Hindsight from Team Hindsight and Annapurna Interactive is an interesting journey through the life of a woman, who is struggling with staying in the present, while appreciating the past, and healing from tragedy. Her journey is marked by good times, tough ones, and lessons in life learned, some too late.
Let’s get right into it.
Story-driven and rightfully so
As visual tales go, Hindsight is thick on narrative but carries a tinge of interactivity with it. Starting with the narrative, the moment our main character enters the picture, and you see her face, you know she has the worst job ahead of her. Her purpose in the story is to help empty her family’s home, which is now unoccupied by her parents (for reasons I’m sure you can conclude on your own). Her story is honest, it’s hopeful, it’s defiant, and it’s brutal. With every good time in her life, it’s met with an obstacle, sometimes unbearable. The story of Hindsight is tough to take, especially if you have had the unfortunate job of being in the shoes of its main character. What’s remarkable and appreciated about the narrative is its sense of realism. I watched my wife go through her father’s belongings after he had passed. The emotions that came with that, memories that revisited with every object she touched, it was tough for her every step of the way. It took her two years to fully get to the point where she could pick something up of his without breaking down emotionally. It was difficult to see her go through it, as it should be with anyone going through the grieving process. Every human being has their own timeline for that process to start and complete, and each is different. Hindsight hit those tough notes and brought that unstoppable emotion to the character when she remembered the good times, bad times, and the regrets she carried with her through her memories. This is one of the more accurate portrayals of the grieving process and what someone thinks about and goes through. It was frightfully and amazingly spot on. It was near flawless in this area.
For those who have traveled this road in real life, you should be forewarned. While the gameplay, which we will get to next, helps to deviate, and calm those triggering moments, there are going to be parts of this game that might bring up some feelings you may have forgotten. Now, having said that, it is a comforting narrative to know that what the main character goes through is a perfect portrayal of what someone experiences in real life. Knowing that you’re not alone and that it’s okay to go through this process in the manner that it is presented in Hindsight should bring some much-needed comfort. That road is never easy to traverse, and sadly we must all go through it at some point. It’s nice to know there is a game that says, “Hey, it’s okay. We all go on this journey”.
It’s a helluva story.
Interactivity and remembering the little things
One charming aspect of Hindsight is how it points out the good moments of one’s life and keeps those in perspective when you’re feeling loss. It’s quite genius in how it treats that part of the gameplay, as you interact with objects and trigger memories. It works off the old saying that remembering the good times will help you through the tough times. That’s the crux of the game’s design, finding those objects that trigger the good times. And there are a lot of objects in this game with a lot of diverse memories.
The way Team Hindsight works that into their game is by asking the gamer to look around and find flashing objects or reflections in objects that reveal memories. In the process of searching, you also see different parts of the scenery that you may not have stopped to see. This is a clear indication, and one that works, that we need to pay attention to the little things around us and not just focus on our end goal. It’s a clever gameplay element that works together with the narrative. For example, you may look at an object, move the camera around, and find it’s transparent with a memory hidden inside that leads to another happy moment. In the process of moving the object, you may notice a butterfly, maybe a person in the background that is visible, or just the beautiful world around the main character’s search. It’s effective in its intentions.
Now, the game takes you from memory to memory but also brings you back to the present for more dialogue from the main character that adds context to what you may have just witnessed. Occasionally, the gameplay will get more complicated than search and find. Sometimes it will be small puzzles, sometimes it will be shifting things to reveal a memory underneath them. Most of the time, you’ll just be looking for the next memory in an object. How memories are presented is scarce on creativity at times, but ultimately none of this is bad, especially if you know what you’re in for with Hindsight.
All this said the game’s shortcomings are its briefness and its replayability. Visual narratives are meant to be short experiences, so that’s no surprise. I don’t want to read a book for 10-15 hours onscreen, no matter who it is written by. As time goes by, though, Hindsight is the appropriate amount. It does what it needs to do and gets out at the right time, but it is brief. It might be shockingly brief to some.
On the replayability side of the tracks, you probably won’t play this again unless you’re in a mood. This is akin to Grave of the Fireflies for me, where going through it once sent me the emotional message, and there is little need to travel that road again. That’s also okay. For $14.99, it might be the perfect fit for someone making their own emotional journey and needing to know they’re not alone with their feelings of grief. At the very least, it will give perspective about life in your first and potentially only go around, which is great for anyone who plays it. But, alas, I just don’t think there is much room for another go. I wouldn’t want to go on that emotional rollercoaster twice with Grave of the Fireflies, and the same goes for Hindsight. It’s effective and emotional the first time around. There is little need to revisit the journey so quickly.
Speaking of which, this review is at an end.
Conclusion
Hindsight is effective with its emotional intentions, powerful in its storytelling, and light in its interactivity options. You may not play this more than once, but the impact of the game’s purpose will resonate for a while.
