Recall: Empty wishes

Recall: Empty wishes is a 2D side-scrolling adventure about the disappearance of Tommy Lin. After Tommy’s sister Yonny finds an old toy phone receiver that she and Tommy used as children, it connects her and her friend Phoebe to a surreal realm of memory echoes. They enter the memories of people linked to Tommy, explore their deepest desires and seek the truth about what happened to him.

Characters and memories

You play as Yonny and Phoebe, reliving the memories of characters connected to Tommy’s fate. Each chapter explores one character’s past, revealing their wishes and secrets. The five main characters are Phoebe, Yonny’s friend; Mocky, Tommy’s friend; Tommy; Eartha, Tommy and Yonny’s mother; and Yonny, Tommy’s sister. Their echoes are found in the Hallway of Empty Wishes.

Investigate each chapter

You interact with a full cast of characters, collect key items, investigate detailed scenes, solve puzzles and make choices that affect other characters and the endings. The story is non-linear, uses multiple character perspectives and alternate points of view and narration, and combines fantasy, mystery and horror. Its setting draws on the culture of Taiwanese students in the 2010s.

Art and presentation

The game combines pixel-art graphics with hand-drawn character portraits.