We Were Here Forever Review: Escape From Castle Rock One Last Time
We begin in a dungeon, both partners separated from each other by a locked door. One player can see “...of our parts.” written on the wall behind them. Meaningless words, until they’re combined with the message on the other side, “We are the sum…”. This is the entire tutorial for We Were Here Forever, and it tells you everything you need to know about the dozens of puzzles that lie ahead of you.
Four games in, it’s astounding how much mileage Total Mayhem Games has gotten out of such a simple concept. We Were Here Forever uses the formula in its most refined form yet and maintains a strong pace - albeit with a few major stumbles - despite having a run-time slightly longer than all the previous entries combined.
We return once again to the abandoned castle where a corrupt king and his ignoble jester are locked in an eternal, ethereal battle. While the series has traditionally been pretty light on story, We Were Here Forever finally brings the history of Castle Rock into sharp focus. Narrative is woven into many of the puzzles, much in the way that the original We Were Here’s Theater Puzzle broadly explained the Mad King’s descent. We learn a lot more about the specific residents of Castle Rock, as well as the citizens of the nearby town of Rockbury, and by the end there’s something of a resolution that ties things up nicely. It’s a well deserved pay-off after four games, but the greater emphasis on story sometimes gets in the way of the puzzles.
Related: Best Month Ever! Review - A Meandering Road Trip
Tonally, We Were Here Forever recaptures the dark, horror-tinged personality of We Were Here Too. Vision, and a lack thereof, is a constant theme throughout, and partner-led navigation - whether it's through the crypts
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