{"id":920409,"date":"2025-12-27T12:49:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T12:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vg247.com\/closer-the-distance-review"},"modified":"2025-12-27T12:49:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T12:49:14","slug":"closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\/","title":{"rendered":"Closer the Distance review: A bittersweet tale of a town in mourning that’s as sincere as it is refreshing"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

My first rendezvous with Closer the Distance<\/a> was back during June’s Steam Next Fest<\/a>, where I spent an hour exploring the quiet town of Yesterby and getting to know an array of distinct, authentic characters as they all deal with a heart-wrenching tragedy; one of their dear inhabitants — a friend and relative — passing away.<\/p>\n

It’s an understandably solemn start, and one that saw me keen to carve out space to breathe once my time with the demo came to an end. But I was desperate to jump back in and get to know Yesterby — and its delightfully human cast — despite the pressure of this dour starting point. I was keen to see what impact I could have on their story, considering this short, slice-of-life simulation game is all about what you can do to repair relationships and mend this struggling coastal town.<\/p>\n

The way in which this plays out is refreshing; it’s beautiful, vibrant, and despite the saddening subject matter, there is something magically understated about it. When you first step foot in Yesterby, you’re presented with this The Sims<\/a>-inspired way of controlling and observing characters that is cross-pollinated with the deeply personal storytelling of Life is Strange<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My first rendezvous with Closer the Distance was back during June’s Steam Next Fest, where I spent an hour exploring the quiet town of Yesterby and getting to know an array of distinct, authentic characters as they all deal with a heart-wrenching tragedy; one of their dear inhabitants — a friend and relative — passing away. It’s an understandably solemn start, and one that saw me keen to carve out space to breathe once my time with the demo came to an end. But I was desperate to jump back in and get to know Yesterby — and its delightfully human cast — despite the pressure of this dour starting point. I was keen to see what impact I could have on their story, considering…<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":920410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[12420,75,9098,137,6810],"class_list":["post-920409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vg24-7","tag-closer-the-distance","tag-indie","tag-life-simulation","tag-simulation","tag-story-rich"],"yoast_head":"\nCloser the Distance review: A bittersweet tale of a town in mourning that's as sincere as it is refreshing | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"My first rendezvous with Closer the Distance was back during June's Steam Next Fest, where I spent an hour exploring the quiet town of Yesterby and\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Closer the Distance review: A bittersweet tale of a town in mourning that's as sincere as it is refreshing | Arcader News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"My first rendezvous with Closer the Distance was back during June's Steam Next Fest, where I spent an hour exploring the quiet town of Yesterby and\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-27T12:49:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"270\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\"},\"headline\":\"Closer the Distance review: A bittersweet tale of a town in mourning that’s as sincere as it is refreshing\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-27T12:49:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":229,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Closer the Distance\",\"indie\",\"Life Simulation\",\"Simulation\",\"Story Rich\"],\"articleSection\":[\"VG24\\\/7\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\\\/\",\"name\":\"Closer the Distance review: A bittersweet tale of a town in mourning that's as sincere as it is refreshing | Arcader News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-27T12:49:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\"},\"description\":\"My first rendezvous with Closer the Distance was back during June's Steam Next Fest, where I spent an hour exploring the quiet town of Yesterby and\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing.jpg\",\"width\":480,\"height\":270,\"caption\":\"Closer the Distance review: A bittersweet tale of a town in mourning that\u2019s as sincere as it is refreshing\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Closer the Distance review: A bittersweet tale of a town in mourning that’s as sincere as it is refreshing\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"description\":\"Free Arcade News from the Best Online Sources\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\",\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Arcade News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cricketgames.tv\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/author\\\/arcade-news\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Closer the Distance review: A bittersweet tale of a town in mourning that's as sincere as it is refreshing | Arcader News","description":"My first rendezvous with Closer the Distance was back during June's Steam Next Fest, where I spent an hour exploring the quiet town of Yesterby and","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Closer the Distance review: A bittersweet tale of a town in mourning that's as sincere as it is refreshing | Arcader News","og_description":"My first rendezvous with Closer the Distance was back during June's Steam Next Fest, where I spent an hour exploring the quiet town of Yesterby and","og_url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\/","og_site_name":"Arcade News","article_published_time":"2025-12-27T12:49:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":480,"height":270,"url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Arcade News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Arcade News","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\/"},"author":{"name":"Arcade News","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839"},"headline":"Closer the Distance review: A bittersweet tale of a town in mourning that’s as sincere as it is refreshing","datePublished":"2025-12-27T12:49:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\/"},"wordCount":229,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing.jpg","keywords":["Closer the Distance","indie","Life Simulation","Simulation","Story Rich"],"articleSection":["VG24\/7"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\/","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\/","name":"Closer the Distance review: A bittersweet tale of a town in mourning that's as sincere as it is refreshing | Arcader News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing.jpg","datePublished":"2025-12-27T12:49:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839"},"description":"My first rendezvous with Closer the Distance was back during June's Steam Next Fest, where I spent an hour exploring the quiet town of Yesterby and","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing.jpg","width":480,"height":270,"caption":"Closer the Distance review: A bittersweet tale of a town in mourning that\u2019s as sincere as it is refreshing"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/closer-the-distance-review-a-bittersweet-tale-of-a-town-in-mourning-thats-as-sincere-as-it-is-refreshing\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Closer the Distance review: A bittersweet tale of a town in mourning that’s as sincere as it is refreshing"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/","name":"Arcade News","description":"Free Arcade News from the Best Online Sources","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839","name":"Arcade News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Arcade News"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/cricketgames.tv"],"url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/author\/arcade-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=920409"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1441153,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920409\/revisions\/1441153"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/920410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=920409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=920409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=920409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}