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When The Past Was Around - Prologue similar games & best alternatives

When The Past Was Around - Prologue

PC (Microsoft Windows) • 2019

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Quick resume

This is the prologue chapter of "When the Past was Around", an upcoming adventure point-and-click puzzle game about love, moving on, letting go, and the joy and pain of everything in between.

Global score

94/100

Genres

Adventure, Casual, Indie

Similar games

    Pros

    • Beautiful hand-drawn art
    • Soothing and fitting music
    • Emotional and poetic narrative
    • Simple and accessible puzzles
    • Relaxing and calming atmosphere

    Cons

    • Very short demo length
    • Puzzles are too simplistic
    • Music can be repetitive and annoying
    • Lack of story clarity for some players
    • No audio options to adjust music volume

    Motivations

    • Autonomy

      Game with the same Autonomy vibe

      3

      "Players direct their own actions in point-and-click exploration and puzzle solving with freedom to explore scenes and find items at their own pace."

      Capsule for My Brother Rabbit My Brother Rabbit

      "Players direct their own actions through point-and-click mechanics and puzzle solving, with freedom to explore scenes at their own pace."

    • Competence

      Game with the same Competence vibe

      1

      "Puzzles are easy and straightforward, providing a mild sense of accomplishment but minimal challenge."

      Capsule for Tukoni: Prologue Tukoni: Prologue

      "Puzzles are simple and easy, providing some sense of accomplishment but minimal technical challenge."

    • Competition

      Game with the same Competition vibe

      -5

      "No competitive elements; focus is on personal experience and story."

      Capsule for Runo Runo

      "No competitive elements; focus is on personal experience and story."

    • Continuation

      Game with the same Continuation vibe

      2

      "Players express desire to continue playing beyond the demo and look forward to the full game, indicating some habitual engagement."

      Capsule for Raji: Prologue Raji: Prologue

      "Short demo but players express desire to continue with full game, indicating some attachment."

    • Cooperation

      Game with the same Cooperation vibe

      -5

      "Single-player experience with no cooperative gameplay."

      Capsule for The Purring Quest The Purring Quest

      "Single-player experience with no cooperative gameplay."

    • Creativity

      Game with the same Creativity vibe

      2

      "Players interact with environment and solve puzzles creatively, though within a predefined game world and mechanics."

      Capsule for Share Share

      "Players interact with environment and solve puzzles creatively, though within predefined scenes."

    • Domination

      Game with the same Domination vibe

      -5

      "No elements of exerting control or superiority over others."

      Capsule for Senren*Banka Senren*Banka

      "No elements of exerting control or superiority over others."

    • Escapism

      Game with the same Escapism vibe

      4

      "Players use the game as a relaxing, emotional, and immersive escape with calming music and art."

      Capsule for Gravity Ghost Gravity Ghost

      "Players use the game as a relaxing, emotional escape with soothing music and art."

    • Expectation

      Game with the same Expectation vibe

      -4

      "Engagement is voluntary and driven by personal interest in art games and narrative exploration."

      Capsule for The Path The Path

      "Engagement is voluntary and driven by intrinsic interest in art, story, and puzzles."

    • Experimenting

      Game with the same Experimenting vibe

      1

      "Some exploration of puzzles and environment, but mostly straightforward interactions."

      Capsule for The Old Tree The Old Tree

      "Some exploration of puzzle solutions and environment interaction, but mostly straightforward."

    • Exploration

      Game with the same Exploration vibe

      2

      "Players explore new locations and uncover story elements, though within a limited set of environments."

      Capsule for Blackwell Convergence Blackwell Convergence

      "Players explore new environments and discover story elements through interaction."

    • Expression

      Game with the same Expression vibe

      -3

      "Limited customization or self-expression; players experience a fixed story and character presentation."

      Capsule for Just a To the Moon Series Beach Episode Just a To the Moon Series Beach Episode

      "Limited customization or self-expression; players interact with fixed art and story."

    • Fantasy

      Game with the same Fantasy vibe

      3

      "Surreal, dark narrative with imaginative fiction elements and a mysterious owl character."

      Capsule for Dinner with an Owl Dinner with an Owl

      "Imaginative, abstract narrative with surreal elements like owl-headed character."

    • Fellowship

      Game with the same Fellowship vibe

      -5

      "No social or community features; solo experience."

      Capsule for Dust: An Elysian Tail Dust: An Elysian Tail

      "No social or community features; solo experience."

    • Growth

      Game with the same Growth vibe

      1

      "Some learning through puzzle solving and narrative understanding, but limited depth and short duration."

      Capsule for Faefever Faefever

      "Some learning through puzzle solving and narrative understanding, but limited complexity."

    • Health

      Game with the same Health vibe

      -5

      "Sedentary gameplay with no physical activity."

      Capsule for Go! Go! Nippon! ~My First Trip to Japan~ Go! Go! Nippon! ~My First Trip to Japan~

      "Sedentary gameplay with no physical activity."

    • Idle

      Game with the same Idle vibe

      -3

      "Requires focused attention during puzzle solving and narrative progression."

      Capsule for Old Man's Journey Old Man's Journey

      "Requires focused attention during puzzle solving and story progression."

    • Intimacy

      Game with the same Intimacy vibe

      3

      "Emotional intimacy through narrative connection with characters and story."

      Capsule for Papo & Yo Papo & Yo

      "Emotional connection to story and characters, conveying intimate feelings of love and loss."

    • Leadership

      Game with the same Leadership vibe

      -5

      "No leadership or group management elements."

      Capsule for High On Life High On Life

      "No leadership or group management elements."

    • Progression

      Game with the same Progression vibe

      2

      "Progression through completing puzzles and collecting items to advance the story."

      Capsule for Four Last Things Four Last Things

      "Progression through unlocking new scenes and story segments, with item collection for puzzles."

    • Relaxation

      Game with the same Relaxation vibe

      4

      "Calming music, gentle pacing, and soothing art style contribute to a relaxing experience."

      Capsule for her tears were my light her tears were my light

      "Calming music, gentle puzzles, and soothing art create a relaxing experience."

    • Sensation

      Game with the same Sensation vibe

      3

      "Enjoyable visual art and music provide sensory pleasure and emotional stimulation."

      Capsule for TREE TREE

      "Enjoyment of visual art and music provides sensory pleasure."

    • Status

      Game with the same Status vibe

      -5

      "No social recognition or status systems."

      Capsule for Alan Wake Alan Wake

      "No social recognition or status systems."

    • Story

      Game with the same Story vibe

      4

      "Narrative immersion with engaging lore, characters, and plot integrated into gameplay."

      Capsule for USAC: Code Breach USAC: Code Breach

      "Strong narrative immersion through visuals, music, and gameplay without text."

    • Strategy

      Game with the same Strategy vibe

      -2

      "Puzzles require some thought but are generally straightforward and simple."

      Capsule for Necrophosis Necrophosis

      "Puzzles require some thinking but are generally simple and straightforward."

    • Thrill

      Game with the same Thrill vibe

      -3

      "Low suspense or risk; experience is contemplative and emotionally steady."

      Capsule for Eliza Eliza

      "Low suspense or risk; experience is calm and contemplative."

    • Value

      Game with the same Value vibe

      4

      "Demo is free and well received; players feel good value for time spent and look forward to full game."

      Capsule for Kill It With Fire: Ignition Kill It With Fire: Ignition

      "Free demo well received; players feel good value for short, artistic experience."

    • Violence

      Game with the same Violence vibe

      -5

      "No combat or destructive gameplay; focus on constructive puzzle solving."

      Capsule for Size Matters Size Matters

      "No combat or destructive gameplay; focus on constructive puzzle solving."

    • Survival

      Game with the same Survival vibe

      -5

      "No threats or survival mechanics; stable, low-risk environment."

      Capsule for 100 hidden eternals 100 hidden eternals

      "No threats or survival mechanics; stable, low-risk environment."

    Analysis

    A very typical example of its motivational profile. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Strategy, Survival, Competence, Violence. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Intimacy, Story. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Idle.

    How to use the graph
    Similar games map

    Each dot is a game. They are arranged from the same motivation profile as in the “Motivations” section below. Closer dots usually mean more similar reasons to play (exploration, competition, relaxation, etc.)—not that one game is “better” than another.

    • Larger dot with a light outline: the game you are viewing.
    • Colour: groups of games with comparable motivation patterns (statistical clusters).
    • Hover a dot to see the game name; click to open its page.
    • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom out and see more games.

    Why don’t the axes read like a score? This view uses t-SNE: it only keeps who is close to whom. The scales are not “good to bad” or hours played—they separate groups on the map. Read distance between dots, not the axis numbers.

    Last update: 30/04/2026