It was interesting returning to the world of Hindsight again. The last time I reviewed this was in August on the PC, and it was quite the journey. If anyone has gone through the grief process before, then you might be all too familiar with this game. It is the journey of a young woman trying to deal with, feel, and process her grief through memories she holds dear from her mother. It’s a personal, interactive, and engaging story that provides you with some accurate insight into the emotional rollercoaster the death of a loved one can put you through.
Let’s get right into this review.
Narrative drives it all
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. 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 what the main character goes through and is a perfect portrayal of what someone experiences in real life when it comes to the death of a loved one. Knowing that you’re not alone and that it’s okay to go through this process in the manner of which 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”. Hindsight is sobering, comforting, and eye-opening in its honesty and realization that everything around us is finite.
It’s always 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 a 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 for the main character. 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, and 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 on, 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 an emotional message, and there is little need to travel that road again. That’s also okay. For the asking price ($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. It’s effective and emotional the first time around. There is little need to revisit the journey so quickly.
PlayStation 5
On the technical side of the tracks, the PlayStation 5 and the PC versions are identical. You can’t go wrong with either one. The prices are the same, the graphical delivery is on par with each other, and the game flows the way it did the first time around on PC. The biggest difference is the controls. I found the PS5 controller much easier to use than the mouse (less painful for my old hands). I know you can hook up a controller to the PC, but the PS5 controller is just so darn comfortable to use. I have to give just a tiny edge to the PS5 version. Literally, everything else is the same, and that is as it should be.
On that note, let’s wrap this up.
Conclusion
Hindsight is still an experience that feels real, brings out the best and worst emotions, and provides an accurate portrayal of the grieving process. The longevity of the experience is a blessing due to the emotional strain it puts on the gamer, and also a curse as it isn’t replayable for any reason other than personal choice. It’s a great tale and one that everyone should experience.
