What Never Was is a story driven puzzle game that feels like it could be a chapter right out of What Remains of Edith Finch.
Story
You play as Sarah, a young woman who has recently lost her grandfather. Sarah is tasked with getting her things out of her grandpa’s attic since the family seems eager to clear the house and prepare it for the market. Sarah is expecting to have some help from her mother who fails to show leaving Sarah alone to gather her things from the attic and explore it one last time.
While exploring the attic she uncovers a recording from her grandfather specifically for her ears only. This recording will lead her on a scavenger hunt in the attic unlocking a mystery surrounding her grandfather that the family never knew.
Solving puzzles, she will unlock his secrets and learn more about him in death than she knew while he was alive.
As mentioned in the opening, this feels as if it were intended to be a chapter from a game and not a complete game itself. While this never takes away from the experience, you’ll find yourself wanting more once the game comes to abrupt end.
Gameplay
What Never Was plays out as a point and click puzzle game. By clicking on various objects in the room you will find clues needed to solve the puzzles located in grandpa’s attic. Spread throughout the room are lost pages from his journal that will help you on your path and in time give you the clues you need to solve the puzzles and complete the game.
Aside from searching the room you will need to check your inventory regularly, studying the objects that you pick up you’ll learn more about Sarah’s grandfather and the mystery that shrouded him.
Recommendation
What Never Was is a clever puzzle game that leads you on an interesting enough scavenger hunt, one that you’ll feel good about completing without ever feeling frustrated enough to quit along the way. The puzzles are fun and rewarding without ever being too challenging. The story is very thin, with a run time of under an hour when the game finally comes to an end you can feel as if the journey was only just beginning. Though unlikely, a sequel would be nice to see what happens to Sarah after the credits roll. Fans of short narrative puzzle games will find this a nice way to kill an hour or so, but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of replay value here. With a little more content this could have been a must play experience.
*What Never Was was provided to the reviewer by the publishing company but this fact did not alter the reviewer’s opinion*
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If you liked our review of What Never Was check out our review of Marie’s Room, a similar game in the same genre.
