The Kids We Were

GAGEX Co.,Ltd. · Jan 12, 2022

Teen

About

Set in the late Japanese Showa era (the 1980s), it's a nostalgic journey through a unique time in Japan's recent history. Take on the role of Minato, a young boy who sets out on an unexpected and incredible summer adventure. This game is an award-winning adventure game originally released worldwide for smartphones in February, 2020. Selected as one of the top 3 titles at the Google Play Indie Games Festival 2020, it has also won the Special Award, and been chosen for the Best Indies category of Google Play's Best Games of 2020. To celebrate the release of The Kids We Were on Nintendo Switch, we've added a bunch of brand-new content. If you want the full experience, look no further than this, the Complete Edition! The Complete Edition includes the full story available in the app, in addition to a new bonus episode set after the events of the main game. There are also brand-new collection items to find!

Trailers & screenshots

Critic reviews

Noisy Pixel
Jerad Gribben · Dec 23, 2021
7.5
The Kids We Were is an adorable adventure about family, friendship, and personal growth. The game sophisticatedly fuses the supernatural tales with real-world events where each chapter feels like an episode of an anime. It’s brief in some aspects, which highlights its minimalist presentation.
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Destructoid
Zoey Handley · Dec 06, 2021
6.0
It just made the ticking of my clock seem a lot louder at a time when I’m already grappling with the concept. I don’t want to give a negative impression on a game just because it made me feel like garbage. That’s my problem, not the game’s. I’m just going to go back to moping in the corner.
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Cubed3
Nayu · Jan 27, 2022
8.0
Aside from the relatively minor issues of movement, and how the various endings are discovered, The Kids We Were is a captivating nostalgic trip for those who lived in the '80s regardless of if that was spent in Japan, and a worthy education for those born in later years. The finely balanced mix of humour and seriousness of the issues explored, coupled with the cute style makes it feel at home on Nintendo Switch. Having collectables provide a reason to replay it for completionists, and the intricacy of the plot with the highly likeable characters make replaying it a strong possibility for others just to experience the heartfelt story once more.
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Game Grin
Alana Dunitz · Dec 02, 2021
10
The Kids We Were is a must-play game with an incredibly good story that focuses on childhood friendships and family. The voxel-style graphics look beautiful, the cicadas in Japan sound great, and a catalogue of items from the 80s to collect made me feel so nostalgic.
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Spazio Games
Pia Colucci · Mar 06, 2022
7.5
The Kids We Were presenta una storia senza troppi fronzoli, caratterizzato da un gameplay molto lineare che rende il titolo dei giapponesi Gagex una vera e propria avventura grafica da gustare come se fosse un libro di Murakami o una serie TV. Il tema dei viaggi nel tempo, molto caro ai videogiochi, stuzzica la curiosità del videogiocatore e si pone come metafora sulla manipolazione del nostro destino, sul peso delle scelte che modificano irrimediabilmente la nostra vita e quella degli altri. Forse è proprio la troppa linearità lato gameplay che può stancare, ma non dimentichiamo che The Kids We Were nasce per il mercato mobile, piattaforma ideale per titoli story-driven di questo genere e che ovviamente ben si sposa con la console ibrida di Nintendo.
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Multiplayer.it
Alessandro Bacchetta · Dec 05, 2021
9.0
L'ambientazione urbana, nipponica e quotidiana, evoca uno strano mix tra Murakami e Ganbare Goemon. Il contesto anni '80, e i bambini protagonisti, lo rendono una specie di Strangers Things in versione giapponese, quantomeno per i richiami nostalgici (riviste, oggetti, architetture). È una storia toccante e delicata, narrata in modo eccellente.
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