It's interesting that Who We Are Now is a post-apocalyptic story for how much it doesn't foreground that aspect of itself. It's not a story of people having the make the "hard choices" and the evil that men do and the sort of "we go back to nature" John Locke thing that suggests without rules and society, we'll all try to kill each other.

Who We Are Now isn't concerned with that. It's concerned with the scars we bear when we return to a sense of "normalcy" after all of this. Aside from quick glances, you don't see much outside of Home, the place your character, Wes, arrives at when the narrative starts. But what you do see are multiple men who carry the marks of the world outside of this on their bodies and their psyches. And it's a move I really like. You don't need to see how bad it was in person; you see it through the behaviors of these men, the way they block each other out and isolate each other. The external has become the internal.

But what's also wonderful about this game is how hopeful it is. The world seems to be returning to a state of stability, and the people are as well. Sure there are weird groups on the outskirts that cause trouble, but everyone seems tired and done with that kind of thing and like they just want to settle in. The four men you can romance each carry something of their past life with them - and it's up to you to help them deal with their issues, while at the same time, working through your own.

What I really like about this conceit is that even though trauma is at the heart of it, it's not dour as hell, nor is it trying to erase this trauma and suggest it's something that can just be easily forgotten. It recognizes that these things everyone's been through are what made them who they are today, that they can't simply just ignore it and have to instead work to accept their pasts and how it's made them who they are. While your character does come in with a sort of messiah complex (especially for Jesse), it's clear that it's not grand gestures and self-sacrifice they need. They just need someone to be there for them to really hear them, really talk to them, to help them break through themselves.

Which leads to my main problem: it all kinda happens a little fast. With the exception of Xander, the stories for all of them kind of go "meet>oh god they're hot>help them with their problem>have the sex>small conflictish-thing after as we figure out ways to further help them>happy ending." And it's satisfying, but maybe just a little too neat.

Especially because Xander's story is the one that breaks beyond that more - he still carries issues with him even after this, his rage channeling outward until he plans to kill a group that had previously attacked Home, and you have to talk him down. His had a little extra depth here that I wish the others had, but I'll be damned if I wasn't still smiling and exciting to see these cute boys get together and have a happily ever after regardless.

The post-apocalypse is a pretty well-trodden ground, but Who We Are Now is a reminder that with new voices and new framing, even the most tired of settings can feel fresh and new and exciting. I loved what I played of this game - the sex scenes were great, the romances satisfying. If you want to find a game that reminds you that people can be good to each other, that even the end of the world can still have hope and beauty and love (without being cloying about it!), then I can't recommend this game enough.