Game intel
Dear me, I was...
No more word: just the story of how the lobotomy was defeated by the forces of strong male friendship.
When the creators of Guilty Gear and BlazBlue swap lightning-fast combos for a painterly tale, something magical unfolds. Dear Me, I Was… invites players into a digital-only “living painting” that tells a poignant story in just 40–60 minutes. Arriving Summer 2025 on the Nintendo Switch 2, this heartfelt interactive adventure promises an emotional resonance that lingers long after the final frame fades to black.
Title: Dear Me, I Was…
Platform: Nintendo Switch 2 (digital exclusive)
Release Window: Summer 2025
Developer: Arc System Works
Art Director: Taisuke Kanasaki
Genre: Interactive adventure / narrative exploration
Approx. Playtime: 40–60 minutes
Arc System Works, renowned for its lightning-quick fighters, is charting new territory with Dear Me, I Was…. This project marks a deliberate pivot from adrenaline-fueled combat to a reflective narrativescape. It’s a bold move: trading combo counters and health bars for brushstrokes and whispered lines of dialogue. Players won’t find sprawling open worlds here. Instead, they encounter a finely tuned interactive story that leans into memory, regret, and redemption.
The game’s most striking feature is its visual style—a handcrafted fusion of watercolor textures and rotoscoped animations. Each background shimmers with painterly washes, while every character movement feels alive, evoking the craftsmanship of a moving sketchbook. Think Studio Ghibli’s lush artistry paired with modern fluidity: trees sway with each breath, rain drips like liquid pigment, and emotional beats land with the subtle tremor of a well-placed stroke.
Rather than combat sequences or fetch quests, Dear Me, I Was… centers on choice-driven moments that shape the protagonist’s inner journey. Through simple gestures—reaching for a photograph, pausing to revisit a letter—or selecting from whispered dialogue options, players stitch together a tapestry of memories. Environmental puzzles serve as metaphors: rearranging objects in a room can unlock hidden thoughts, while altering the order of scenes shifts the emotional tone of the narrative.
This isn’t a sprawling epic but a tightly woven tale where every scene matters. In roughly an hour, you’ll traverse a series of intimate vignettes—one seamlessly flowing into the next. The absence of filler content ensures emotional beats hit with precision, building toward an ending that feels inevitable yet deeply personal. Expect quiet reflection over flashy spectacle, as the game encourages you to linger on moments both tender and bittersweet.
Not every player has hundreds of hours to invest in a game. Dear Me, I Was… demonstrates how a compact, art-driven experience can deliver profound impact without requiring a marathon playthrough. It’s a reminder that emotional resonance doesn’t hinge on length. By embracing brevity, Arc System Works may inspire other studios to explore concise narratives that speak directly to the heart.
When Dear Me, I Was… arrives on Switch 2 next summer, prepare to be enveloped by its living painting world. It’s a departure from Arc System Works’ fighting-game legacy, but one that showcases the studio’s storytelling ambitions. This digital-only gem could very well redefine how we think about short-form gaming, proving that less truly can be more when every frame is crafted with purpose.
Get access to exclusive strategies, hidden tips, and pro-level insights that we don't share publicly.
Ultimate Gaming Strategy Guide + Weekly Pro Tips