Review: Farewell North (Nintendo Switch)

An evocative and emotional game, Farewell North takes you on a nostalgic journey through islands off the coast of Scotland, reminiscing about a beautifully written life. You play as a border collie, traveling with your human companion, exploring both the island setting and flashbacks that piece the story of your life together.

At the beginning of the game, the landscape is blank and grey. It is your responsibility to restore colour to your companion’s world as they process a series of difficult feelings. You achieve this by doing things like bringing them flowers and chasing birds, the kind of pure, wholesome things dogs do that brighten up a day.

Occasionally, your companion will get overwhelmed by their negative feelings. Their darkest moments are represented by looming great shadows in the shapes of thorns and giants. These confront you with puzzles to solve so that the light of your presence can chase away the darkness. The puzzles are fairly simple. You find the flowers you have to bring and the birds you have to chase, you find the lens through which you have to see the world to find the colour in it, and you herd sheep to somewhere safe to shelter from the bad weather. They offer a clever way to engage with the story and explore more of the world.

Scattered around Farewell North, you’ll find additional bonus things that incentivise you to explore more. There is no rush to reach the end of the game, so you have all the time you need to find all the secrets. These take the form of scraps of memory, hidden away in secret places, that add details to the narrative, and come to you in a way that realistically reflects old memories triggered by a sight, thought, or tune.

The world of Farewell North is gorgeously designed, accurately reflecting the natural beauty of the Scottish landscape. The design is accompanied by a stunning soundtrack that simultaneously enhances the tranquility of the setting while also reflecting the emotional weight of the story.

The narrative at the heart of the game has bereavement at its core. Although you play as a dog listening to a monologue delivered by just one person, the story is populated with fully fleshed out characters and relationships that feel incredibly real. Farewell North can’t help but evoke a response. The game captures the way grief makes every memory bittersweet and draws you into the intensity of the experience. There are many heavy moments in this game that can be hard to face, but ultimately combine to create a rich and wonderfully constructed story.