When I Was Young
- July 10, 2020
- WallRus Group
- 7h median play time
Get on Steam"When I Was Young" is a single-player action game set in the brutal Vietnam War, where you embark on a dangerous journey to uncover the truth about your missing brother. With a captivating storyline inspired by classic depictions, engaging 2D combat incorporating various enemies and shooting mechanics, players can expect around 6 hours of exhilarating gameplay. Check out other games from Art Games Studio at .
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a compelling story set in the Vietnam War, which many players found engaging and well-executed.
- The pixel art style and retro graphics received praise for their nostalgic appeal and atmospheric representation of the setting.
- The developers are responsive to feedback, quickly addressing bugs and issues reported by players.
- The combat mechanics and controls are often described as frustrating and unresponsive, leading to a challenging gameplay experience.
- Many players found the difficulty level excessively high, particularly during the basic training and certain missions, making it hard to progress.
- The game suffers from numerous spelling and grammatical errors in the dialogue, which detracts from the overall experience.
- story28 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally praised for its engaging narrative and strong themes, particularly in the context of the Vietnam War, with many players finding it compelling and well-developed. However, some critiques highlight issues with dialogue quality and gameplay mechanics that detract from the overall experience, leading to frustration during certain missions. Despite these drawbacks, the storytelling is often described as a standout feature, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of narrative-driven games.
“I am almost finished with my playthrough, and I can say this is my favorite game; it has great storytelling.”
“The story plays out well and kept me engaged from start to finish across the game's fairly meaty 9 chapters.”
“I'd say this game has an excellent storyline, really fun from my perspective.”
“If you're playing this game in English, then don't. It's a linear, story-driven game by a dev team that doesn't even have a basic grasp on the English language - 90% of the game is just reading dialogue, and 90% of it is spelled abhorrently wrong.”
“- writing: the story is nonsense.”
“You will never get to see the whole story, you will get mad, and uninstall.”
- gameplay12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing the combat mechanics as frustrating and poorly executed, leading to a challenging experience that often feels more difficult than enjoyable. While some appreciate the blend of storytelling and action, others find the tutorial excessively long and the controls lacking fluidity, detracting from the overall experience. Despite these issues, a few players enjoyed the game for its unique mechanics and narrative, suggesting that with some polish, it could have been much better.
“I love this game; the overall experience is very cool with the mechanics working well.”
“Though when I was young, it could benefit from a little polish here and there, I enjoyed the mixture of storytelling, blistering action, stealth, and fetch quests across my 8 hours of gameplay.”
“You have to hide behind a rock, which is a mechanic never before seen in the game, and you have to be pixel perfect in where you choose to start hiding.”
“Boring game with hellish combat mechanics and controls; if you make it through the tutorial that just won't end!”
“I am going to pull my hair out; this game has the worst combat mechanics I've seen in a long while. You can very clearly tell this was a poorly executed port to PC with zero consideration for how fluid the combat is.”
“And because of its poor combat mechanics, you're left completely stumped at certain segments of the game, which is such a shame when the story this game offers is really good.”
- music5 mentions
- 80 % positive mentions
- -40 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising the vibrant soundtrack featuring electric guitar and 70s rock influences that enhance the atmosphere, while others find it lacking, particularly at the beginning. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as a highlight for some players, but not universally appreciated.
“Great soundtrack.”
“The bloody, fire-blasted pixel art looks good and a soundtrack brimming with electric guitar motifs, organ, and funky downer 70s rock voltage brings the atmosphere to life.”
“Characters, music, stories, graphics, I like these.”
“The soundtrack is weak at the beginning.”
“The music lacks variety and becomes repetitive quickly.”
“The background music feels generic and fails to enhance the gameplay experience.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is vividly enhanced by its striking pixel art and a dynamic soundtrack featuring electric guitar and 70s rock elements, effectively immersing players in a Vietnamese setting. However, some players note that shallow dialogues detract from character connection and overall atmospheric depth.
“Atmospheric, and you will certainly feel Vietnam.”
“The bloody, fire-blasted pixel art looks good, and a soundtrack brimming with electric guitar motifs, organ, and funky downer 70s rock voltage brings the atmosphere to life.”
“On the other hand, there are some (few) screens which are quite beautiful and atmospheric.”
“The dialogues are shallow and do not help create atmosphere or a bond with the other characters.”
“The atmosphere feels lifeless and fails to immerse players in the game world.”
“The environments lack detail and variety, making the overall atmosphere feel flat and uninspired.”
- graphics3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game successfully deliver a pixel art style that enhances the overall experience, proving that a pixelated medium can effectively bring complex themes like war to life. Users appreciate the combination of visuals with engaging characters, music, and storytelling, highlighting the game's artistic achievement.
“For anyone thinking that bringing the warfront to life in a pixel graphics medium borderlines on the impossible, Wiwy might just convert the hard-headed to the truth that it can work and work well.”
“Characters, music, stories, graphics - I like these.”
“I wanted a pixel look, and this is what I got.”
“For anyone thinking that bringing the warfront to life in a pixel graphics medium borders on the impossible, wiwy might just convert the hard-headed to the truth that it can work and work well.”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with players reporting significant bugs and glitches that disrupt gameplay, particularly around the two-hour mark. Issues such as freezing when using grenades and problems with aiming lead to a frustrating experience, making it difficult to progress past the tutorial level. Many users recommend waiting for fixes before purchasing, suggesting the game is currently not worth its price.
“It starts strong, but right around the 2-hour mark (where Steam won't let you refund), all the polish goes poof and you're left with a broken, empty husk of a game that freezes whenever you try to throw a grenade.”
“I bought this game hoping to have an interesting experience, but instead I got stuck on the first level because the grenades keep glitching through the sandbags. I clearly made it, but you can't aim the grenades and you only have 3, so if you miss two, you may as well restart the level. I shouldn't be forced to play a buggy tutorial level. I will recommend buying it after the developer fixes the spelling mistakes and bugs, and hopefully allows you to skip that stupid tutorial level. This is not worth 10 dollars; at most, it's worth 5.”
“I've done everything it says, including how to do it when it was buggy in the demo.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by a unique style that, while occasionally marred by dialogue errors, manages to deliver amusing moments in the right contexts. Some players feel that the dialogue could use significant editing, which may frustrate more discerning audiences.
“The dialogue could benefit from some heavy editing, so English teachers (I'll bet you there's a mistake or two in this review!) might get a bit annoyed, but there's actually a neat style to it, even with some humorous touches that come across in the right situations.”
“The humor in this game is spot on, with clever puns and witty one-liners that keep you chuckling throughout the adventure.”
“I love how the game doesn't take itself too seriously; the absurd situations and quirky characters always bring a smile to my face.”
