If Found…

Genre: Visual Novel

Players: 1

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Review:

If Found is a Visual Novel released on multiple platforms in 2020 including Nintendo Switch. It tells two separate but nebulously connected tales – one about a woman named Cassiopeia, a space explorer trying to avert a catastrophe that threatens to destroy the universe, and one about a woman named Kasio, a woman living in a small Irish town in the 1980s who is struggling with issues of family, friends, and her own self-identity.

This game uses some truly gorgeous hand-drawn artwork occasionally interspersed with some really trippy outer space paintings and simple atmospheric animations. These are paired with an eclectic soundtrack with some subtle background music, some annoying sounds, a little Irish punk rock, a little traditional Celtic music, and even a few truly moving tunes. There are times you’ll want to mute your Nintendo Switch because the sound is so horrible, but then every now and then you get a really great tune like High Cost of Living, Where Are You, or Seachrán Sí.

Like most visual novels, the focus here is squarely on the story, and the story If Found tells is one that’s both clearly very grounded in its time and place (the game constantly feeds players optional footnotes about local Irish slang and customs), yet still one that tells a tale that will absolutely speak directly to anyone who has struggled with their own identity in a world that doesn’t understand them. I can’t claim to have dealt with the problems Kasio faces in the course of this story, but her story is written in a way that feels to me like it speaks to something real and heartfelt that the story’s creator has wrestled with herself. This story forms the heart and backbone of the game, and it’s a strong one, hitting some real highs and lows and made even more authentic by the local Irish setting.

The science fiction story, on the other hand, I found less compelling, and ultimately while If Found does end up tying the two together, I found this to be unsatisfying, and would have been happier if these elements were left out entirely, or else felt like they had a stronger connection to the more human story being told in the rest of the game.

As for the gameplay, what little gameplay is here involves erasing words and pictures from a notebook containing the story, something which starts out seeming novel and a creative way to get the player to interact with a story that isn’t very interactive… but ultimately ends up feeling like a chore, and I wish players were simply given an option to press a button and have this work done for them. This interaction works fine with a normal controller, but as you might expect, it’s much easier with a touchscreen, the way this game seems meant to be played.

In the end, If Found is kinda’ a mix of eclectic elements, both good and bad, but I’d say the good mostly outweighs the bad. The core story about Kasio is both so real and compelling that I can overlook the less-interesting story about Cassiopeia, the trippy visuals are so engaging I can overlook the frustration at having to constantly rub the screen like a scratcher ticket, and the music that’s good makes it worthwhile to push through the stuff that’s terrible. And above and beyond all of that, the story being told here is one that I think will be important for a lot of people to experience, and that in and of itself makes this a game I would recommend to anyone looking for a wonderful, mature story on the Nintendo Switch.

tl;dr – If Found is a Visual Novel that pairs a sci-fi story about a space explorer looking to save the universe with a story about a young woman struggling with how to deal with friends and family. The sci-fi story is a bit lacking, but the more down-to-Earth tale is far more engaging, both with its authentic use of local Irish slang and culture, as well as its powerful themes of love and self-acceptance. This game isn’t without its flaws, but overall its good elements outweigh its bad ones, resulting in a game well worth trying if you’re looking for an engaging story.

Grade: B+

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2020 Game Awards:

Winner:

Best Song – Where Are You by 2 Mello – If you’re curious to see just how difficult this choice was, take a look at this playlist of nearly 80 of the best songs in Nintendo Switch games released in 2020. I went back and forth so much on this selection. The Painful Way perfectly sets up the tone for Hades, as does Beach Buds for A Short Hike and Character Select for Streets of Rage 4. Meanwhile, Snow, Lots of Snow does an amazing job making the player feel the intensity of A Short Hike’s final challenge, and Sunset in the City is possibly the best chill, relaxing theme in a year that not only needed chill tunes, but got quite a lot of them too. However, listening over these songs, I had to admit that as much as I loved listening to each of these songs on repeat through the year, none of them packs the emotional punch of Where Are You, which instantly transports me to If Found’s darkest moments, moments of hopelessness, despair, and loneliness. Damn it, just writing this is making me tear up. Not only does this song do an outstanding job of truly pushing the emotion of the moment in the game, but hearing it immediately connects me to its use in the game, and I have to admit that the tone of deep and profound sadness is far too appropriate for this year.

Runner-Up: Best Graphic Adventure Game, Best Story

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