November 5, 2024. Lisbon, Portugal - Portuguese developer Octopus Embrace is excited to announce the release today of the award-winning Back Then for PlayStation 5 at a price of €14.99. This first-person, narrative-focused game offers an immersive experience and seeks to make the player reflect and raise awareness about Alzheimer's disease. At the same time, the game's official soundtrack will also be released today on all music streaming platforms.
We all live with the fear of being devoured by the shadows of dementia. The ultimate fear of oblivion. The fear of forgetting our past and everything that brought us to this moment. Who do we become when we forget who we are?
Travel through the mind of Thomas Eilian, an elderly writer facing Alzheimer's disease. The gameplay, focused on investigative exploration and puzzles, invites players to unravel the mysteries of Thomas' life, family and memories. Navigating between past and present, players unlock new areas, collectibles and challenges, providing an emotional and thought-provoking experience.
Back Then is a game for people who are in search of unconventional and new story-rich experiences. It appeals to a more general audience, emphasizing on the game's atmosphere, soundtrack, and narrated-exploration to deliver players a poetic and emotional story.
FEATURES
- In-depth narrative and storytelling experience.
- Detective exploration and puzzles.
- Creative gameplay and events related to Alzheimer’s and forgetfulness.
- Inspired by personal events, involving the team's loved ones and family.
A LETTER FROM THE PRODUCER AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE STUDIO
My name is Calebe Motta, I'm a game developer, musician, writer, book lover, gym enthusiast, and one of the creators of "Back Then".
My story is long, so I'll summarize! I'm Brazilian - son of a father from Paraíba and a mother from Rio Grande do Sul - but I was born in Portugal in 1999. We lived in Canada (2004-2006); Then we moved to Brazil in Curitiba, PR (2007); Campina Grande, PB (2008); and Anápolis, GO (2009-2015). We returned to Portugal in 2015, where we still live.
I dreamt of making games since I was a kid. But besides that, I also wanted to be a writer and musician. Now I do all three! After high school, I took an Animation and Video Games course in Lisbon (2017-2019), where I met my colleagues and the Back Then team.
In 2019, we participated in a Global Game Jam, where the theme was "Home". This is where the initial premise of Back Then emerged: an elderly person with Alzheimer's, confined to a nursing home, restricted to a wheelchair, has to interact with objects to remember his life.
We saw the potential of the game, so after completing the course, we continued the project. Unfortunately, the pandemic hit a few months later. We faced challenges in development and in our personal lives. I lost two of my grandfathers during this period, including the one who inspired me for Thomas's character. His wife, my grandmother, had already passed away from Alzheimer's in 2016. Despite everything, we persisted — and in December 2023, we launched Back Then for PC. Now, in November 2024, we've released the game on PlayStation.
This release carries an enormous emotional weight for our small team. Each experience shaped not only the game but also who we are today. Now, with the game available on multiple platforms, we hope this story touches even more lives, bringing some comfort to those whose family members have been affected by Alzheimer's.
History & Accomplishments of Back Then
Octopus Embrace is a Lisbon-based game development studio dedicated to creating unique and emotionally impactful gaming experiences. With a focus on narrative-driven games, our team strives to push the boundaries of storytelling in the gaming industry.
Starting in 2019 with a Global Game Jam, the development journey of Back Then was born out of pure inspiration and passion. Having had first-hand experiences with family members diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, these events shaped their lives and inspired them to create this game.
We won the ‘People’s Choice Award’ for IndieX 2019; and in January of 2020, we won the ‘Games 4 Good’ and ‘Best Game’ Awards for PlayStation Talents - an award ceremony aimed to support the development of video games in Portugal and Spain, promoted by PlayStation®.
The game was already released for PC on December 8th, 2023, being available on Steam, Epic Games, GOG and Humble Bundle. We are now extremely grateful and excited to have been given this opportunity of releasing the game for the PS5, thanks to the PS Talents program.
Having powered through 4 years of development, going through loss of family members, a pandemic, and hardships endured with the game’s production, we are finally glad to be able to release this project which means so much to us.
We hope you give the game a shot and hopefully it teaches something you didn’t know before. We dedicate this game to you, your loved ones...
And all who were back then.
CONTACTS AND LINKS
- Linktree: https://linktr.ee/BackThenGame
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BackThenGame
- Website: https://octopusembrace.com/
- PlayStation: https://store.playstation.com/pt-pt/concept/10005526
- Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1573860/Back_Then/
- GOG: https://www.gog.com/en/game/back_then
- Epic Store: https://store.epicgames.com/pt-BR/p/back-then-2072ca
- Spotify: https://shorturl.at/hPHFv
