Laburnum Creek is about to be wiped off the map by an approaching comet, We Stay Behind puts you in the role of Laura Tanner, a writer who has travelled to the town to speak to those who have decided that they simply won’t leave.
Almost a decade ago we wrote about Unforeseen Incidents as part of our Greenlight Highlights series. Well, in that time the developers, Backwoods Entertainment, have been busy with their latest project: We Stay Behind, Mystery and looming danger still play a major role here, however the 2D point and click adventure vibes have been replaced with beautiful, cleverly constructed 3D environments.
We Stay Behind‘s story is certainly interesting, and its characters — and their secrets — are definitely compelling… There’s clearly something suspicious going on in the area, and the citizen’s strange compulsion to stick around very quickly feels much deeper than a respect for the stunning views. In fact, it’s closer to an addiction. However, compelling story and story structure (which play out like thriller TV show scenes) aside, its the interior designs of the spaces that really excites me about it.
Every house in Laburnum Creek feels as though it was once clean, clear, empty and new. In fact, most of them do still feel quite clean and relatively recently built, however they also feel incredibly lived in. Chatting to Maggie in her hut feels like an intimate experience, and the vast collection of trinkets and books tells you exactly the kind of person she is. Speaking to the writer on his houseplant-laden balcony that overlooks the coast immediately shows you that this is the place where they choose to sit to do their writing and contemplation. And, you can’t interact with a single piece of it, it’s just absolutely fantastic — carefully placed — set decoration that, as with backdrops in point and click games, is there to bring you into the room.
I played through about an hour of We Stay Behind when I attended AdventureX late last year and, well, I didn’t get up and move away from the computer until the demo came to a conclusion. I was no closer to understanding the reason why the few citizens that remained had chosen to, but I desperately wanted to find out more.
We Stay Behind is currently in development for PC & Mac.
