STORY
What would you do if your daughter never came home but you could track her down?
It’s not the first time she ran away. But you’re uneasy … this time feels so different. Long ago, you swore never to return here. And now, she has dragged you back. Your search leads deep into ancient Moravian...
What would you do if your daughter never came home but you could track her down?
It’s not the first time she ran away. But you’re uneasy … this time feels so different. Long ago, you swore never to return here. And now, she has dragged you back. Your search leads deep into ancient Moravian forests and reveals secrets that should have stayed buried.
While your survival skills and quick wits might advance your search, malevolent forces rise up against you. There are nightmares you can’t fight and win. Some of them … could be yours.
Your character is Daniel, Stela’s father, who is forced by events to return to a place, he swore never to return. In the forest, he will encounter peculiar people who will help him understand the true reason why Stela keeps running away. Someday You’ll Return deals with intimate concepts of fatherhood, fears, lies, and refusal to accept one’s past. While the story contains strong horror elements it’s not always the most obvious monsters which are the most frightening.
The story itself spans over 13+ hours, depending on your playstyle.
GAMEPLAY
Someday You’ll Return brings new bold ideas to the horror genre
Psychological horror - Uncover dark mysteries of the ancient Czech forest and face your deepest fears
Unique Crafting system - Use your head and think when crafting some of the useful tools of survival
Herbalism and alchemy system - Find rare herbs and brew your own potions that will help you survive the nightmarish world of Someday You’ll Return
Exploration - Explore lush forests, deep caverns, and old castles to find your daughter’s lost journal pages, folk songs, and rare collectibles. With climbing and swimming, no secrets of the ancient forest are safe from you
Karmic system - Reach one of five different endings based on your actions throughout the game
Journal - Decypher your daughter’s journal and uncover the whole truth
Real-life locations - Discover existing places recreated in the stunning graphics of the Unreal Engine 4 and scan QR codes to find their actual locations on a tourist map
SETTING
Someday You’ll Return takes place in the beautiful scenic areas of the Czech Republic. While they are not exact duplicates, we desired to capture the atmosphere of Bohemian nature. There are well-known landmarks placed within the world, which you can discover and which we've personally visited many times in our lives. You can even grab your backpack and hike there.
The referenced locations and mythos in the game are ancient. Some of the tales mentioned in Someday You’ll Return date back to the 9th century.
Popular achievements
The Journey Started
Welcome to the woods.
common
·
69.89%
The Woods are Lovely
Apparently not everything is as simple as it seems.
common
·
52.15%
The Camp
You've finally reached the camp.
common
·
38.71%
Mountaneer
You're still able to climb after all these years.
common
·
50.54%
Craftsman
You've build your first contraption.
common
·
53.23%
Candy Wrap
You've helped cleaning the forest a little bit.
common
·
55.91%
Herbalist
You've brewed your first potion.
common
·
39.25%
Goodies
Soundtrack (MP3)
Soundtrack (WAV)
System requirements
Minimum system requirements:
Recommended system requirements:
Recommended system requirements:
Why buy on GOG.COM?
DRM FREE. No activation or online connection required to play.
Captivating story:
In the beginning of the game the story might look silly and the characters uninteresting. Which in my opinion might be also the author's intention. Because the further in the game, the more captivating the story and the relationships grow. Heavy topic indeed. It's also nicely done, how it's up to the player how much of the characters' background he wants/tries to see.
Non-trivial puzzles:
Original execution of the puzzles which leads to a really enjoyable challenge.
Great atmosphere
There are moments in the game, where the graphics and sound design absolutely shine and you can "feel" the situation in the game.
Someday You'll Return is a peaceful, yet unsettling descent into the madness of one man's mind. The experiences it's most like are SOMA and Through the Woods, which is high praise. Like those titles, SYR weaves together breathtaking vistas, great music, Czech folklore, Czech countryside, and a dark story to make a really affective and memorable journey.
The elements SYR brings together are remarkable. A large part of the adventure involves hiking a gorgeously rendered countryside, which is really peaceful and detailed, including trail maps and informative poster boards that highlight local flora, fauna, and landmarks. But it also includes cool mechanics like brewing magic potions and climbing walls realistically.
Another brave and beautiful choice is to have the gamer control an anti-hero avatar. So many games make us the hero of the story. But Daniel is offensive and sometimes downright evil. Not only does this allow for distinct storytelling possibilities, but it also is just refreshing to be a flawed and unlikeable character for a change, however much the final chapters prove redemptive.
Some players have complained about the stealth mechanics in chapters with enemies, but the comparison to the other games above is crucial. SYR is not attempting to be Outlast. If you don't treat this as an outwit the monsters game, and instead just follow the in-game instructions provided, most enemy-laden areas are easy to pass through. That is because the aim of this game in part is atmosphere and immersion, not anxiety-inducing terror. The developers want to draw you into this forbidding world, not make you flee for your life.
It's not perfect, and some of the story is a bit opaque, but the strong voice acting and excellent music choices keep the emotional power present enough that I was engrossed the whole way through. Czech fairy tales and monsters are awesome, and I hope CBE makes another title like this one!
This game was a unique experience for me and although it has its flaws, it deserves 5 stars.
I liked walking through the forest, based on the Czech nature, and looking around.
I liked uncovering the dark story.
It doesn't take long for the player to understand that some things are not what they seem at first glance, and that some things have been made to feel odd on purpose.
As for the game mechanisms, I liked solving puzzles, other mechanisms like climbing or sneaking get a bit annoying after a while.
The story moves repeatedly between something that seems like reality and something that is not easy to describe and that looks a bit like an apocalyptic vision or madness.
Unlike the "real "forest environment walking which I enjoyed, walking in interiors or that "other reality" was quite repetitive and monotonous in some moments and could have been shorter.
It's not that the interiors or the "apocalyptic locations" were bad, but at some points I felt there was too much walking around and doing repetitive things in those locations that didn't add anything to the story.
The story, along with the forest environment, is the best part of the game. And don't think that at the end you will 100% understand what it all meant.
The game will let players interpret the story in their own way based on what they found in the game and what clues and allegories they put together.
While the plot itself isn't super original at first glance, and you may come across some similarities in other games or movies, the story here has much more depth, and is told in a way that can leave you with intense feelings, especially if you have kids in real life.
This game is definitely not as scary as the most famous horror games like Amnesia, but the impression it left on me is disturbing and it even made me wonder a little if I'm being nice enough to my kids, even though I'm pretty far from the darker sides of the protagonist's personality.
After reading the reviews I begun thinking I was playing a different game. The story is boring and the so called horror virtually non-existence. Add to that weird bugs that show you dying but does not end the game as you can still do actions but not move.
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