Summary
- A closer look at some of the mysterious places awaiting co-op partners.
- Explore, communicate across time, and overcome mind-bending challenges together.
- Coming to XBOX Series X|S in October.
A new adventure is on the horizon for co-op fans. In the latest trailer for We Were Here Tomorrow, we offer a closer look at some of the strange places and asymmetric puzzles awaiting players when the game launches for XBOX Series X|S this October.
I’m Martín Mittner, Creative Director at Total Mayhem Games. With We Were Here Tomorrow, I’m proud that we’re taking the series into unfamiliar territory while staying true to the cooperative experiences that have always been at its heart.
A Rescue Mission Goes Sideways
At the start of We Were Here Tomorrow, you and your partner are searching the frozen Antarctic landscape for lost members of your expedition. But when something goes wrong in the cold, your rescue mission takes an unexpected turn.
You awaken somewhere you don’t recognize: a retro-futuristic research facility operated by Norček Industries. There, you’re greeted by Director Kathleen Bowe, the scientist-turned-manager responsible for overseeing the facility and its ambitious research program.
Director Bowe seems like exactly the person you want on your side. Charismatic, confident, and seemingly eager to help you make sense of the strange environment you’ve awakened in. Beneath that approachable exterior, however, there is clearly more to her than meets the eye. The further you explore Norček Industries, the harder it becomes to know whether Bowe is giving you the full story.
Norček is researching something that could have enormous consequences for the world. A mysterious interdimensional rift has become central to their work, and you and your partner soon find yourselves playing an increasingly important role in understanding it. What exactly lies beyond it, and why Norček is so interested in the rift, are questions we want you to discover for yourselves.
A Familiar World Seen Through a Different Lens
One of the first areas showcased in the new trailer is the Greenhouse. For longtime We Were Here players, this space may feel familiar. There are references to locations, objects, and even plants from previous adventures hidden throughout the area.
But there is a twist.
The two players aren’t experiencing the space in the same time. Actions taken in the past have consequences for the player in the future. And with the ability to time swap thrown in, players are forced to carefully describe what they see and think about cause and effect beyond their own immediate surroundings.
The walkie-talkie is essential as players compare their worlds and try to understand how their actions are connected. It’s all about sharing information, experimenting together, and slowly uncovering how your separate experiences connect.
Escher Would Be Proud
Not every challenge in We Were Here Tomorrow separates players completely.
In another part of the facility, which we call the Office of Tomorrow, you find yourselves navigating spaces where the rules of gravity and architecture are not quite what they seem. This is where we lean into traversal and experimentation, asking you to think creatively about how you use your tools as you move through a shared space.
These kinds of rooms give us the opportunity to evolve the We Were Here formula while keeping its cooperative heart intact. You’re still relying on your partner, but now you may be navigating and experimenting together rather than always describing something from two completely separate places.
You Can See Me, but you Can’t Reach me
Of course, communication puzzles remain central to the experience.
In the Optics Lab, you and your partner can see one another, but you’re not actually in the same space. The puzzle is grounded in a more traditional We Were Here style of puzzle design: you both have access to different information and need to communicate clearly to understand what you need to know from the other to set up the proper sequence of laser refractions.
For us, as long-time puzzle designers, we understand that proximity and partial visibility don’t necessarily equate to increased ease. You might be able to see exactly where your partner is and what they’re doing, but that doesn’t necessarily make the solution easier. In some ways, it creates entirely new opportunities for misunderstanding each other.
The Optics Lab is one of the more difficult puzzles in the first Act, challenging players to carefully investigate their surroundings, share information clearly, and work together to make progress. As always in We Were Here, talking is just as important as acting.
Beyond What you Know
Later in the adventure, the world becomes even stranger.
The rift at the heart of Norček’s research is a major part of the mystery surrounding the facility, and crossing its threshold takes you somewhere entirely unlike the world you know. We won’t say too much more for now, because we wanted the area Beyond the Rift to feel like a genuine step into the unknown. Who knows what you might find there?
An Adventure you Create Together
Relationships are, in the end, what We Were Here Tomorrow is all about.
We can build strange worlds, complex puzzles, and mysterious stories, but we can’t create the moments that happen between two players. Those belong to you. Like that switch from confusion to clarity as your partner finally makes you understand what they’ve been trying to tell you for five minutes. The confident “this has to be it,” followed by immediate failure. And the laughter, sense of relief, and celebration that comes when you finally get it right.
As you make your way through Norček’s facility, you’ll gradually uncover more about Director Bowe, the corporation behind the research, and the strange events affecting the world around you. But reaching the end will require more than simply finding the next switch or solving the next puzzle.
You will need to listen, describe what you see, think creatively, and— above all— communicate.
We Were Here Tomorrow is coming to XBOX Series X|S this October. Wishlist it now, and get ready to discover what awaits you and your partner Tomorrow.
We Were Here Tomorrow
Total Mayhem Games
On an expedition to save your fellow Explorers, you and your partner become trapped beneath the ice of Antarctica.
When you awaken, you find yourselves inside the mysterious Norček Industries facility with little recollection of what happened. Director Kathleen Bowe needs your help to continue the work of her missing research team before a global crisis unfolds.
COMMUNICATE AND COOPERATE
Often separated, rely on your walkie-talkies to share what you see, combine your perspectives, and solve asymmetrical puzzles together.
TWO EXPLORERS, TWO ROLES
Each player has a unique role, with different tools and information needed to overcome obstacles that neither of you could face alone.
EXPLORE THE FUTURE AS IMAGINED BY THE 80S
Discover Norček Industries, a retro-futuristic facility filled with strange technology, hidden secrets, and a nostalgic synthwave soundtrack.
UNCOVER THE TRUTH
The deeper you venture into Norček Industries, the more questions begin to surface. Why were you brought here? And what happened to those who came before you?
Only together will you decide the fate of Tomorrow.
