SEASON: A letter to the future

Still, minor quibbles aside, SEASON: A letter to the future is a beautiful and ethereal gaming experience about what is both permanent and impermanent in our lives. I was satisfied with the conclusion my particular journey took, finding the game to be genuinely moving and inspiring in unexpected ways. SEASON: A letter to the future is one journey adventure game fans will want to experience.

If memory can be an anchor and the future an unknown, then Season: A Letter to the Future asks us to be mindful of the present as we explore the beautiful world it has created. Armed with a camera, a recorder and diary, riding a bicycle trough gorgeous sceneries, we dive in a story about memories and new eras to unravel. To say it's not for everyone is to belittle both the game and those who play it, so it's really best to recommend it to everyone. Change is scary, but maybe Season will help us find some answers.

When was the last time a game managed to pierce your heart with its third or fourth dialogue choice? [Issue#381, p.96]

SEASON: A letter to the future is the perfect example of art that could only exist within the confines of a video game, using player agency to convey its themes in ways that at times feel genuinely enlightening. It's a game that only gives as much as you deem to take, and only asks as much as you have to give. An instant classic.

If you can find some time out of your busy everyday life to step into the world of SEASON: A letter to the future, then I highly beckon you to do so. Scavengers Studio has created a beautiful work of art that captures powerful motifs of humanity and themes of preservation. After all, it’s the memories we choose to remember that really matter in the end.

There’s something special about the power that Season: A Letter to the Future gives to the player; the freedom you have to explore, to document, to see and do exactly as you wish. Free of threat and any real time pressure, you’ll simply become absorbed, seeing everything for the first time just as your protagonist is. For the action-oriented amongst you, that might sound a little dull. But we can’t overstate just how wonderful it feels to play something like this, a game that really doesn’t mind what you do or how you do it, as long as you’re doing… something. It’s freeing, wholesome, relaxing but evocative. And we wish it didn’t have to end. Let us explore more corners of this enchanting, mysterious world, please.

Cycling, photographing, enjoying: something short but wonderful narrative adventure with many exciting stories.

Season: A Letter to the Future is a unique narrative experience, which reminds us how precious every single moment of life is as we face a season on the verge of its end. You will be captured by the atmosphere of the game and it will be difficult to detach yourself until the epilogue; at the same time, however, it is a journey to be played at a slow pace, enjoying the landscape views and the memories left by the characters who have inhabited this world, without the rush to get to the end credits. Kind of how one should live, after all.

It’s difficult to put into words my experience with this game. It offered a strange peace that was, all at once, a somber experience — one full of joy, sorrow, laughter, and regret. It explores the weight and comfort of memories, the impact they have on the world, and the importance of existence. It can be meandering at times, and some of the side characters’ voice acting pulled me out of the experience. If you aren’t in the mood for this kind of game — a walking simulator vibe with an emphasis on scrapbooking, bicycling, and photography — hold off on playing it and wait until the right mood strikes. When you go in with the right mindset, this game can get under your skin in the best way. Season: A Letter To The Future isn’t a perfect game, but it is a significant one, and one that I will carry with me for a long time.

A purely atmospheric experience, Season: a letter to the future is a little candy, a poem about the passing years and their memories which, strangely, transports you completely out of time. A road trip by bike made of absolutely charming encounters that enjoys excellent sound work. A must-do for lovers of short narrative experiences in which you can easily let yourself be transported.

Season: A Letter to the Future allows players to roam a valley marked by its past and populated by a handful of unforgettable characters. The humanity on the verge of abandoning Tieng Valley is full of dreams and has stories of love and loss to tell. Scavengers Studio manufactures an invite to meditation and a hymn to human bonds and nostalgia that is also a celebration of the capability to become independent and strive forth without fear, on board a bicycle that sets a new standard for the use of DualSense's features.

Season: A Letter to the Future is a poetic, melancholy rite of passage experience like no other. Its take on facing the end of the world is about preserving what was rather than trying to survive what will be, and is all the better for it.

Clearly inspired by real places, Tieng Valley exists firmly in the realm of magical realism, with a god of forgetting looming over the valley while strange flowers whisper echoes of the past. Biking around, recording it is a meditative experience that not only interrogates how you as an outsider choose to remember this ephemeral space, but also asks wider questions about time, history, and memory. It’s a genuine pleasure to explore. The game doesn’t outstay its welcome at about ten hours long, and is absolutely an experience we won’t forget in a hurry. [Issue#24, p.75]

Contemplative and profound, SEASON: A letter to the future is a work of art that invites you to discover and record an era that will soon vanish in transition to an unknown world. Traversing the open world with your camera and notebook should appeal to those who want a beautiful, immersive experience of aesthetic creation and philosophical storytelling.

Overall the game is a great indie production and one that will enchant the people who are into games revolving around questions about the meaning of our existence. It is a beautifully crafted walking simulator, with a unique atmosphere and some memorable moments, but no replay value at all.

SEASON: A Letter to the Future is a beautiful game. If you enjoy an action-free adventure and intricate stories, then you'll thoroughly enjoy exploring the colourful world on offer. The innovative use of the DualSense controller creates a fun sense of immersion as you pedal through the landscapes. Although the interactions with other characters are few and far between, they all come with their own personalities and backstories, which I enjoyed more than the main storyline. Overall, SEASON: A Letter to the Future is a relaxing narrative experience with wonderful art and sound design.

SEASON: A letter to the future is unique, relaxing and beautiful; even more important, it's a game with something to say. In general, explore this world is satisfying if you connect with the concept and topics. However, it isn't an experience for everyone. Some will find it boring and repetitive.

Season A Letter to the Future is the PS5 gem of the beginning of this year. The atmospheric game captivates from the very first seconds thanks to its poetry and melancholy. A splendid and magnetic game as much on the visual level as the writing of its dreamlike universe. An artistic spectacle as sublime as its narrative premise that remains intriguing during the few hours needed to complete it.

SEASON’s intended time for a single playthrough is around six hours, which I found a slightly awkward length. Its subtler environmental stories would lose their impact if not experienced in a single play session, but the deliberately slow and self-driven nature of its exploration makes this an arduous ask. It almost feels as though part of the experience was cut, or that it was originally intended to be broken into chapters more rigorously. Despite this, SEASON is an emotional and well-written narrative adventure. Immersive and reflective, it takes the grandeur of an epic journey like The Artful Escape and condenses it into something more like Firewatch: a series of personal, microcosmic stories that feel incredibly real.

SEASON: A Letter to the Future has all the markings of a relaxing adventure that has something to say about the nature of change.

SEASON: A Letter To The Future has a real touch of brilliance around it, showcasing something truly unique with a world that players will be desperate to rediscover, and hopefully there will be an opportunity to do so. A game that will last long in the memory, even if it's something that will be lost to its own characters.

In a different world I feel like Season could have been an incredible mystery adventure in the style of Return Of The Obra-Dinn, completely letting go of your hand and leaving you to slowly piece together why the world is the way it is. As it stands, it’s kind of like that, but is far more concerned with making sure you feel guided and, more importantly, relaxed at all times. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Season has a vibe, and that vibe is all about brewing up a chamomile, settling down under a blanket, and enjoying the ride.

As Estelle pieces together her scrapbook made by my hand, I often found myself asking why I took a particular image, what I liked about a specific sound. What memories or feelings was I conjuring, even subconsciously, that led me to present Estelle's world in the ways I did, and what did that say about how I see my own world? Season asks a lot of introspective questions, provides few definitive answers, and hopes players are willing to breathe it in, consider it carefully, then exhale slowly as they reflect on both the game and themselves. It's unconventional even in a sea of indies that are constantly trying new weird things, but it works.

Season: A Letter to the future feels like the perfect antidote for someone that’s grown a bit tired of epic, action-heavy adventure games. Scavengers Studio delivers an adventure game that’s warm and peaceful, but still fulfilling and thought-provoking. Although the movement controls can feel a bit clunky, Season: A Letter to the future is an easy recommendation.

All up, the credits rolled at the seven-hour mark on my end. SEASON didn’t overstay its welcome as some games often do, though conversely, it also doesn’t offer any reason to return once you’ve seen and done it all. As mentioned prior, there aren’t any checklists, you won’t find challenges here, and there’s nothing to collect beyond personal keepsakes for your journal. So one playthrough is all you’ll need here and if you don’t embrace a slower style of play, one where you really take your time to capture everything just right, you’ll likely finish the game in a few short hours. It’s certainly not a game for everyone, but for those who do take their time to thoroughly travel the open world and take in every sight and sound, there’s a truly wonderful time to be had in SEASON: A letter to the future.

While the voice acting is a little below par, the writing is superb, crafting meaningful, emotional moments seemingly at will, while walking a delicate tonal line between sadness and catharsis. What you're left with is a fascinating, emotionally powerful experience not soon to leave you.

SEASON: A letter to the future is an intriguing slow-paced exploration game that actually makes scrapbooking fun by drawing you into its attractive world as you make record of every sight, sound, and touch before it's all washed away.

Season: A letter to the future has style to spare and some captivating story elements. Exploring its little world is rewarding, but it's so frictionless as to lack the drama of other exploration-focused games like The Witness or Journey.

A game like Season: A Letter to the Future does not come along often. While the game is certainly not perfect, this unique view of the function of memory is definitely to be recommended to anyone looking for a calm game to lose themselves in.

Season: A Letter to the Future is an experience committed to the art of environmental storytelling. Although how much you connect with the world will be determined by your enjoyment of slow-paced adventures with minimal gameplay and the way you interpret the narrative.