Refind Self: The Personality Test Game took a calculated risk by explaining exactly what it is in its name. While I think this might put some people off, it drew me in… and I'm glad it did. I'd like to say up front that if the idea of this game appeals to you and you want to play it with no prior information then I would encourage it. Your decisions matter here, and I don't just mean the choices you make when presented with options. This is an experience that will likely be influenced by any information you read about it prior to playing, so if you'd like to go in blind, don't read about it here or on Steam, just boot it up and try it for yourself.
In Refind Self you're an android in mourning for the Doctor who created you. Starting next to their grave you'll begin to explore and interact with the world around you, which in turn develops your personality profile with each decision. Every choice matters. As you travel around familiar places and meet others, you'll trigger memories of you and the Doctor, slowly coming to understand them and your history together.
Not only does each decision have an impact, but you are also limited to how many things you can do. Throughout the game a small heart icon fills up, representing your personality being built as you make choices. When the heart becomes 100% full… the game ends, so you don't have to only consider what you do, but what you don't do. Luckily you can, and probably will play again, with the game cleverly teasing you through multiple plays in search for answers about your history with the Doctor, and the want for further insight on your more distant personality traits. Once done you're presented with three personality profiles (the others come after further playthroughs).
I was very curious to see if the personality test aspect of this was just a gimmick. I probably would have enjoyed it either way to be honest. On a semi-regular basis one of my friends will share an obscure personality test in our group chat, which we all excitedly fill out and compare results. One day, I'm sure, it will be useful to know which Winnie the Pooh character I am and what that says about me. I think it works amazingly well in this game. The narrative you're unwinding is intertwined with meaningful moments, and seemingly simple decisions that unconsciously define small parts of who you are.
Did you sit down on the bench for only five seconds? Did you give up mining after a few hits? How long did it take you to make that choice? Did you accept help from someone? Did you help them? These are a few decisions amongst so many that help write the story of who you are in the game while also reading who you are as the one playing it.
The way that the premise meshes with the narrative is charming—as you are making these decisions and informing the game what your personality profiles are, you are narratively constructing the identity of the protagonist. You can be assigned up to five personality profiles: Most represented, additional personality, additional personality, hidden personality, and most distant personality. If you persist and play until you have all five filled in, then you have a broad and detailed representation of your personality and decisions. Your results are also stored on a database online and you're given an ID code. Using this you can compare your results with friends or strangers, which I think is a great addition to the whole experience and makes me want my friends to play it even more. How well do I really know them?
I thought it would be worth me going into my results and some examples of choices that I think lead to them. First up, my main trait was Leader:
I closed the lid on the public bin, and am therefore a leader. In truth I think my decisiveness and speed in decision making contributed a lot to this one. The amount of time you take to act is noticed and I think it had a big effect here.
My first additional trait was Researcher:
I would often in the game choose to recall memories when given the opportunity, even on the repeated playthroughs. My interest in learning the history and law came through with what I decided to spend my time doing. I read everything I could like signs and books, and spoke to everyone. When looking in the mirror, the first question I decided to ask myself was "who am I?" All of these things contributed towards this trait.
My next additional trait and my hidden trait were both Clergy:
This one made a lot of sense and was there from my first run. I would always give my scrap away to the robot who claimed to need it, I'd always check the grave of the doctor at the very start and in general would lean towards the compassionate options. I think it fills both slots here because these are the choices I repeated most, even though I knew what would happen. Your hidden trait isn't shown at first and develops as you play again, because the game compares your decisions with previous runs to further inform its results. I think repeating these actions over and over is the thing that solidified its position in two spots.
Lastly my most distant trait was the Collector:
Honestly, I just felt compelled to collect the flowers. I wasn't able to walk past one without picking it… every time.
There is more that I could talk about here, like the little mini games, the piano track that plays most of the time, lulling you into an introspective thoughtful place, and the art style and use of colour. However I focused on the premise because I think it was effective. The unwinding narrative, perceived weight behind my choices, and the soundtrack all combined, did bring a few tears to my eyes at certain moments. My results were quite accurate—whether that means anything as the one assessing my own personality is up to you.
