Leaving The Past

Editorial Meh

Leaving The Past launches with an intriguing setup—a retired assassin pulled back into the underworld while reconnecting with a long-lost family—but stumbles badly on execution. The sandbox structure, chosen by a first-time developer, is a major friction point: roughly 80–90% of players report active dislike of sandbox mechanics, and this game does little to justify the choice. The UI is clunky (navigation arrows barely clickable), and the pacing feels rushed; the emotional weight of reunion is largely missing, and the story races through setup that could have been exploited for depth. A critical bug breaks relationship-name customization—players can select alternatives to "Landlady" at the start, but the game ignores these choices, constantly reverting to the default. Community opinion is divided between those who see genuine potential in the premise and character premise, and those who see a half-baked first effort hamstrung by poor structural choices. The developer is actively engaging with feedback and has committed to revisions, which is encouraging; however, the current build needs substantial work to land.