Japanese teen drama Last Time I Saw You channels the spirit of Night in the Woods with its killer opening
Yokai watch.
Yokai, 80s Japan and a dark forest temple that's so obviously cursed you can't walk past it without the screen sliding into chromatic aberration effects? Sign me the heck up. This is Last Time I Saw You, a coming of age tale about middle schooler Ayumi who keeps seeing a mysterious girl in his dreams, but can never quite glimpse her face. It will only take you 20 minutes or so to play through its current Steam demo, but even this short glimpse into the game's opening chapter feels like a strong show of intent from developer Maboroshi Artworks.
Don't be fooled by the "cosy" and "relaxing" labels you'll find on its Steam page. Yes, there's a certain simplicity and lack of pressure to its 2D sidescrolling exploration, but there's an uneasiness that runs through this autumnal village that's as alive and present as the large river running through its centre. You can see it in the numerous angry signs protesting against the town's ongoing expansion plans into the nearby forest (which you know is going to end badly because of that aberration-inducing shrine entrance you encounter). You can hear it in the hushed murmurs about an oncoming typhoon that threatens to disrupt their relaxed way of life (even if some of its younger residents wish it would hurry up so they don't have to go to school in the morning). And you can feel it in your bones every time you glimpse the moody twilight sun outside, which seems charged with such a nervous energy that it will make you want to snuggle back under Ayumi's duvet until the inevitable storm all blows over.
Unfortunately for Ayumi, however, his mum has forgotten to buy carrots for their curry rice dinner this evening - and, together with her book-loving husband, has already claimed prime position under the family kotatsu to boot. Thus, it's up Ayumi to run out to the market on her behalf so they can all fill their bellies properly before the weather takes a turn for the worse. Here, Last Time I Saw You most closely resembles Infinite Fall's Night In The Woods, as you'll need to navigate the town's 2D planes and staircases with a familiar mix of jumping and directional button presses. But as you amble through the town's quiet streets, past the local gossips, snack vendors and dad-joke laden policeman, Ayumi can't stop thinking about the dream he had the night before - and the girl whose face he very nearly got a look at this time, but whose features never quite came into focus as he started to wake up.
The game actually begins with one of these dream sequences, and you'll play through another before the demo's over, giving us a glimpse of the very light platforming puzzles we'll be no doubt be dealing with later on in the main game. While the first just teaches you the basics of how Ayumi can move through his environment, the second dreamscape features some neat perspective tricks that blends objects and sights seen by Ayumi during the day with the kind of surreal logic that only exists behind closed eyes. I hope we get to see more of these weird and wonderful twists and turns as the game goes on, but one thing we do know from its trailers is that finding out the identity of Ayumi's dream girl will form the crux of its overarching story.
Again, we don't quite get to the point where we're able to unmask this mystery girl in the demo, but we do see her shield Ayumi from a climatic invasion of evil demons right at the end of the demo - who have seemingly all poured through the fabric of reality thanks to that pesky typhoon. Ayumi makes a valiant attempt to fight them off himself to begin with, using his trusty school baseball bat to bap them away as he makes a break for safety. The combat is definitely a little clunky in places, and part of me worries that this might be the game's main undoing once it's out in full later this month - though in the demo, at least, some very generous hitboxes and lack of health bar to worry about do prevent it from feeling overly frustrating.
Still, even if Ayumi's wonky bat swings aren't the best thing about this demo, its cliffhanger ending did leave me wanting more - and with its Steam page promising a tale about love and acceptance, a terrible curse and an eclectic cast of characters inspired by Japanese mythology, there's no doubt that Last Time I Saw You ticks several boxes for me. Despite its melancholy tone, there's a tenderness here that feels inherently charming, and one that really reminds me of Gagex's brilliant (and equally gentle) The Kids We Were from 2022 - which I'd also heartily recommend for those of you who like nostalgic slice of life stories about rural Japan. Last Time I Saw You may not be the showiest of games out there right now, but if you're after some low-key thrills this October, then make sure this isn't the last time you hear of it.