Back Then cover

Back Then

First release
Dec 08, 2023
Engine
Unity
Genres
Music, Indie, Adventure, Point-and-click, Puzzle · Drama, Mystery

We all live with the fear of reaching the shadow of dementia. The ultimate fear of forgetting. The fear of not remembering our past, what led us here. For who do we become when we forget who we are? Back Then is a first-person narrative game journey taking place in the mind of Thomas Eilian, an elderly writer diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. The gameplay, presented in first-person perspective, is story-driven and is heavily focused on interactions, puzzles and detective exploration.

Also known as Back Then.exe

Attributes

No Attributes added.

Details

Storyline, release dates, time to beat, age ratings, modes, links, keywords

Storyline
Stuck in a Wheelchair, players find themselves lost in a house, discovering more about Thomas and his family by unlocking new rooms, collectibles, objectives and puzzles. Together, both the player and Thomas attempt to discover who they are, listening to the monologues of Thomas and his family, detailing their own struggles and perspectives of the situation at hand. Players traverse through the four seasons of the year, going back and forth between the House and Dreamlike Sequences as Thomas attempts to unravel what his life meant. Back Then is a game for people who are in search of unconventional and new story-rich experiences. It appeals to a more general audience, emphasizing on the game's atmosphere, soundtrack, and narrated-exploration to deliver players a poetic and emotional story. It is a story about Time, Death, and who we become when we forget who we are. Through this story we hope to make as many people as we can uncomfortable, but aware to the reality of millions around the world diagnosed with Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease.Read more

Stuck in a Wheelchair, players find themselves lost in a house, discovering more about Thomas and his family by unlocking new rooms, collectibles, objectives and puzzles. Together, both the player and Thomas attempt to discover who they are, listening to the monologues of Thomas and his family, detailing their own struggles and perspectives of the situation at hand. Players traverse through the four seasons of the year, going back and forth between the House and Dreamlike Sequences as Thomas attempts to unravel what his life meant. Back Then is a game for people who are in search of unconventional and new story-rich experiences. It appeals to a more general audience, emphasizing on the game's atmosphere, soundtrack, and narrated-exploration to deliver players a poetic and emotional story. It is a story about Time, Death, and who we become when we forget who we are. Through this story we hope to make as many people as we can uncomfortable, but aware to the reality of millions around the world diagnosed with Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease.

Release dates
PC (Microsoft Windows)
Dec 08, 2023
PlayStation 5
Nov 05, 2024
Game modes
Single player
Perspective
Text, First person
Keywords
narrative-driven

How it plays

Languages

  • Englishinterface, audio, subtitles
  • Español (España)interface
IGDB · recorded 26 Oct 2026
Also in 2 other languages

Language data: IGDB · recorded 26 Oct 2026