As Long As You’re Here Review (PC)

A life without memory is but a bittersweet journey; the mind abandons you, but the joy of witnessing things, often for the first time, becomes a powerful force that numbs the fluctuating feeling of losing control of the past. In As Long As You’re Here, such emotions exist within a short tale of woe and grief, psychological abandonment and fleeting hope.

Courtesy of a small team with a tremendous amount of heart and a personal connection with Alzheimer’s, As Long As You’re Here brings a simple yet heartfelt message to the surface—a message of compassion and the unstoppable power that binds two people together despite all odds being stacked against them. It speaks of sadness and loneliness, irreplaceable bonds and sacred heirlooms of a hereditary sort. And while it doesn’t necessarily stick around to convey anything more than that, it does ask all the right questions in the short amount of time that it takes the spotlight. It is but a fleeting moment, and one that, honestly, pulls on all of the right heartstrings.

At the heart of As Long As You’re Here is a short interactive novel that takes a lot of its inspiration from the likes of A Memoir Blue and What Remains of Edith Finch. Similar in design, it takes you along a short yet provoking journey through the scattered routine of an Alzheimer’s victim who, in an attempt to reconnect with her past, embraces the world through a fickle lens—a subconscious frame that tells her of a deceased brother and their former relationship. It spins this yarn, and it invites us to hear it out. It doesn’t mince words; it tells it how it is, without skirting around the bitter taste of such a horrific disease and its consequences.

Memories of Old

The game unravels in a similar format as A Memoir Blue, with strands of dialogue, bubbling memories and intrusive thoughts playing a pivotal role in its natural progression. Gameplay-wise, it doesn’t ask much of you, other than to occasionally highlight a prompt or engage in a simple conversation whilst an underlying narrative weans and flows in an effort to culminate in a heartfelt climax. It isn’t a difficult game by any stretch, and, truth be told, it is one that you can sweep beneath the rug in a single sitting. What’s more, it doesn’t give you much to return to once the final strand has been connected with the overarching cortex. It tells a short story, and it leaves you with a surplus of emotions, nothing more, nothing less.

To echo, As Long As You’re Here isn’t the most technically enhanced interactive game in the books, for it lacks the vast features and prompts, mini-games and padding to be considered as one. Yet, there’s this little nugget about it that makes you wonder—a small but somewhat important centerpiece that, while not always easy to spot, is a pleasant surprise whenever you happen to wax it. It doesn’t last long, but that’s a small part of what makes As Long As You’re Here all the more special: the fact that it doesn’t overstay its welcome, yet still manages to do just enough to make a great impression. And to be honest, that’s a tall order that, frankly, hundreds, if not thousands of other indie games have often failed to interpret over the years.

A Memoir for the Ages

While there’s certainly no ignoring the few loose ends and mechanical downfalls that As Long As You’re Here houses, the game itself, being as short as it is, isn’t overshadowed with all that many bugs. Again, it’s a relatively textbook tale that doesn’t leave a great deal of room for error. And so, while it may harbor a few rough edges and some wonky details here and there, it does, in all fairness, provide a complete picture that allows you to examine it without having to tweak any major details. It doesn’t look fantastic, and it still falls short of a standard art piece. Yet, it’s the story that it tells, and more importantly, the final message that it leaves you with before setting off into the sunset.

The art style is something that deserves to be praised here. Truly, while the game lacks depth in its chosen interactive gameplay elements, it does provide a clean and compelling visual experience that leans into a lot of familiar aesthetics; the mannequin expressions; the warm atmosphere; the adorable bubble font and pastel vibrancy. Suffice it to say here that, gameplay aside, As Long As You’re Here has a tremendous amount to offer in its storytelling and world building, its character development and its ability to shed a light over a horrific subject matter in a surprisingly digestible way. Well played on that front.

Verdict

As Long As You’re Here makes for an emotional ode to a tantalizing disease with its touching narrative and natural ability to wax the concept of its own mortality. It’s a short game that, admittedly, still leaves a fair deal to be desired, what with the lack of material and post-game experiences that it passes up to focus on its relatively short but meaningful journey. It’s a shame, but, given the subject matter and general composition of its world, it’s a fitting choice all the same, and one that, frankly, I can appreciate.

To cut a long story short, no, As Long As You’re Here isn’t the poster child for interactive visual novels; it’s a short, simple, and oh-so-sweet homage from a studio that has little more than a tale to tell and, more importantly, a message to convey to its audience. In other words, if you are looking to bury your head in a rich and vast carb-loaded RPG with all of the hallmark trimmings, then you are likely to be disappointed with the direction that As Long As You’re Here decides to take. If, however, you’re easily swayed by emotional plot points and gut-punching morals, then you should definitely consider plugging into this heartfelt indie the next time you’re looking to lose yourself to a good tale.