About the Project
When We Come Back is a co-op 3D platformer for two players. It can be played online or locally in split-screen mode. It takes place on a tropical island, in and around a massive solarpunk city that players must work together to revive before the arrival of their people. When We Come Back features puzzle-platforming action inspired by the games our team grew up playing, and highly-detailed environments that make the most of Unreal Engine 5's visual capabilities.
We've taken a firm stance against the use of AI in this project. When We Come Back is 100% created by a small group of hardworking human game developers and their various feline assistants.
Core Details
Genre
Co-op 3D puzzle platformer for two players.
Can be played locally or online.
Play Time
4-5 hour main story, with 2+ hours of side content, like optional puzzles, objectives, and exploration.
Platforms
PC at launch, with other platforms to be shipped post-launch. Developed in Unreal Engine 5.
Audience
Young players, beginners, and gamers like us looking for a bit of nostalgia
Keywords
Joyful, whimsical, elegant, solarpunk, futuristic, highly-detailed
Design Pillars
Fun to Play Together
Our design team is made up of a pair of siblings who grew up gaming together, so we know firsthand how frustrating it can be when co-op games heavily favor a particular player. Our goal is to create gameplay scenarios that are equally fun and engaging for both players, so they're encouraged to explore together and collaborate.
Balanced For Beginners
Our intention is to create a game that feels joyful and relaxing to play. We're committed to creating a simple, streamlined experience that even brand new gamers can enjoy.
This means easy-to-understand mechanics, a simple core loop, and a responsive character controller that behaves predictably across multiple traversal methods.
Visually Striking
Our gorgeous setting and vibrant art style are central to When We Come Back's identity. We want our players to experience things they've never seen in games before, from the fancifully floral design of our machines to our whimsically elegant architecture. Our goal is to delight and surprise at every turn, and make the player feel like the world of the game is better because they're in it.
Living World
We want our game to feel as alive and engaging as possible. To achieve this, our goal is to make sure our players can see the impact they're having on their environment through obvious beautification during gameplay. Achieving objectives should positively effect both the player and their surroundings, so that they get the feeling of leaving the world better than they found it.
Narrative
Our story is set in a solarpunk-inspired future where humans spend most of their time in small groups at sea. Every twelve years, communities from across the ocean gather together in massive futuristic cities to trade, grow their families, and share stories of their travels.
Our heroes are two children from one such seafaring group. As part of a tradition that dates back generations, they have been sent ahead of the rest of their community to restore the city to its former glory and assure its ecosystem is ready to support the coming population.
Their task will require exploring the city at large, as well as three mysterious megastructures left behind by their ancestors. Here, they'll use a variety of solarpunk-inspired machines to get their city's sustainably powered water purification systems, farms, and power grid functioning again. Once they've reawakened the sustainable paradise their people once called home, they'll ignite a bright-burning beacon that will bring the scattered people of the world back together.
Gameplay
When We Come Back's gameplay caters to an audience that's looking for a fun, relaxing experience. Our platforming environments are simple and intuitive to navigate, including plenty of affordances given for players missing jumps, and manageable chunks of puzzle-solving with generous checkpoints. Much of the action focuses on interacting with the futuristic machines that power human civilization in our city setting.
Players can expect classic platformer elements like moving platforms, timed challenges, and plenty of optional collectibles. A simple control scheme and easy to learn core mechanics assure that our players' focus remains on the beautiful scenery and engaging puzzle design, rather than learning the game's basics.
Untethered Co-Op
Though most of our puzzles require both players to solve, they're free to explore on their own as well! Our hub city environment is designed with untethered co-op in mind, with plenty of optional content like flight challenges and collectibles to find together or alone. We've even added a few fun surprises to get players chasing each other through the streets. Water balloon fight, anyone?
Powered by Science
The magic's in the machines! Each of the city's mega-structures features different types of bio-inspired machines that help with one of the core functions that keep human society running. Players will gain a tool in each megastructure that lets them interact with these machines in new ways, meaning they're always unlocking new chances to make the world a more beautiful place.
Bite-Sized Gameplay
One of our core goals is to create a game that caters to short play sessions and busy lifestyles. Puzzles are easily checkpointed, and our charming assistant character, "Merryweather", is always happy to offer a bit of guidance. The game's simple controls and intuitive level design also help assure that players can pick up right where they left off, no matter how long they've been away!
When We Come Back is set in a Solarpunk inspired utopian future where humans have continued to develop advanced technologies while maintaining harmony with nature. In our world, human civilization is 100% powered by renewable energy, and the machines we build are designed to work in sync with local ecosystems rather than disrupting them. This imaginary civilization has its roots in the very real concept of "biomimicry", a scientific philosophy that uses nature as an inspiration for creating solutions to modern scientific problems.
Our team is committed to creating an ideal future that has its roots in realism. The architecture and technology in our game are inspired by real solutions being developed by innovators around the world, whose visions for a better future we believe in strongly. We'd like to give our players a taste of that bright, green future in as many ways as we can, so that the beautiful world they see onscreen feels truly, inspiringly possible.
The Bright, Green Future
