If Found...

 Switch
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 10 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 10
  3. Negative: 2 out of 10

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  1. shoebill
    Feb 19, 2021
    2
    This game is awful. I love viz novs, I love emotional stories, and I, oddly enough, am a big supporter of "slow" or "awkward" mechanics as a tool to drive game pacing. I hate giving such harsh criticism given that this was clearly a personal labor of love, but I'm honestly annoyed I spent time on it. This game managed to just miss the mark on execution.
    1. Mechanics. This is a viz nov    This game is awful. I love viz novs, I love emotional stories, and I, oddly enough, am a big supporter of "slow" or "awkward" mechanics as a tool to drive game pacing. I hate giving such harsh criticism given that this was clearly a personal labor of love, but I'm honestly annoyed I spent time on it. This game managed to just miss the mark on execution.
    1. Mechanics. This is a viz nov in which, instead of "press A/enter to advance the dialogue boxes," you scrub the screen clean. This comes across as a chore, not a cool way to discover new things hidden on the page. It's more like "Hold A for 4 seconds to advance the dialogue" - it's not something that I transform or influence, it's just slow for the sake of being slow. A good contrast is a game like Analogue or like Her Story, where getting the next "dialogue" is slow but that's because you tailor the order/direction of what's revealed. Towards the end of the game, you unfold the narrative by stamping pre-determined words on the page, wherever you'd like to stamp them. What? I'm not looking to create my own House of Leaves, thanks. I got nothing from the mechanics here other than frustration.
    2. Story. This is the story of Kasio, who...does some stuff in Ireland in the 90s. It's very slice-of-life, but with a few dramatic character reveals and conflicts. The big problem is that it is very hard to like Kasio. Kasio is drowning in self-pity, and I get it - people don't treat them how they want to be treated. But it's not that fun or interesting to see a character you've only known for a little bit push away a bunch of people who try to reach out to them (with varying levels of understanding or effectiveness) and then say "nobody gets me" and curl up in a ball (to be clear- the character is 23, not 14). You get the sense that they are tired of a long history of people not getting them, but that's not made clear narratively. All I saw as a player was a person rejecting people without really trying to work with them, and it's just irritating to watch. It would work better as a narrative specifically about depression, where the brain isn't letting them cope, but it's not set up that way or expressly raised in the game.

    I only finished this because I thought that -something- else had to happen for all the rave reviews, and it was so short that by the time I waited for "something" long enough, it was over. If you are looking for an emotional queer viz nov with a similar art style and music, play We Know the Devil instead and never look back.    … Expand
  2. Reed618
    Jan 9, 2021
    10
    A very touching story with beautiful artwork. It's only about two hours and its a visual novel without much gameplay but the story is very well told. I also loved seeing Irish terms like 'rashers'. This added a great deal of charm to it. The characters felt very real and were written beautifully. Definitely one of my favorite games of 2020 :)
  3. Nokutenda
    Jan 14, 2021
    10
    If you're queer you need to play this game. It's a great trans story with an ensemble of really fun Irish lads
  4. Terrax
    Sep 14, 2021
    10
    It is very rare for me as a transgender woman to actually encounter nuanced media that I can relate to personally. This is a feat in itself.

    You may get less out of it as a cisgender person but it could still be an excellent exercise in verstehen. Many of the scenarios depicted are true to life, laced with the ever looming tension and fear of unacceptance. All the while, characters have    It is very rare for me as a transgender woman to actually encounter nuanced media that I can relate to personally. This is a feat in itself.

    You may get less out of it as a cisgender person but it could still be an excellent exercise in verstehen. Many of the scenarios depicted are true to life, laced with the ever looming tension and fear of unacceptance. All the while, characters have their own personality and motives that stand beyond their queer identities. The backdrop of 90's Ireland is a character itself, snippets of culture that add a unique flavor and a bit of edutainment. The sci-fi interstitials add a layer of whimsy and intensity to the narrative.

    This is a spectacular, short visual novel with light interactive components. Nothing new or groundbreaking in the vein of gameplay but definitely is a milestone LGBTQ narrative. This is an exemplary work that I strongly recommend if you want a true-to-life vignette of not only what it means to be trans, but how life is.    … Expand
  5. mikemaniac
    Apr 8, 2022
    10
    Interesting story, beautiful art, immersive and touching. There are hardly any games with trans main characters out there, so this was a nice surprise and hope to see more.

Awards & Rankings

67
#67 Best Switch Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 1 out of 7
  1. DarkStation
    Jan 4, 2021
    40
    One of the biggest factors I always rate games on is whether they are fun to play. A game could be the most mechanically polished, gorgeous, epic game, but if I didn’t have much fun playing it, that would impact my score dramatically. So, while “fun” is entirely subjective, I just had absolutely no fun whatsoever with …If Found. As a side note: I completed this game is entirely under two hours. While that isn’t a problem for me personally, some gamers do make a cost benefit decision based upon length of content. So, it is something to be aware of.
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  2. TheSixthAxis
    Nov 25, 2020
    80
    Being a visual novel, If Found… won’t be for everyone, but those willing to give it a try will find a beautiful and endearing story of self-acceptance. The gorgeous hand-drawn art and the story coming directly from a diary really give the impression of an insight to someone’s life, and the gameplay idea of actually erasing history and identity creates an intensely emotional experience.
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  3. Switch Player
    Nov 3, 2020
    90
    If Found… is a moving, heartfelt tale about identity and relationships at the end of the world. The unique mechanics marry perfectly to the themes explored, and the short two-hour runtime makes it an excellent choice for a cosy evening in.
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