'We Were Here Tomorrow,' the latest entry in Total Mayhem Games' flagship asymmetrical co-op puzzle adventure 'We Were Here' series, will officially launch on October 20 on Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. The new title follows the journey of two explorers trapped inside the mysterious 'Norček Industries' facility by an unexpected twist of fate, delivering a distinct atmosphere with a retro-futuristic world steeped in 1980s aesthetics and a synthwave soundtrack.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the 'We Were Here' franchise has established itself as an unmatched benchmark in the co-op puzzle genre, amassing over 15 million players across five titles. While inheriting the signature charm of trusting your partner and relying on walkie-talkies to bridge the information gap, the new game introduces a new 'Abilities' mechanism—giving each player unique powers like creating platforms or pulling objects—to showcase an even more organic and evolved asymmetrical puzzle experience.
The overall polish of the game has also dramatically advanced. Renowned bestselling sci-fi author Claire North joined the development to craft an immersive three-act narrative, while a new walkie-talkie featuring an intuitive display screen and proximity chat functionality drastically enhances player convenience. As the game garners immense excitement from global fans with over 350,000 Steam wishlists, we met the development team at the Tokyo Game Show to hear about the secrets of the space-time puzzles hidden behind the subtitle 'Tomorrow' and the behind-the-scenes stories of its development.
Q. What is the story behind the title 'We Were Here Tomorrow'? The combination of the future concept 'Tomorrow' and the past-tense verb 'were' is intriguing.
"About a third of the game takes place in a facility called the 'Time Research Center,' where players solve puzzles by utilizing cause and effect across different timelines. Also, unlike previous titles set in the 1940s, we wanted to emphasize 1980s retro-futurism this time. It is also a witty play on words borrowing terms like 'Tomorrowland' popular in 1980s sci-fi. It is the title that best represents our team's first sci-fi game and the inclusion of a time travel theme.
Q. What is the key mechanism of this new game that sets it apart from previous titles?
"We added a new 'Abilities' system on top of the core elements of communication and puzzle-solving. When players reach the final stages of a puzzle, they gain abilities in prototype form. Through abilities like generating boxes or platforms in a sandbox manner or pulling objects, we turned hallways—which were previously simple transit spaces—into 'traversal challenge' areas. Based on these asymmetrical abilities, players must cooperate to overcome obstacles that cannot be tackled alone.
Q. How specifically does the subtitle 'Tomorrow' play into the in-game puzzle design?
"I have to be careful as this could be a spoiler, but there are sections where you and your partner are separated into entirely different timelines and must solve puzzles across time. In particular, clever time-trick puzzles where you're trapped in a time loop searching for clues by endlessly repeating the same timeframe—similar in style to the movie 'Groundhog Day'—appear, and this is one of the aspects our development team is most proud of.
Q. Are there any new changes to the walkie-talkie system, which is an icon of the series?
"A display screen was added to the walkie-talkie this time. Feedback has been significantly improved, showing waveforms on screen when your partner speaks and an 'X' icon when their transmission cuts out. We also applied a diegetic UI that guides players through the tutorial via this walkie-talkie screen to heighten immersion. In addition, we introduced a proximity chat feature so when players get close to each other, the walkie-talkie audio seamlessly transitions to direct voice chat.
Q. How did you balance the difficulty and sense of achievement stemming from the role imbalance between the player giving instructions and the player acting on them?
"Puzzles where one player's role is larger naturally exist, but we addressed this imbalance by giving unique roles to both sides through newly introduced gear and 'abilities'. Rather than striving for perfect symmetry within a single puzzle, we adjusted it flexibly across the flow of the entire game. We intentionally designed a 'frustration curve' so players feel a certain degree of frustration. We conducted repeated testing so players feel a true sense of achievement when overcoming it and solving the puzzle.
Q. Can new players who haven't played previous titles easily enjoy it?
"100% yes. While there are welcome Easter eggs hidden for existing fans, it was designed with a standalone story for new players. They will be able to easily adapt to the world through the opening cinematic. To enhance storytelling, bestselling sci-fi author Claire North participated to elevate the depth of the narrative even further.
Q. Which player base would you most recommend this game to?
"Couples make up a large portion of our player base, and it also serves as a great friendship test (?) for those who want to see if they can develop a deeper relationship with a friend. Since it is not a game that finds amusement in one side's failure, but rather focuses purely on cooperation and persistent communication, it suits both achiever-type and explorer-type players.
Q. Is there anything specific you would like to tell players through this article?
"Overall graphical fidelity and quality have been greatly upgraded. Beyond visual improvements, we cast renowned actress Sophie Okonedo for the role of the primary antagonist, 'The Director,' capturing a fantastic performance. Furthermore, to accommodate expanding markets such as Asia and Latin America, we support full voice localization in Japanese, Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese, and more. As an indie developer, this was by no means an easy investment, so we hope players truly enjoy the game.
