The First Friend

About

In "The First Friend", you wake up in a cabin and discover your best friend Zack is missing. Explore various landscapes and uncover buried artifacts that reveal memories of your past, present, and future with Zack. Developed by a solo developer, this first-person exploration game tells a deep, personal story filled with emotional moments and an evocative soundtrack, providing a peaceful and introspective experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

65%

Audience ScoreBased on 26 reviews

story7 positive mentions

optimization2 negative mentions

The game features a touching story that resonates emotionally, particularly for those with a connection to pets.
The visuals and music create a beautiful and atmospheric experience, enhancing the overall journey through the protagonist's memories.
Despite its simplicity, the game offers a reflective and introspective experience that can inspire players to think about their own memories.

The game suffers from numerous technical issues, including crashes, poor optimization, and a lack of save options, which can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences.
The world feels empty and repetitive, with large areas lacking meaningful content, making exploration tedious and disengaging.
Voice acting and narrative delivery are inconsistent, with awkward pauses and grammatical errors in subtitles detracting from the storytelling experience.

story
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
80%
6%
The game's story, centered around a man's reflections on his life and his relationship with his dog, is delivered through voice acting and fragmented memories discovered in a walking simulator format. While some players found the narrative touching and meaningful, others criticized it for being disjointed, lacking depth, and suffering from plot holes, particularly in the ending. Overall, the story is considered decent but marred by gameplay issues and a lack of immersion.
- “It tells the story of a person's life through fragmented memories that you must seek out in various vast landscapes.”
- “The story is a deep, personal story that deals with the joys and heartaches of life.”
- “The story is endearing and heartfelt; you can tell it is important to the developer.”
- “The flow of the story is unfortunately interrupted by the large empty spaces between some artifacts, game bugs, and lack of interaction with your surroundings.”
- “It feels as if the developer had no real story made, no beginning or ending, only all the memories, which is like 80-90% of the story, then one day decided to just quickly finish the entire game before sundown.”
- “The main story is lightly talked about between levels, the ending is spoiled halfway through the game, and the ending literally doesn't make sense; there are plot holes and things that just can't happen.”
music
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
30%
15%
The music in the game is widely praised for its beautiful and atmospheric piano compositions, which enhance the emotional experience and complement the stunning landscapes. While some players find the soundtrack repetitive and the pacing slow, many appreciate its relaxing qualities and how it fits the game's narrative tone. Overall, the music is considered one of the standout features, contributing significantly to the game's ambiance.
- “The music used in the game is lovely and atmospheric.”
- “Beautiful piano music accompanied you and made the whole experience very relaxing.”
- “A quick little narrative stroll through some beautiful imagery and music that really nails down the tone the developer was trying to portray.”
- “Mission impossible, too boring; you walk, walk, walk and walk again in such an ugly dead environment, accompanied by monotonous piano music, and nothing meaningful happens, except for a few poorly acted monologues.”
- “There's no sound effects to speak of and the music is extremely repetitive.”
- “Not really the greatest, but it fits the game combined with the music.”
graphics
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
62%
19%
The graphics of the game are generally described as basic, with some lovely scenes and an aesthetically pleasing environment that becomes more surreal as the game progresses. However, there are no options to adjust graphics or audio settings, and some users noted bugs and graphical issues, particularly in later levels. Overall, while the visuals evoke strong emotions, they are criticized for lacking modern polish and customization options.
- “No, it is not just a little game but an amazing experience filled with great emotions and beautiful graphics.”
- “If you want to develop games like Dear Esther (2012), you need charming aesthetics and a fascinating landscape.”
- “The game is aesthetically pleasing to the eye; the environment becomes more surreal as you progress further.”
- “There are also absolutely no options if you want to adjust graphics, audio, controls... anything.”
- “You cannot do it in 2020 with ugly textures and graphics from the PS1 era.”
- “Also from level 3, the game has many bugs and graphical problems.”
gameplay
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
54%
23%
The gameplay is primarily characterized as simple and slow-paced, typical of walking simulators, with minimal mechanics that focus on narrative rather than action. While some players appreciate the atmospheric experience and the ease of achieving 100% completion, others feel that the lack of varied gameplay elements disrupts the overall flow. Overall, it caters to those who enjoy narrative-driven experiences rather than traditional gameplay challenges.
- “Easy to get 100% achievements done in one gameplay, so that's a bonus for us who like that.”
- “I like the mechanic of finding items to recall memories.”
- “The gameplay can be relaxing to go through, nothing thrilling or heart-pounding, just slow-paced narration when you hit certain points that explains the protagonist's life story and his relationship with his dog and parents.”
- “That's about the extent of the gameplay mechanics.”
- “This would have made a lot more sense if there was such a mechanic in each level, but including it randomly in only one level disrupts the flow of the game.”
- “It is a typical walking simulator game as there is not much gameplay.”
emotional
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers a touching narrative centered on themes of friendship and nostalgia, evoking emotional responses, particularly for older players and dog lovers. However, while some players find the story endearing and heartfelt, others feel the execution falls short, leading to a lack of emotional connection and engagement. Overall, it presents a peaceful experience with moments of emotional depth, despite its pacing and design flaws.
- “This game is a short (~2 hours) walking simulator with a touching story about a man searching for his friend.”
- “The story is endearing and heartfelt; you can tell it is important to the developer.”
- “For those of us who are a bit older, the narrative is likely to hit home in a heartwarming way.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The game's atmosphere is a mixed bag, with some players praising its beauty and lovely music, while others feel it lacks depth and mood. Suggestions for improvement include altering the environment's design to better align with the intended atmosphere. Overall, the atmosphere is rated highly by some, but criticized by others for not fully delivering on its potential.
- “I was really looking forward to trying this game because it looked so atmospheric and beautiful, even if its gameplay was very simple.”
- “The music used in the game is lovely and atmospheric.”
- “Atmosphere 9/10”
- “It would have been a lot more pleasant if these walls were lower and shaped more like mountains to suit the atmosphere that the developer is going for.”
- “There is no mood, no atmosphere here.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
25%
50%
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with users noting significant performance issues and bugs that detract from the overall experience. Many feel that improved optimization could enhance the game's potential enjoyment.
- “The game looked, felt, and played the same as those games, with similar bugs and optimization issues.”
- “Honestly, it seems like it could be an enjoyable game if it were better made and optimized.”
- “The game looked, felt, and played the same as those games, with the same bugs and optimization issues.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has limited replayability, with some players finding it boring and drawn out even during their initial playthrough.
- “There isn't much replay value, and even in my first attempt, it at times felt a bit boring and unnecessarily drawn out.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game has been reported to have stability issues, with users experiencing glitches and bugs that affect gameplay.
- “I found the game to be quite glitchy and buggy.”
- “The stability issues made it hard to enjoy the gameplay.”
- “Frequent crashes and bugs really detracted from the overall experience.”

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