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Play Overview
When The Past Was Around (2020) is a short adventure puzzle game, where you point and click on items to gather clues, unlock doors and unravel an intriguing and emotive narrative. Without any words, it tells the tale of a young woman, Eda, and her love, the mysterious Owl man, in a surreal world consisting of disjointed rooms from memories and times past. The music from Eda's violin accompanies the story.
This whimsical and bittersweet game has themes of joy and pain, love and heartbreak, moving on and letting go, peaceful days and angsty moments. It's about losing your way on the journey to achieving your dreams, and the importance of overcoming your past.
You play by panning around different scenes to interact with doors, cupboards, boxes and so on. Along the way, you find clues and puzzle pieces that need to be solved to progress. As is the way with these games there are often some leaps of inspiration required to arrive at a solution. However throughout, the puzzles are logical and are woven into the narrative of the game.
The result is a short moving story about loss and love. You play an integral part in revisiting Eda's memories of meeting and falling in love with her Owl man. And by doing this you find you have also helped her come to terms with her loss and find a way forward.
Our examiner, Goran Wallgren, first checked When The Past Was Around 4 years ago. It was re-examined by Thom Robertson and updated 9 weeks ago.
This whimsical and bittersweet game has themes of joy and pain, love and heartbreak, moving on and letting go, peaceful days and angsty moments. It's about losing your way on the journey to achieving your dreams, and the importance of overcoming your past.
You play by panning around different scenes to interact with doors, cupboards, boxes and so on. Along the way, you find clues and puzzle pieces that need to be solved to progress. As is the way with these games there are often some leaps of inspiration required to arrive at a solution. However throughout, the puzzles are logical and are woven into the narrative of the game.
The result is a short moving story about loss and love. You play an integral part in revisiting Eda's memories of meeting and falling in love with her Owl man. And by doing this you find you have also helped her come to terms with her loss and find a way forward.
Our examiner, Goran Wallgren, first checked When The Past Was Around 4 years ago. It was re-examined by Thom Robertson and updated 9 weeks ago.
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Play Style
This is a Narrative and Point-and-Click game with Adventure and Puzzle elements. This is a single-player game.
You can play this game in the following styles:
Benefits
Age Ratings
The game deals with the growing illness and eventual death of a character. This isn't depicted gratuitously but does use some visual and audible techniques to communicate the shocking loss of losing someone you love.
Skill Level
10+ year-olds usually have the required skill to enjoy this game. Still, it’s important for parents and guardians to ensure they understand in-game purchases and have spending limits set-up. Younger players need to have really good observation skills and be willing to get stuck and keep trying. The emotive side of the game needs some maturity to engage with, as does the sometimes unsettling moments of loss.
Costs
When The Past Was Around usually costs £0 to £7.39.
This game is free to play, but there are other costs associated with this game:
It's important to set up your accounts and devices appropriately. More information is on our Financial Resources page.
When The Past Was Around
 | Xbox One | £7.09 | – | – |
| PC | £7.09 | – | – |
 | Switch | £7.09 | – | – |
 SALE | PC | £6.69 | £4.01 until 10/07/2025 | – |
| SALE | Mac | £6.69 | £4.01 until 10/07/2025 | – |
 | PS4 | £7.39 | – | – |
 | Android | Free | – | – |
 | iOS | Free | – | – |
- In-Game Purchases: Additional in-game purchases are offered for items that enhance the experience.
It's important to set up your accounts and devices appropriately. More information is on our Financial Resources page.
Game Details
Release Date: 22/09/2020, updated in 2020
Price: 40% Off
Out Now: Android, Mac, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One and iOS
Skill Rating: 10+ year-olds
Players: 1
Genres: Narrative, Point-and-Click (Adventure and Puzzle)
Accessibility: 9 features
Components: 2D Side-On and Hand-Made
Developer: Mojiken Studio (@MojikenStudio)
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Written by parents for parents, the database complements the in-depth discussion about video game addiction, violence, spending and online safety in the Taming Gaming book. We are an editorially independent, free resource without adverts that is supported by partnerships. |
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