A really solid adventure/exploration title in which you must keep a record of the world around you via pictures and audio recordings. Interesting premise, solid story and lore and a contemplative experience all come together to form a winning combination!

Picture your perfect vacation. I know some of you will imagine yourselves at home, playing videogames. Maybe you have company: a dog, a cat, an ostrich or a special other. Some of you will picture a trip somewhere meaningful to you, be it alone, with friends, family… and then we’ll get the occasional nutjob amongst you, who will picture their perfect vacation as leaving home amidst an ending era of the world. Well, if somehow this is your fantasy, this game is for YOU!

SEASON can either be a game about destruction… or about renewal. It’s up to the player. Let me explain. You take control of a young woman from a small secluded village, hidden from the eyes of the world all the way up on the top of a big mountain. Nobody ever leaves, and to people like our protagonist, this village is their whole world. Until it isn’t. On one fateful day, a villager has a prophetic dream that is interpreted to mean that the end of a season is coming. I know this sentence sounds weird because for us, a season is fleeting. It comes and goes in 3 months. For this world, however, it works differently: it lasts decades, akin to an entire era for their world. I guess in a way, their seasons are also fleeting, mere lines in the long book that is bound to be their history. And just like ours, each season also brings significant change.

So what happens when a season ends? What will the next season bring? You don’t know. Your history has seen tragedy and prosperity with seasons, so it can go anywhere really. But you might not be there anymore when the season changes. And that goes for everyone. So what does your character do? Ask for permission to leave the village and record everything in her journal. She knows not what the future will bring, nor if she will even live to see it… but she knows that she’s alive. Everything around her is still there. And it’s up to her to be a witness, recording the events so that someone, somewhen, knows what marked her own season. So that’s your goal: to be a witness to the world.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2927409148

Thankfully, the game accomplishes this very effectively with its gameplay. It’s a third person game in which you just make your way through all the somewhat linear sequence of maps, exploring and uncovering traces of civilization, bygone seasons and even of the current season as you go. To do so, you need to rely on three trusty tools: your camera, your audio recorder, and your journal. As you walk, you will often see clear landmarks and other interesting visual stimuli that you may want to photograph. Things like graffiti, statues, graves, ornamental gates… anything that may hold some significance may be photographed. In fact, you may photograph everything, period. It’s just that photographing the right stuff will give you extra dialogue as your character ponders about the sight.

Similarly, as you walk, you will often hear sounds. An old radio tuned to a dead station, birds building a nest, rushing water… each sound means something to someone, and as such, it deserves to be recorded. The best part is that turning on the recorder isolates the sounds around you, and whatever recordable sound can be heard gets louder as you point towards it. That makes it very easy to find and record sources. As with the pictures, you can grab the audio of anything, but if you use the tool in the correct things, you get extra dialogue. Well, that and a special picture to put in your journal.

And speaking of… if the pictures and audio recordings are the world’s memories, the journal is its brain. That is where you store all these wonderful memories, keeping them safe for whatever comes next. You may think it to be like most gaming journals, which update by themselves, but noooo. Instead, you get to customize your own journal! Every place you visit gets a page. All pictures and audios you record get automatically saved to the journal as keepsakes. You can then place the keepsakes, which also may include items you find in the place, in the journal page for the location you’re at. If you place five, you get an inspiration, which is basically your character’s thoughts and conclusions about the place. Getting to this point also unlocks decorative stickers to prettify your two pages per place. You could, theoretically, if you want to complete all inspirations, just take 5 quick pictures of the ground, but what’s the fun in that?

The journal will also occasionally get special pages to be completed. For example, right at the beginning of the game, you’re told about an important figure in your village’s history. You then get a page for this figure, alongside the page for the village. These special pages are less free for you to decorate, as they have set pictures/audios you must get, and they must be placed at the right spots. Mind you, none of this is exactly required to progress: it just gives you more information about the world. But then again… that’s exactly your goal, isn’t it? And chances are you will want to do it, as the world is really well built, and has an incredibly fascinating lore revolving around the concept of memories and mind sicknesses.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2927409262

However, if you want to take it all in, you must, of course, have patience. The game lasts around 7 to 8 hours to beat, but if you want to fully embrace your character’s goal, it will be a slow paced adventure. This is somewhat reflected in everything you can do. You have a bicycle to move around faster, for example, but to do anything, like open your journal or take a picture, you must step out of the bicycle. Look hard enough and you can find rest spots, benches, that you can sit at and sketch. As such, this is not an experience best enjoyed by rushing.

The story, lore and setting are absolutely this game’s strongest points, by far. The game even has multiple endings! This is a contemplative experience, and a really effective one at that, but that does mean the gameplay suffers a tad. It’s simple, and it works well, but some of you might find it boring. Plus, there is some jank involved: I got stuck on terrain more than once, forcing me to restart. My character always defaulted to walking instead of sprinting after taking pictures, and the overall dance of stepping off and onto your bicycle gets tiring after a while. But honestly, these were mere annoyances in the face of everything I gained from this game.

Aside from that, the art style is gorgeous, even if not for everyone, and the game employs the usage of its sounds very well. The sounds you can record make sense, and I can definitely see why the character would be interested in them. After all, I felt interested in them myself. The game also has voice acting, which is… alright. Some voices feel a bit off at times, but it’s serviceable. Another aspect is that you’re not in danger. Dying isn’t a worry for the player, allowing one to just immerse themselves in exploration without fear of danger or a jumpscare or anything negative. This is a positive and contemplative experience throughout.

Overall, this was a wonderful game to play through. It truly makes one think about… lots of things, really. And if I’m being honest, these are my favorite kinds of games. Season: a letter to the future won’t be for everyone, but if you feel like it might be for you, I urge you to give it a shot. I know I’m glad I did.

This review is also available in video format on youtube! Check it out in the link below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpHQXlGnwC8

[quote] A really solid adventure/exploration title in which you must keep a record of the world around you via pictures and audio recordings. Interesting premise, solid story and lore and a contemplative experience all come together to form a winning combination! [/quote] Picture your perfect vacation. I know some of you will imagine yourselves at home, playing videogames. Maybe you have company: a dog, a cat, an ostrich or a special other. Some of you will picture a trip somewhere meaningful to you, be it alone, with friends, family… and then we’ll get the occasional nutjob amongst you, who will picture their perfect vacation as leaving home amidst an ending era of the world. Well, if somehow this is your fantasy, this game is for YOU! SEASON can either be a game about destruction… or about renewal. It’s up to the player. Let me explain. You take control of a young woman from a small secluded village, hidden from the eyes of the world all the way up on the top of a big mountain. Nobody ever leaves, and to people like our protagonist, this village is their whole world. Until it isn’t. On one fateful day, a villager has a prophetic dream that is interpreted to mean that the end of a season is coming. I know this sentence sounds weird because for us, a season is fleeting. It comes and goes in 3 months. For this world, however, it works differently: it lasts decades, akin to an entire era for their world. I guess in a way, their seasons are also fleeting, mere lines in the long book that is bound to be their history. And just like ours, each season also brings significant change. So what happens when a season ends? What will the next season bring? You don’t know. Your history has seen tragedy and prosperity with seasons, so it can go anywhere really. But you might not be there anymore when the season changes. And that goes for everyone. So what does your character do? Ask for permission to leave the village and record everything in her journal. She knows not what the future will bring, nor if she will even live to see it… but she knows that she’s alive. Everything around her is still there. And it’s up to her to be a witness, recording the events so that someone, somewhen, knows what marked her own season. [b]So that’s your goal: to be a witness to the world.[/b] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2927409148 Thankfully, [b]the game accomplishes this very effectively with its gameplay.[/b] It’s a third person game in which you just make your way through all the somewhat linear sequence of maps, exploring and uncovering traces of civilization, bygone seasons and even of the current season as you go. To do so, you need to rely on three trusty tools: your camera, your audio recorder, and your journal. [b]As you walk, you will often see clear landmarks and other interesting visual stimuli that you may want to photograph.[/b] Things like graffiti, statues, graves, ornamental gates… anything that may hold some significance may be photographed. In fact, you may photograph everything, period. It’s just that photographing the right stuff will give you extra dialogue as your character ponders about the sight. [b]Similarly, as you walk, you will often hear sounds. An old radio tuned to a dead station, birds building a nest, rushing water… each sound means something to someone, and as such, it deserves to be recorded.[/b] The best part is that turning on the recorder isolates the sounds around you, and whatever recordable sound can be heard gets louder as you point towards it. That makes it very easy to find and record sources. As with the pictures, you can grab the audio of anything, but if you use the tool in the correct things, you get extra dialogue. Well, that and a special picture to put in your journal. And speaking of… [b]if the pictures and audio recordings are the world’s memories, the journal is its brain.[/b] That is where you store all these wonderful memories, keeping them safe for whatever comes next. You may think it to be like most gaming journals, which update by themselves, but noooo. Instead, [b]you get to customize your own journal![/b] Every place you visit gets a page. All pictures and audios you record get automatically saved to the journal as keepsakes. You can then place the keepsakes, which also may include items you find in the place, in the journal page for the location you’re at. If you place five, you get an inspiration, which is basically your character’s thoughts and conclusions about the place. Getting to this point also unlocks decorative stickers to prettify your two pages per place. You could, theoretically, if you want to complete all inspirations, just take 5 quick pictures of the ground, but what’s the fun in that? [b]The journal will also occasionally get special pages to be completed.[/b] For example, right at the beginning of the game, you’re told about an important figure in your village’s history. You then get a page for this figure, alongside the page for the village. These special pages are less free for you to decorate, as they have set pictures/audios you must get, and they must be placed at the right spots. Mind you, none of this is exactly required to progress: it just gives you more information about the world. But then again… that’s exactly your goal, isn’t it? And chances are you will want to do it, as the world is really well built, and has an incredibly fascinating lore revolving around the concept of memories and mind sicknesses. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2927409262 [b]However, if you want to take it all in, you must, of course, have patience. The game lasts around 7 to 8 hours to beat,[/b] but if you want to fully embrace your character’s goal, it will be a slow paced adventure. This is somewhat reflected in everything you can do. You have a bicycle to move around faster, for example, but to do anything, like open your journal or take a picture, you must step out of the bicycle. Look hard enough and you can find rest spots, benches, that you can sit at and sketch. As such, this is not an experience best enjoyed by rushing. [b]The story, lore and setting are absolutely this game’s strongest points, by far. The game even has multiple endings![/b] This is a contemplative experience, and a really effective one at that, but that does mean [b]the gameplay suffers a tad.[/b] It’s simple, and it works well, but some of you might find it boring. Plus, there is some jank involved: I got stuck on terrain more than once, forcing me to restart. My character always defaulted to walking instead of sprinting after taking pictures, and the overall dance of stepping off and onto your bicycle gets tiring after a while. [b]But honestly, these were mere annoyances in the face of everything I gained from this game.[/b] [b]Aside from that, the art style is gorgeous, even if not for everyone, and the game employs the usage of its sounds very well.[/b] The sounds you can record make sense, and I can definitely see why the character would be interested in them. After all, I felt interested in them myself. [b]The game also has voice acting, which is… alright.[/b] Some voices feel a bit off at times, but it’s serviceable. Another aspect is that you’re not in danger. Dying isn’t a worry for the player, allowing one to just immerse themselves in exploration without fear of danger or a jumpscare or anything negative. This is a positive and contemplative experience throughout. Overall, this was a wonderful game to play through. It truly makes one think about… lots of things, really. And if I’m being honest, these are my favorite kinds of games. Season: a letter to the future won’t be for everyone, but if you feel like it might be for you, I urge you to give it a shot. I know I’m glad I did. [quote] This review is also available in video format on youtube! Check it out in the link below! [/quote] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpHQXlGnwC8