Family
What is Family?
Family is a puzzle game set in a fictional, forgotten 80s indie music scene. Players open a family tree, identify musicians by choosing names from a book, and uncover stories of long-lost bands.
Family is a puzzle game set in a fictional, forgotten 80s indie music scene. Players discover music from long-lost bands and uncover their stories. In the main game screen, the family tree opens from the bottom-left corner. Players click a musician and choose a name from the book to identify that person. After 5 correct identifications, the game lets the player know. Identifying all 30 musicians completes the game. The web version has slimmed-down intro, tutorial and outro cut scenes; the rest is identical. The Windows version is recommended if that option is available.
How to play Family
- Open the family tree from the bottom-left corner of the main game screen.
- Click a musician to select them.
- Choose a name from the book to identify the selected musician.
- After 5 correct identifications, the game lets the player know.
- Identify all 30 musicians to complete the game.
Family controls
Controls are taken from the developer's itch.io page.
Tips for Family
- Use the family tree as the central place for identifying musicians.
- The game acknowledges progress after 5 correct identifications.
- Completion requires all 30 musicians, not just the first 5.
- If both versions are available, choose Windows for the fuller cut scenes.
- In the web version, expect shorter intro, tutorial and outro scenes but otherwise the same game.
Family FAQ
What kind of game is Family?
It is a puzzle game set in a fictional, forgotten 80s indie music scene, focused on discovering long-lost bands and their stories.
How does identification work?
Click a musician, then choose a name from the book to identify that musician.
How many musicians must be identified to finish?
All 30 musicians must be identified to complete the game.
What changes in the web version?
The web version has slimmed-down intro, tutorial and outro cut scenes; the rest of the game is identical, and the Windows version is recommended if available.
What platforms are supported?
Family is available on HTML5 and Windows.
About this game
Read the full developer description
Family is brilliant. The theme fits the mechanics perfectly, and the music is excellent. Really enjoyed it. Great work! - Lucas Pope, Papers Please, Return of the Obra Dinn.
Want to talk about Family? Join the Discord
Want more? Check out Rivals, due on 21st of September.
Reviews
As a piece of detective micro-fiction...t’s great, because it has what most attempts at detective games don’t really nail: the personal touch - Alice Bell, Rock Paper Shotgun
Family is a brief submersion into a time gone by...It's a game about relaxing in a warm memory, either your own or in my case, someone else's. And you know what? The Smiths: finally I'm beginning to see why. - Robert Purchese, Eurogamer
Family is great...clearly borne from a love and deep understanding of indie music, and of a bygone age of music journalism... If the words 'NME' and 'Melody Maker' are not just meaningless noise, you should probably play it. - Tom Sykes, PC Gamer
"Goodness me, this is a clever thing... really satisfying hour or so. It’s quite mad that this is free...a job well done" - John Walker (RPS Founder), Buried Treasures.
Family is a really interesting concept... a different kind of detective game and definitely one worth giving a look if you have any interest in the pop scene of that era. - Jupiter Hadley, IndieGamesPlus.
If you have enjoyed this game, please leave a review. I appreciate them very much.
Overview
Family is a puzzle game, based around a fictional, forgotten 80s indie music scene.
Discover the strange and wonderful music of long-lost bands, while uncovering their stories.
A note about the Web Version
This has a slimmed down version of the cut scenes for intro, tutorial and outro. The rest of game is identical. However, I do recommend downloading the 'full fat' Windows version, if you have option.
Credits
Music, Art & Code by Tim Sheinman (Owl_Skip)
Voice work by Hattie Snooks, Daniel Duke, Mark West
Bass Guitar - Ali Wedderburn.
Instructions
In the main game screen, you can open the family tree by clicking on the bottom left hand corner.
You may identify any musician by clicking on them and selecting a name from the book.
Upon selecting 5 musicians correctly, the game will let you know.
When all 30 musicians are identified. The game is completed.
Installation
Windows: Download file and run installer
Mac:
This only works on OS before Catalina.
Mac can be really tough to run indie programs on. However, here is how to do it.
1. Got to system preferences.
2. Open Security.
3. In General, change 'Allow apps downloaded from' to Anywhere.
4. If this is not possible, go to the terminal and type sudo spctl --master-disable. Then type in your password.
5. Download and open application.
Description from Family on itch.io, by Owlskip Games.
Screenshots
Not listed by the developer: release date, mobile support, keyboard controls, touch controls, save options, browser requirements. We left these out rather than guess.