Breaking down We Were Here Together’s asymmetric co-op puzzles, playtime, and online setup to see if it deserves a slot in your Epic holiday backlog.
We Were Here Together is today’s 24 hour freebie in Epic’s holiday giveaway, and it is very much a “know what you’re getting into” kind of co-op game. If you have a reliable partner and a mic, it can be one of the most memorable freebies of the event. If you mostly play solo or only have couch co-op partners, its appeal drops fast.
What actually is We Were Here Together?
This is the third entry in Total Mayhem Games’ We Were Here series, a set of first person, two player co-op puzzle adventures. You and a partner play as Antarctic explorers separated around a remote research base and the surrounding wasteland. The hook is that each of you sees different parts of the world and different information, and the only way to progress is to communicate what you see through in game walkie talkies.
Where the original We Were Here was a compact proof of concept, Together is a fuller sequel with a proper campaign. It moves beyond a single castle and lets you explore the outpost, icy caverns, and more elaborate occult machinery, with light narrative tying the whole expedition together.
The atmosphere leans into lonely, slightly spooky mystery rather than full horror. Expect creaking metal, howling winds, weird occult symbols, and the constant feeling that you and your partner are one miscommunication away from freezing to death.
How the co-op puzzles work
We Were Here Together is built entirely around asymmetric information puzzles. Very often, one player is in a room full of interactable machinery while the other is stuck somewhere else with diagrams, codes, or environmental clues. Success comes from translating those clues into precise instructions.
Instead of twitchy platforming, you spend most of your time describing shapes, symbols, patterns, and machinery to each other. One person might be reading from a strange manual while the other flips switches or rotates lenses. Later chapters escalate into multi step contraptions that require both of you to coordinate timing and sequencing.
The game is at its best when a puzzle finally clicks after a few failed attempts. You will get that classic “escape room” satisfaction, but only if both players are actively engaged, patient, and willing to talk through misunderstood descriptions.
Difficulty ramps up steadily through the campaign. Early tasks teach you how the game wants you to communicate, while later sections demand careful note taking, sharing mental maps, and remembering callbacks to earlier information. This is why the series constantly gets recommended as a communication stress test for couples and friends.
Importantly, there is no real way to brute force your way through. You cannot simply trial and error your way out without the other player’s information. Voice chat and attentive listening are the core mechanics.
Online co-op only, no true local play
This is the deal breaker for some players. We Were Here Together supports online co-op for exactly two players. There is no traditional split screen local co-op. Even LAN style local play still uses separate devices.
The absence of couch co-op is not a technical oversight. Being able to see your partner’s screen would ruin many of the puzzles, because so many challenges are built around each player not knowing exactly what the other is looking at.
If you want to play in the same room, you can still do it, but you will each need your own machine and account. In practice, this often looks like two PCs or a PC and a console side by side, each with its own display and copy of the game, while you talk over headsets or just in the room. The Epic version is PC only, so for this giveaway you are looking at two PCs if you want a “local” style experience.
There is built in voice chat via walkie talkies, but most players prefer Discord or another external voice app so you do not have to deal with push to talk and range quirks while puzzling.
How long does We Were Here Together take?
If you and your partner are new to the series but reasonably puzzle savvy, expect roughly 6 to 8 hours for a first playthrough. Players who methodically comb environments, chat a lot, or get stuck on a few late game contraptions can push closer to 9 or 10 hours.
Replays are shorter once you know the puzzle solutions, but unlike something like a loot driven game, this is not built for grinding or multiple runs. You might return later to swap roles with the same partner and see sections from the other perspective, which can add a few more hours.
There is no solo option. The game cannot be played without another human, and it does not provide bots or a full hint system. You either bring a friend or match up with someone online, and the experience quality is heavily tied to that partner.
How it stacks up to other Epic holiday freebies
Epic’s 2025 holiday lineup around We Were Here Together has been loaded with big names and prestige single player hits. Disco Elysium, The Callisto Protocol, and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night all showed up as daily gifts alongside stylish indie favorites like Paradise Killer.
Compared directly, We Were Here Together is smaller in scope and presentation than the high end RPGs and cinematic action games, but it offers something those titles do not. It is a focused, bespoke co-op experience that you cannot really replicate with other free giveaways in the event. If your library is already brimming with solo backlog fodder, a tight communication based adventure can feel like a welcome change of pace.
The catch is how narrow its ideal audience is. If you are a primarily single player fan or your usual group prefers chaotic party games and horde shooters, this slow, methodical, two player only puzzler may gather virtual dust next to the bigger names. On the other hand, if you have one reliable co-op partner and enjoy the idea of a digital escape room you tackle together over a few evenings, it is easily one of the more interesting holiday picks.
Is it worth claiming in the 24 hour window?
Since claiming the game is free and permanent, the actual question is not cost but time and setup. Here is a quick way to decide whether you should make room for it.
If you can check these boxes, you should absolutely grab it while it is free. First, you have at least one friend or partner interested in puzzle games and willing to commit to a few sessions. Second, both of you have a mic and can play online together, ideally using Discord or similar. Third, you enjoy escape room puzzles, communication challenges, and slower paced co-op where tension comes from solving problems rather than shooting.
In that situation, We Were Here Together becomes an easy recommendation and may even end up being your favorite non blockbuster freebie of the event. The cooperative highs when you solve a late game puzzle after arguing over symbols for 20 minutes are hard to match.
If, on the other hand, you generally play solo, dislike being dependent on another player’s schedule, or were mainly hoping for a big single player time sink to add to your pile of unfinished Epics, Together is more of a “claim it just in case” pick. There is no downside to adding it to your account now, but you should temper expectations about when you will realistically get around to it.
Within the context of this year’s holiday giveaways, We Were Here Together is not the loudest or flashiest game on the calendar, but it is one of the most distinct. It fills a very specific co-op niche that expensive AAA freebies often ignore. If you have the right partner, it is absolutely worth using your 24 hour claim window to secure a shared Antarctic expedition you can tackle whenever the two of you find the time.