While I generally remain on the fence about experiences that you go through in a game-like fashion but are driven first by story, I will admit that some implementations get it more right than others. There are absolutely ways that being immersed in the world and feelings of an on-screen character can be emotionally compelling, it’s just always going to be a subjective experience depending on what the player is bringing to the table. In the case of Carry Onward, I’ll admit that as a “vintage” gamer who has been happily married for more than two decades, this did hit a few chords with me, so there’s at least something to be said for that.

Really the entire experience revolves around you packing up a house your character shared with the woman he loved, and how you then choose to react to different things you find. I do always wonder in these situations whether I’m meant to try to put myself in the shoes of the character when reacting or just to play it as myself, but quite a few times I wasn’t quite sure which option to choose. Which I suppose does at least make everything a bit more engaging since it surprised me.

Now, one thing to very much take into account is that it all wraps up pretty quickly, with a whole run easily taking less than an hour, depending on how quickly you make your choices and review the memories that emerge from those choices. The game is supposed to have 5 different endings, so at least there’s some incentive to return once again to make different choices and see how things turn out. But I’d imagine for most people this would be diminishing returns for overall interest once you’ve completed it once or twice.

In terms of what it appears the game set out to do, which is to make you reminisce a bit and contemplate your own life, and the memories you may share with someone special, it’s pretty successful. That said, I would wager younger gamers, or those who’ve had less fulfilling relationships, would likely struggle to connect with it, since their own experiences don’t match up as well with what this is hoping to get you reflecting on. While it lasts, if you’re in the right state of mind, this can trigger some moments of reflection, just don’t come into it expecting much more than that.