Sarah is an 11 year old girl from Switzerland with a Russian pen pal named Katya. Over the years, they both write back and forth through letters, social media and the internet.
Their friendship grows stronger and stronger, like that of anyone else who talks daily. Letters sees you following this friendship.
In Letters, you become a small version of Sarah, exploring words through her letters and conversations. Moving through the letters and messages, you are able to pick up words and chop them apart to find the answer you are looking for. When Katya asks you questions, you must use bits of the conversation already provided to answer, mostly by finding words within the words written there.
Other times, you must use bits of words to solve puzzles so that documents and pictures can be sent to your friend. A boat, for example, is needed to take you across a small lake so you can get a file on the other side. You must use a bit of a word to explain this to the sailor, that way he can sail you across on the boat.
You’ll need to be careful about the words that you do throw, though. The varied characters that you interact with have different personalities, and throwing the wrong word at someone might have some strange reactions. These characters are different people in Sarah’s life, so their reactions do matter to her and change the rest of the story.
The style of Letters is really lovely — letters written with small drawings on them, followed by chat windows and beautiful bits of photography that then need to be shared. It’s all so nicely done, showcasing a story told through instant messenger and written words.
I got the chance to check out Letters at Casual Connect, where I played a short demo giving me a look into Sarah and Katya’s life. It’s a very relatable story, and one well worth playing.
Letters is set to release in 2020 on PC, Mac, Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android. In the meantime, you can find out more information on the game and sign up for the developer’s newsletter on their website.