Back to the Dawn Reviews

really fun to spend the first couple playthroughs exploring a lot of options and finding out quirks and mechanics then going ham to get all the endings I really like this game!

I'm having fun with this game! So many different ways to play, and endings too.

Wonderful game. A very nice surprise. It's a "Disco Elysium-like" game (hard to believe i didn't see comments comparing the two games) with a appealing story and lore with a lot of fresh and fun mechanics. It's perfectly possible to avoid combat with a non-combatant character but in normal difficult it's also hard to push on the main quests, you need to think and plan, and i really like the struggle that it causes between brive someone to advance the story or mantain your stats high buying good food and taking care of the character. A very well implemented RPG-survival hybrid (my top genres so what else can i ask for?) It's not a sandbox or a prison simulator, and there is a time limit (a great decision I think). The game is story and text focused. Keep this in mind. But you have a ton of stuff to do (if you find it and you are capable to figure out how to do it and what kind of quests accept based in your character skills) and the freedom of choice is real and abundant. It also reminds me of Roadwarden, another hidden gem with similar approach at how it tells you the story. A very fun and interesting game if you don't mind get frustrated sometimes by things not going as you expected (or playing in easy for a more casual style maybe, i didn't try it).

Just finished 100% the game (for the second time, since they added new stuff since I last played). The game is super in depth and stuff is still being added. Even with just one route (when theyre planning 3, each of which seem like they will play very differently) theres so much you can do and so many different ways to play the situation. Highly recommend.

Game is pretty fun, but for me personally I think 20 bucks is too expensive for me personally (I know alot of people will disagree with me here), but overall for most people I'd say its fine. I almost ended up refunding the game though, but in the end I decided to give the benifit of the doubt and keep it. Mainly because I think Bob the Panther is almost releasing, since development is already at the prison break. I also was kind of rushing trough the parts I already knew from watching (sponsored) videos to get to the new parts I didn't know (spoiler I didn't, I managed to get only get through chapter 1) . I did realize I was doing this after the fact and that it might have clouded my judgement, so that helped me make the decision to keep the game in the end. I do feel some things can use a bit more explaining, since some things like memory recall being the saving feature and Eden mode removing the time limit on the story (although it does say less challenging and more relaxing, but I think that's pretty vague. It does not mention how it makes the game more relaxing, so I think it would be beneficial to name an exact list on what each mode does exactly). I only knew these things because I read alot of reviews before buying, not because they were explained in game (to my knowledge). I simply wouldn't have know about these features if I 1. didn't read reviews or 2. click on everything. I also realized way too late that I could right click on things, because I didn't accept the beat Diego quest on day 2, so that's more my fault I suppose. I am currently in chapter 2 playing more slowly and at my own pacing now that I'm not on my personal time limit anymore and it's been more to my liking so far. I was expecting more mini-games and other kinds of gameplay though. I also agree with other reviews saying how you should be able to bluff your way out of fights if you're charasmatic. Since having the charisma build only helps with making friends (again from what I know), so when I picked it I thought it would have more uses. Now for my personal things I'd like to see in game: being able to sneak to places (like the yard) even when you're not allowed to be there, so you have a high chance of being caught, but also giving you the option of doing a few things you missed out on doing that day. This would also give you an option to make more uses for being charasmatic, in this example bluffing your way out of getting in trouble. So in the end I don't mind that I decided to keep the game, but also wouldn't have minded getting the money back by refunding the game when I could. Edit: something I had forgotton to add, but would also like to see added to the game is that when using the wasd keys to move, you can automatically transition to different rooms without having to click with the mouse. Because now half the time I forget to click and run into an invisible wall and the other half I remember to click but then I'm still pressing w, a, s or d so it overwrites my click and I still run into the wall. I get this was done to prevent accidental screen transitions and to correctly play the transition animation, but I feel like certain areas can still benefit from this like going to from the cell blocks to the main area. The exits are only on the left or right side, so you wouldn't accidentally go there anyways. Now your own personal cell I would say is better off with only clicking, because it makes more sense and I can see accidentally walking past your cell and going into your cell would get very annoying ver quickly. The stairs in the main area to go upstairs is a bit of a grey area, because it would depend on how you would place the collider. If you place it high up the stairs I'd say no, you wouldn't accidentally go there, but if you place it at the foot, then yea I get that you can accidentally go upstairs if you don't want to.

The first play-through is a bit rough learning what you need to do, but once you unlock the deeper lore, it's extremely interesting. It's a challenge without being aggravating. And there's plenty of new things to find and ways to escape. I genuinely enjoy this game and will play it more even after getting the ending i was hoping for. I can't wait until Bob's profile is unlocked

Good game, but the 21-day limit is simply too restrictive, considering how many things you can do in this game. [spoiler] also, the 2 day lock down after the prison riot is a questionable choice..like I literally cant do anything for two days despite the tight time limit. Hope devs can dix this. [/spoiler]

[b]TLDR:[/b] You have 21 days to complete the story or you lose. The game wastes your time at every turn, then blames you for failing. This game is so overtuned and annoying (yes, even on Eden Mode, as the developer keeps responding to every single negative review). I don't even care how it ends anymore, I'm so done. The developer keeps insisting they want you to have a sense of urgency and that's why they limit your story to 21 days only, but then they turn around and do things like adding arbitrary timers when you thought you'd brought all the items you needed, i.e. "oh you brought the 3 required items, but it's not that simple. Now roll the dice until you get a total of 500 points." [b]Example (no spoilers):[/b] On one escape route, you've used multiple days of preparation just to be able to access the area in the first place, then you get to the final part and are told that you need a lot of energy or you can't proceed. What if it's 3am and you don't have time to rest, and you don't have energy items in your desk? Oh well, wait another day of your very short window of opportunity. The next night when you come back and are more prepared, you use all your energy only to find out there's a random boss fight at the end, and you had zero prior warning. Hope you specced into strength and have combat perks. If not, F you. The game swings wildly from having way, WAY too many resources, to having too little of everything. Also really [i]loved[/i] the part (this is sarcasm btw) where I was [spoiler]stuck in lockdown in my cell for 2 whole days during the last week.[/spoiler] I mean, do we care about the 21 day limit, or don't we? I don't, I'm done with this game.

great game but i cant beat the limit. wouldve been fun and fantastic if there wasnt a freaking time limit (im always a few days short or something) i hate to rush and i also hate that i have to ignore certain tasks and characters to get to a goal. i would recommend but it isn't "chill" enough. i would rate this a 3/5 but i wouldnt want my friends to have to run into these problems, win or lose. It's been years this was considered "early access" and still stubborn to make time limit optional. dont think devs care like most game developers now a days.

Nicely done point-and-click game. Very smooth pixel animation, even after almost 90 hours of playing I am not tired of looking at it. Good background music, great variety of characters, good but could be better quests. I expected a darker and more violent prison atmosphere, but I was still satisfied in the end. I will gladly wait for the next character to be released. P.s. I think the roll challenges in this game are rigged against us.