Closer the Distance

About

"Closer the Distance" is a narrative-driven game following Angela, a young girl who, after a fatal accident, watches over her loved ones as they grieve. With the ability to influence townspeople, Angela's choices will determine Yesterby's fate. This emotionally charged game explores themes of empathy, community, and closure, offering unique storylines through choices-matter gameplay. CW: The game deals with themes of grief and tragedy.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

+10

92%

Audience ScoreBased on 172 reviews

story64 positive mentions

grinding6 negative mentions

The game features a strong narrative that explores complex themes of grief, love, and connection, making it a deeply emotional experience.
The gameplay combines life simulation mechanics reminiscent of The Sims with a structured story, allowing for meaningful character interactions and choices.
The art style and soundtrack are beautifully crafted, enhancing the overall atmosphere and emotional impact of the game.

The gameplay can become overwhelming, especially when managing multiple characters and their overlapping conversations, which can make it difficult to follow the story.
Some players found the pacing to be inconsistent, with certain sections feeling stagnant or rushed, impacting the overall experience.
There are technical issues such as performance drops and a lack of manual save options, which can hinder the gameplay experience.

story
254 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
73%
2%
The story of "Closer the Distance" is a poignant exploration of grief and community, set in a small town grappling with the loss of a resident. Players navigate the lives of various characters, each dealing with their emotions in unique ways, while the narrative is enriched by beautiful art and atmospheric music. While the gameplay mechanics may detract from the storytelling experience for some, the emotional depth and character development resonate strongly, making it a compelling choice for fans of story-driven games.
- “Incredible storytelling that really examines how different people approach grief.”
- “A raw, honest humanity resounds through the story and leaves behind a picture of life that most media shies away from, embracing the heaviness and hurt that coexist with the beauty of life, love, and community.”
- “Setting itself up as a life-sim game, this title manages to tell a beautiful, bittersweet story about loss, grief, community, and growth.”
- “The art and music are lovely, but the game is set up so that the story is the main element, and the story is a snoozefest.”
- “Many choices did not have as big of an impact as I was hoping, and often if you did nothing, the storyline would sort itself out without harsh consequences.”
- “The story isn't well written - aside from Zek's side story.”
emotional
96 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is widely praised for its deeply emotional narrative, exploring themes of grief and community loss through a touching and beautifully crafted story. Players appreciate the heartfelt performances and the melancholic atmosphere, which evoke strong emotional responses, often leading to tears. While some gameplay mechanics may detract from the experience, the overall journey is considered a profound and personal emotional adventure, particularly appealing to fans of narrative-driven games.
- “But it is, above all, a beautiful, touching experience that compellingly covers one of the hardest parts of human life.”
- “This game is a very emotional but wonderful journey about a community that loses one of its members and the impact that has on everyone and how they deal with the grief.”
- “The story is emotional and beautifully written, with a soundtrack that really enhances the narrative element.”
gameplay
82 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
85%
5%
The gameplay of "Closer the Distance" is a unique blend of life simulation and narrative-driven mechanics, reminiscent of The Sims, where players manage multiple characters and their interactions within a fixed story that features branching paths. While many players appreciated the immersive character development and emotional depth, some found the gameplay to be inconsistent and at times frustrating, with issues like overlapping dialogues and a lack of engagement during certain tasks. Overall, the game is praised for its innovative approach to storytelling, though the gameplay mechanics may not appeal to everyone.
- “Overall, the gameplay felt really unique and it really felt like you had to choose between which characters to help.”
- “By mixing sims-like needs and wants, choice-based gameplay, and a narrative which keeps on moving with or without your input, it delivers a personal story in a way that I've never seen before.”
- “It was a pleasure to get to know the thirteen characters, and the way they were all integrated into the story was cleverly done with different mechanics affecting their relationships, and different choices affecting the storyline.”
- “There are also some small gameplay problems with cutscene dialogue overlapping each other if there are 4 characters in the same area and events overlapping because some of them cannot be predicted in advance.”
- “The gameplay, on the other hand, at times was a bit boring and had me scrolling through my phone.”
- “Also, the gameplay is lackluster; it's basically simplified Sims that had the potential to focus on the themes of the story but does not.”
music
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
61%
33%
7%
The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty and ability to enhance the emotional depth of the story, creating an atmospheric experience that resonates with players. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature, describing it as moving and well-suited to the game's narrative, contributing significantly to the overall immersion and emotional engagement. The combination of excellent voice acting and a thoughtfully composed score helps to create a warm and genuine connection to the characters and their stories.
- “The music of this game is incredibly well done in terms of fitting the atmosphere.”
- “The story is emotional and beautifully written, with a soundtrack that really enhances the narrative element.”
- “Closer the Distance is an absolutely lovely and emotional game, with an incredible soundtrack.”
- “The music and voice acting delivers the setting very well.”
- “With the music, the tracks were such a joy to listen to.”
- “They have this country, laid-back feel to them (and this is coming from someone who tends to dislike country music).”
graphics
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
54%
11%
The graphics of the game are described as minimal yet pleasant, with a delicate and tasteful art style that enhances the atmosphere. While some players appreciate the visuals and sound design, others criticize the graphics as lacking depth and the voice acting as subpar. Overall, the game's aesthetic choices are seen as effective for its narrative, though opinions on their execution vary.
- “The art style is minimal but pleasant, and the sound and music are atmospheric and contribute to the story.”
- “The visuals are delicate and tasteful, as is the score.”
- “Beautiful story, and I loved the art style!”
- “The voice acting is bad, graphics are ugly despite the dev attempts to hide behind a unique art style.”
- “Graphically, the game works for what it's going for.”
- “You can play either in windowed (with many screen resolution options) or full screen mode as well as choose anywhere from low to high graphics settings.”
atmosphere
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
46%
13%
The game's atmosphere is a significant highlight, characterized by a minimal yet pleasant art style and evocative sound design that enhances the narrative experience. Many reviewers praise the emotive scenes, melancholic music, and effective voice acting, which collectively create an authentic and emotionally charged environment. However, some critiques point out that despite strong elements, certain aspects of the atmosphere may fall short, indicating a reliance on writing and emotional depth that is not consistently met.
- “Its atmospheric and emotive scenes are exceptionally hard-hitting and are sure to strike a chord with narrative lovers.”
- “Love the writing, the melancholic atmosphere and music, the voice acting and navigating the characters' emotional stories, equipped with a list of things that one could do to help and a thoughtful description of their complex emotional states.”
- “The concept is solid with this game but it's just... the atmosphere is not there.”
- “For what it's worth, the graphics and the sound design is nice but games like these depend on the writing and the atmosphere; this game just does not have it.”
- “The life depicted in the village is authentic, emotionally charged and creates its very own atmosphere.”
optimization
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
57%
21%
The game's optimization has been criticized for performance issues, including lag, stuttering, and FPS drops, particularly after extended play sessions. While these problems do not appear to affect all players, they detract from the overall experience and suggest that improvements are needed. Despite these technical shortcomings, many players still find the storytelling and emotional depth compelling.
- “Its thought-provoking gameplay had a profound impact on me, despite the immense performance issues I experienced.”
- “Delivering believable and heartfelt performances across the cast with the pain in many of their voices being palpable.”
- “The performance issues I encountered do not seem widespread across players, but hopefully a fix can soon be implemented.”
- “Some slight performance issues where things start to lag or glitch out if you don't save and close the game completely every once in a while.”
- “It may not be 'perfect' after all - there are some plot issues, some performance issues (game started to lag slightly at the end for me), characters that are not supposed to know about the conversation are standing just around you without any reaction.”
- “Immense FPS drops and stuttering after playing for an hour.”
grinding
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
Players note that grinding is a significant aspect of the game, requiring considerable time and effort, often leading to a tedious experience. The micromanagement involved adds to the grind, making it feel burdensome without any rewarding achievements tied to it.
- “Time for grinding will be required.”
- “You'll be grinding a lot.”
- “The whole managing needs system is tedious, and having to micromanage people around is a pain.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
While players may not feel an immediate urge to replay the game, the presence of varied choices and tasks suggests that replayability is a viable option for those interested in exploring different outcomes.
- “I don’t feel like I want to replay it soon, but given the choices and tasks, replayability is definitely an option.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
The stability of the game has been criticized due to frequent glitches and bugs, which have negatively impacted the overall user experience. Many players report encountering technical issues that disrupt gameplay.
- “The game is plagued with glitches that completely ruin the experience.”
- “I encountered numerous bugs that caused the game to crash unexpectedly.”
- “The stability issues make it nearly impossible to enjoy the gameplay.”