Some games want to test your reflexes. Others want to test your patience. MyDear.exe apparently wants to test whether your tear ducts still work.
French indie developer Falling Leaves Studio has released MyDear.exe, a short narrative adventure that tells the story of a couple’s 57 years together through the files, memories, and minigames of an old computer.
The game is available now on Steam and the Epic Games Store, offering a nostalgic journey through love, humor, and the little moments that make a lifetime together.
And if the Windows XP-inspired interface doesn’t get you feeling nostalgic, the story probably will.
We’re already suspicious of anything that describes itself as heartwarming and recommends having tissues nearby.
We know how this goes.
What Is MyDear.exe?
MyDear.exe is an interactive love letter centered on Ellie and Lucien, an elderly couple who have shared 57 years together.
Players take on the role of Ellie as she explores a game created by Lucien to celebrate their life together.
Rather than following a traditional adventure-game structure, the experience unfolds inside a fictional computer operating system inspired by Windows XP.
Players explore folders, discover photographs and letters, solve puzzles, and play minigames that reveal different pieces of the couple’s relationship.
It’s a creative way to tell a story about memory, using the familiar experience of exploring an old computer to uncover moments from someone’s life.
And honestly, digging through decades-old files is already an emotional adventure.
Especially when you find a photograph of yourself from 2006 and have to confront the fashion choices you made voluntarily.
A Love Story Told Through an Old Computer
The game’s fictional operating system isn’t just a visual gimmick.
It’s the foundation of how players discover Ellie and Lucien’s story.
Memories are scattered throughout the computer in the form of photographs, notes, letters, and other personal keepsakes.
By exploring these files, players gradually piece together the couple’s relationship and the moments that shaped their lives.
The game also features fully voiced interactions between Ellie and Lucien, bringing their personalities and shared history into the experience.
Instead of relying entirely on lengthy dialogue or traditional cutscenes, MyDear.exe uses the act of discovery to tell its story.
There’s something especially fitting about that approach.
After all, our digital lives have become enormous collections of memories, from photographs and messages to files we forgot we saved.
And sometimes, opening one old folder can take you right back to a moment you thought you’d forgotten.
What Exactly Is a Foldervania?
Falling Leaves Studio describes MyDear.exe as a Foldervania, a playful twist on the Metroidvania genre.
Instead of exploring an interconnected fantasy world, players navigate folders and applications within the game’s fictional desktop.
Progression comes through exploration, puzzle-solving, and discovering new ways to access different parts of the computer.
The experience includes:
- Minigames inspired by retro video games
- Puzzles involving passwords and different decoding mechanisms
- Photographs, letters, and notes that reveal memories
- A nostalgic Windows XP-inspired interface
- Fully voiced character interactions
- Nonlinear exploration
It’s a creative interpretation of a familiar game structure, built around curiosity rather than combat.
No giant bosses. No elaborate skill trees.
Just a computer, a lifetime of memories, and the increasingly suspicious feeling that we’re about to cry.
A Short Game With a Personal Story
According to the developer, MyDear.exe takes approximately two hours to complete.
That shorter runtime could make it appealing to players who enjoy narrative games but don’t necessarily have dozens of hours to dedicate to a new adventure.
The studio is also highlighting the personal nature of the project, presenting it as a celebration of enduring love and shared experiences.
Falling Leaves Studio is based in Bordeaux, France, and MyDear.exe is its debut release.
The project also comes from a developer with previous experience as a game director and producer on The Rogue Prince of Persia.
It’s an interesting creative shift, moving from action-focused game development toward an intimate story about relationships and memory.
MyDear.exe Price and Platforms
MyDear.exe launched on November 2, 2026, for PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store.
The announced standard price is $7.75 USD, with regional pricing potentially varying.
The publisher also announced a 40% launch-week discount. Check the storefront for the current price and availability of that offer.
Players looking for a short, story-driven experience can explore the game now.
Sometimes the Smallest Games Tell the Biggest Stories
Not every memorable gaming experience needs an enormous open world, cinematic combat, or a hundred-hour campaign.
Sometimes, the most interesting stories come from smaller ideas.
MyDear.exe takes something ordinary, an old computer filled with files, and turns it into a way to explore the extraordinary amount of meaning people attach to their memories.
It’s a premise that could resonate with anyone who has ever stumbled across an old photograph, reread a forgotten message, or wished they could revisit a moment from the past.
Whether the full experience delivers on that emotional promise is something we’ll have to discover for ourselves.
But as concepts go, this one has our attention.
And perhaps a box of tissues.
Would you play a game built around someone’s lifetime of memories, or do you prefer your emotional damage delivered by a 100-hour RPG?
