What Never Was
Acke Hallgren · January 11, 2019 · Free to Play, Adventure, Puzzle, Indie, Story Rich
What Never Was is free to play — no purchase needed. We track it so you know if that ever changes.
Screenshots
What Never Was price
What Never Was is free to play — there is no purchase price, on Steam or anywhere else we track. We keep watching it, so if it ever stops being free the price history on this page will show when that happened and what it changed to.
About What Never Was
Explore your late grandfather's mysterious attic as Sarah, solving environmental puzzles and uncovering supernatural secrets woven through his collected artifacts and journals. This atmospheric first-person adventure blends classic point-and-click puzzle design with modern exploration, drawing inspiration from folklore, Norse mythology, and cosmic horror to craft an intimate mystery about legacy and the impossible.
Sometime in the late 2000s, Howard James Wright - an old but kind man - perishes. Leaving behind him many adventures, relics he's collected over the years as well as books authored, he is also leaving Sarah, his granddaughter behind.
Having to shoulder the arduous task of clearing out her grandfathers attic, she is soon to find that not everything about her grandfathers attic is what it seems.
What Never Was is a short, story-driven first-person game focused on exploration and puzzle-solving.
You play as Sarah Elizabeth Wright, exploring through your grandfathers attic, solving small puzzles and uncovering the story through gameplay. What Never Was aims to combine the gameplay of classic point-and-click games with the control schemes of modern adventure and walking sim games.
It is inspired by the likes of Myst, Indiana Jones and The Longest Journey and borrows themes from folklore, Norse mythology, and works from authors like H.P. Lovecraft.
The game is the first solo game and passion project of game developer Acke Hallgren with the support of a handful of supportive creatives.
What Never Was — game info
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux / SteamOS
- Steam Deck
- Verified
- Player modes
- Single-player
- Controller
- Partial controller support
- PC Game Pass
- Not included
What Steam players say
Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.
A very short, but very sweet game. It touches on logic, puzzle solving, using the controls to your advantage (toggle Control to crouch, holding Z to zoom in, etcetera), and seeing what you can discover by looking at and interacting with objects around the attic. The graphics are beautiful (although my laptop couldn't handle the higher settings), and the foley is too. A very well made game overall.1 found this helpful
really great, short but beautiful puzzle game!!! excited for chapter 2! i loved the visuals!
Although it is a 30-minute game, it has a lot of effort and care from the devs. The story has some depth, and the puzzles aren't boring at all for a game this short. It's a good game for a small session after a long day or just to take a break from other games.
Meh
I wanna give this game a 1 star, BECAUSE I WAS SO SAD IT WAS OVER WHEN I FINISHED. Such a fun play, and genuinely a really good time. Loved the storyline and main character!
Yes, the game is 15 minutes long. You're welcome! Hope to see chapter 2 soon.
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