Developer Dreamfeel

Publisher Annapurna Interactive

Format iOS, PC (tested)

Release Out now

Loss is a complex thing. Anyone who’s experienced will know the sharp stab of it - of something, or someone, suddenly not being where it once was, where they ought to be. And yet, it can also be a relief. When the noise threatens to overwhelm, the instant silencing of it can be a balm, albeit one that often comes with a side-order of guilt. It’s a hell of a thing on which to base a videogame, in other words. But If Found portrays this most universal of subjects with an almost unparalleled grace, wit, fire and even humour.

Restraint, too. Your means of interacting with this playable graphic novel is almost entirely limited to destroying it. An erase tool invites you to rub out the pages of Kasio’s - your - diary, sentence by sentence, sketch by sketch. It’s a winsome chronicle of the 23-year-old’s life following her return home from university to the Irish isle of Achill, and her mounting struggles with her own sense of identity. The diary is filled with slice-of-life tableaux, scribbled observations (the particular way a friend makes a cup of tea, for instance) and affectionate portraits that, although simple, flicker with life. The density of the thing becomes even more apparent once you start to reveal the layers at work in this very personal palimpsest.