Where are you, Stela?

It’s not the first time she ran away. But you’re uneasy … this time feels so different. Long ago, you swore never to return here. And now, she has dragged you back. Your search leads deep into ancient Moravian forests and reveals secrets that should have stayed buried.

While your survival skills and quick wits might advance your search, malevolent forces rise up against you. There are nightmares you can’t fight and win. Some of them … could be yours.

Your character is Daniel, Stela’s father, who is forced by events to return to a place, he swore never to return. In the forest he will encounter peculiar people who will help him understand the true reason why Stela keeps running away. Someday You’ll Return deals with intimate concepts of fatherhood, fears, lies and refusal to accept one’s past. While the story contains strong horror elements it’s not always the most obvious monsters which are the most frightening.

CBE Software has listened to their customers and made the unusual decision to remove content from their newly released title Someday You’ll Return in favor of improving the overall game. 

While many games undergo patching post-launch, most add content that was not ready in time for release. After reading responses from customers, CBE Software made the decision to remove hours of gameplay content, improving the overall experience while maintaining the taught, narrative-driven horror that fans loved.

“After reading feedback from our customers, it became clear to us that some parts of the game, mostly in the second half, were not enjoyed as we had expected them to be. We took a hard look at the game and asked ourselves how we could make it better. While it is very important for us to remain true to our vision for the game, we felt if there were ways we could make improvements without compromise, we should do this even if it means sacrificing months of hard work.

We realized that some of the content and puzzles were not adding any value to the main game story. It is very important to us that our players have the best game experience, so after careful consideration we cut away hours of superfluous content, making the game better as a whole. Ingenious explorers out there shouldn’t worry, though, as they would still be able to access some of the “missing” areas by careful exploration and doing additional tasks well off the beaten path.

One of the features some players didn’t enjoy was stealth. To aid those players who dislike stealth, we’ve added a new, in-game potion called “Devil’s Pact”. This potion turns the player almost invisible to enemies during stealth sequences. Now players who dislike stealth sequences can drink the potion and through them easily, while players who enjoy being stealthy can keep playing the original version. We strongly believe that offering this choice is the best option for both types of players.

” - Jan Kavan, CBE Software co-founder.

Someday You’ll Return takes place in beautiful scenic areas of the Czech Republic. While they are not exact duplicates, CBE Software desired to capture the atmosphere of Bohemian nature. The team places well known landmarks into a virtual map, which are discoverable by players and which the team personally visited many times in their life. Anyone can grab their backpack and hike there. A typical Czech forest setting has been used as a reference which is different from other real world locations like Scandinavian or American forests. This creates a unique mood for players. The game is a semi-open world with very clear landmarks so players can always orient themselves. The developers also implemented the famous Czech tourist navigation system dating back to the end of 19th century.

The referenced locations and mythos in the game are ancient. Some of the tales mentioned in Someday You’ll Return date back to the 9th century.

CBE Software is creating far more than a “walking simulator” so apart from the basic walk/run/crouch, players can look forward to a wide variety of game mechanics:

• Workbench crafting interface – you can craft or repair things in a specialized interface
• Herbalism – you can pick up flowers or mushrooms and make your own potions
• Environment interaction – you can interact in the world you are in, use items etc.
• Smartphone – you can use GPS, call someone or communicate via SMS, you can also use your mobile light
• Karmic system – your actions have consequences which can influence ending
• Phased day night cycle
• Wall climbing
• Tracking – look for clues like footprints etc.
• Stealth
• Other types of yet undisclosed interaction

There is no combat in the game.

Someday You'll Return is now available for PC (Steam), with Xbox and PlayStation versions scheduled for development later this year.