Parents' Guide to Someday You'll Return

There are plenty of reasons fans of scary games will want to like this psychological horror thriller, but unfortunately, a lot of obstacles get in the way. Someday You'll Return beckons us with its beautifully rendered enchanted forest (based on real-world woods) filled with rushing streams, the sounds of nature, and authentic lighting effects. And its story offers plenty of intrigue right from the start. Who is Daniel, and why does his behavior seem so strange? What caused his daughter to run away? Why did he pledge never to come back to this forest? What's causing the bizarre happenings in the woods around him? The simple need to know the answers to these questions will push some players to forge on, even when the going gets rough.

But others might be willing to let the mystery be after, say, getting lost in the woods for the tenth time, or losing track of where they are in a maze of narrow underground corridors all of which tend to look alike. Some players enjoy such navigational challenges, but an optional objective beacon or mini-map of some sort would've gone a long way towards avoiding aggravation in those who don't take satisfaction in wayfinding using nothing but tiny tree markers in the dark. It's also easy to miss key items necessary to solve puzzles (they aren't highlighted or marked, save for a little sparkle when you get really close), and after you've missed one, you're bound to become paranoid that you're missing more. As a result, you'll begin obsessively checking every little thing you pass, which gradually erodes the sense of anxiety the game's trying to foster. And while the focus on stealth rather than combat is welcome, enemy encounters just aren't that much fun. When they end, the relief you'll feel will likely be owed as much to the simple fact that it's over rather than an ease in tension. Someday You'll Return knows the sort of horror experience it wants to provide, but never quite manages to achieve it.