Starter page — expanding after live-game verification. This page is intentionally short. It covers only what is confirmed about your first session. Deeper tips publish once we have verified them in the live game.

The five things that actually matter before your first session

1. You need a partner, and you each need a copy. We Were Here Tomorrow is a two-player online co-op game with no solo mode. One copy cannot be shared between the two players — each player needs their own. Cross-play works across Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, so your partner can be on a different platform. See Crossplay & Co-op Setup for the details.

2. Voice chat is not optional in practice. The entire series is built on asymmetric information: you and your partner — the two Explorers in orange and red — see different things and must describe them to each other over the in-game walkie-talkies. Set up a voice channel before you launch the game, not after you get stuck. Headsets beat speakers — background audio from your partner's speakers feeds back into their microphone and makes precise descriptions harder to hear.

3. Describe, don't assume. The core skill of the series is narration: say what you see, exactly as you see it, before you start theorizing. New pairs fail when one person jumps to a theory while the other is still describing. In your first session, agree on a simple habit: the person who sees something new describes it fully before either of you suggests what to do.

4. Plan for a long game. The developers put the length at about 15 hours. That is several sessions, not one evening. Agree with your partner on session length up front — see How Long to Beat for planning math. Quitting mid-puzzle and resuming later is fine; losing your shared vocabulary because you rushed is the real cost.

5. Take notes together. Keep a shared note open during play — a document, a chat thread, anything both of you can see. Symbols, codes, and names you encounter will matter later, and memory across a multi-session game is unreliable. This is the single highest-value habit from the earlier games in the series.

First-session checklist

  • [ ] Both players own a copy of the game
  • [ ] Voice channel tested and working before launch
  • [ ] Shared note open for codes and symbols
  • [ ] Session length agreed (2–3 hours is a comfortable first block)
  • [ ] Expect ~15 hours total; this is a campaign, not a sprint

What is coming to this page

Once live-game verification is complete, this page expands with: role-specific habits for the two asymmetric abilities, communication drills that experienced pairs use, common first-session mistakes, and session-by-session pacing guidance. Until then, it stays short — we would rather give you five confirmed tips than fifty guessed ones.

In the meantime, the stuck-help guide covers what to do when a puzzle resists you, and the FAQ answers the common pre-purchase questions.