AdventureIndieRPGSimulationStrategy
Back to the Dawn
Give it 20 hours
Gets good by 20h then rated almost like by veterans
Fully opens up by 35h rated like by long-time players
Reach the ending 12% of players who started
Started playing 77% of owners
Steam reviews 94% positive of 10,515
What the data shows
- In the first 2 hours 1 in 7 reviews are negative (14%); after 35h it's 1 in 35 (3%).
- Fully opens up by hour 35.
- The opening is criticised less than in 84% of games we track.
- 12% of players who start reach the ending.
- The biggest drop-off is between “The Empress” ("No rest for the wicked...") and “The Tower”: from 52% to 12% of starters.
- 77% of owners got the first achievement.
When it gets good
Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.
before it gets good opening up fully opened up
Based on all 10,560 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 299 reviews: 45.5h for positive, 16.1h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.
Where players quit
Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (77.1% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.
- Started playing 100%
- The Fool "Heheh, you'll regret your foolishness..." 100%
- Temperance "It's just an ordinary business card... although it seems they offer more than just drinks." 81% −19
- The World "There'll always be unfortunate people in this world. It's either them or us." 65% −15
- Wheel of Fortune "The one thing we need is stuck in the prison's storeroom." 59% −7
- The Empress "No rest for the wicked..." 52% −6
- The Tower "Warning, a prisoner has escaped! I repeat, a prisoner has escaped!" Most players quit here 12% −40
story milestone ending biggest drop-off
Story milestones were labeled by AI from achievement names and descriptions; mistakes are possible.
All achievements (46)
story milestone ending side
- The Fool "Heheh, you'll regret your foolishness..." 100%
- Temperance "It's just an ordinary business card... although it seems they offer more than just drinks." 81%
- The World "There'll always be unfortunate people in this world. It's either them or us." 65%
- Wheel of Fortune "The one thing we need is stuck in the prison's storeroom." 59%
- The Empress "No rest for the wicked..." 52%
- The Pope "Maybe this is a punishment from the Father of the Forest." 39%
- The High Priestess "We meet at last." 36%
- ᛏ - Tiwaz "Behind Bars? Heh... Oh crap..." 35%
- The Lovers "It was love at first sight, until the day you left." 31%
- Justice "You've won, hero of the city!" 30%
- Pentacles "Thomas, Boulderton's ace reporter!" 30%
- ᚨ - Ansuz "We agreed it'd only be for three years, but it's been three, then three more..." 26%
- Death "Bang bang bang!" 26%
- The Moon "But the light up ahead is still there; I can't be hallucinating now..." 21%
- ᚠ - Fehu "Time is money." 21%
- ᚱ - Raidho "Fenrir... I've finally found where you're hiding. So next, I have to figure out a way to get there..." 19%
- ᛚ - Laguz "I hope this doesn't turn out to be a dumb idea. I don't have time to make a life ring." 17%
- ᛞ - Dagaz "Now it's sunrise! You've transformed from a rock back into yourself!" 16%
- The Hermit "Your papers, please!" 16%
- ᚹ - Wunjo "Oh boy... Talking to you is always such a pleasure!" 16%
- ᚺ - Hagalaz "... Yeah, I'm the 'Fenrir' you're looking for." 16%
- ᛉ - Algiz "... I've never been anything but a patriot." 15%
- ᚷ - Gebo "I promised I'd get you out. And I never break a promise." 15%
- The Star "I sure wish I could turn into a bird." 14%
- ᛃ - Jera "Since they called me 'Fenrir'... I think it's time for me to break free." 14%
- ᛝ - Ingwaz "... I've got you!" 14%
- The Emperor "Is that the result you wanted, Thomas?" 13%
- The Tower "Warning, a prisoner has escaped! I repeat, a prisoner has escaped!" 12%
- ᛊ - Sowilo "At least today, I can help a good guy and then catch a bad guy." 12%
- The Hanged Man "Good thing you ain't dead, or the shit would really hit the fan." 12%
- ᛟ - Othala "Sorry, I'm a cop." 12%
- ᚾ - Naudhiz "Judging by the length, thickness, and hardness, it must be wolf hair." 11%
- The Chariot "As I said, I want to be the real winner in the end." 11%
- The Sun "Throw yourself into the darkness and disappear into the sunlight." 11%
- The Devil "Nari... valenthra... mara...!" 9.3%
- ᛁ - Isa "It's moonlight at the end of the pipe. We're almost there." 8.3%
- Strength "The power of my fists is only superficial. My strength comes from within... I'm not fighting alone." 8.0%
- ᛒ - Berkanan "Goodbye...Night Owl." 7.5%
- ᛇ - Eihwaz "BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!" 6.9%
- ᛈ - Perthro "Don't worry, we felines are naturally good at climbing." 6.7%
- ᚢ - Uruz "Ha, who's letting who down now?" 6.5%
- ᚲ - Kenaz "You can open your eyes. I think you'll like the view." 6.1%
- ᛖ - Ehwaz "I see. Something of a fish whisper." 6.1%
- ᚦ - Thurisaz "A fist-shaped trophy... It might be good for cracking acorns. Sadly there aren't any oak trees in prison." 6.1%
- The Magician "Could it be that the urban legend isn't just a crazy story?" 6.0%
- ᛗ - Mannaz "You've finally...made a less naive choice..." 5.7%
Steam page Updated: 2026-10-19.