive is an incredibly beautiful and touching narrative-driven mystery adventure where you return to your childhood home in the bible belt of Sweden, to investigate the death of your estranged best friend.
In How We Know We’re Alive you follow the adventure of Sara, an aspiring writer who moved away from her hometown of Härunga, to escape the people and build a meaningful life in the big city. You lost touch with your best friend Maria over the years you were away, and last year she tragically died. You now return to Härunga, in the bible belt of Sweden, to try and piece together the mystery of how her life fell apart while you weren’t there and why she died.
It takes around an hour to play through How We Know We’re Alive and it’s an incredibly well crafted experience. It’s got a point and click interface, but it’s entirely narrative-driven (no puzzles to solve) and sees you exploring your old town, meeting some familiar faces from your past and piecing together the story of Maria’s life in Härunga and how she died. It’s clear that your character has a lot of disdain for her old hometown, and it’s interesting to see her perspective on the place and the people there now that she’s returned to it.
The pixel art visuals in How We Know We’re Alive are absolutely beautiful, the soundtrack is superb and the whole thing is extremely polished. It’s the writing and the overall story that really stands out though. The conversations feel real, the people you meet all feel like people we’ve all grown up around and the message behind Maria’s story is incredibly powerful and very original. It’s a deeply touching and emotional game that really hits hard and gives a very different take on small town life than most media. Highly recommended.
Controls: WASD – Movement, Mouse – Point & Click
Available On: Windows, Mac & Linux
Gameplay Video: Here
Download How We Know We’re Alive Here