The Kids We Were: Complete Edition Image
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  • Summary: The Kids We Were is a narrative adventure game that attempts to capture and recreate those golden memories of a more innocent age. Join Minato, a young boy who finds himself on a strange adventure one warm summer's day.

    His journey will take him to unexpected places, and many twists and
    The Kids We Were is a narrative adventure game that attempts to capture and recreate those golden memories of a more innocent age. Join Minato, a young boy who finds himself on a strange adventure one warm summer's day.

    His journey will take him to unexpected places, and many twists and turns await him before it draws to an end.

    The Kids We Were tells an emotional tale steeped in a mix of modern and retro Japanese aesthetic. If you're interested in poignant stories or what life is like for everyday Japanese folk, we recommend giving this game a shot!

    Oh, and it's also the latest entry in Gagex's series of heartwarming story-focused games, so if this appeals to you, please check out our other titles!
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 3
  2. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. Dec 2, 2021
    100
    The Kids We Were is a must-play game with an incredibly good story that focuses on childhood friendships and family. The voxel-style graphics look beautiful, the cicadas in Japan sound great, and a catalogue of items from the 80s to collect made me feel so nostalgic.
  2. Dec 24, 2021
    75
    The Kids We Were is an adorable adventure about family, friendship, and personal growth. The game sophisticatedly fuses the supernatural tales with real-world events where each chapter feels like an episode of an anime. It’s brief in some aspects, which highlights its minimalist presentation. And, sure, the story becomes almost insanely haphazard and heavy-handed through its science fiction-based narrative dumps, but it comes together nicely as a package.
  3. Jan 25, 2022
    70
    The Kids We Were is a simple game that is fully invested in its narrative. There is not much of a game to play here, meaning it is not for everyone; mainly fans of heavy stories or visual novels will enjoy this time-traveling, heart-warming adventure. It touches on serious topics, treating them with a good conscience, and does so while throwing in the fascination of time travel and the whole idea of “what if you could change someone’s future for the better?” The voxel graphics might not totally fit with the themes, but the music and script make up for this, which allows The Kids We Were to tug on your heartstrings with its satisfying conclusion.
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  1. When the story is this earnest, it feels churlish to berate it too harshly. Its heart is in the right place, and if anything, I wish there were more slice of life games out there like this. Plenty of games start off domestically, but they often leave it behind in favour of something more spectacular and fantastical. I want more games like The Kids We Were, that have the confidence to focus on the humdrum rhythms of everyday life, and that evoke the same kind of feelings as the films of Makoto Shinkai, Mamoru Hosoda and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and the novels of Shion Miura and Hiromi Kawakami (and if these games do actually exist, please tell me about them. I want to consume and absorb them into my consciousness as soon as possible). They may not end up feeling much like the games we're used to, but I'm glad they exist all the same.