Forgotlings

Well, I loved Forgotton Anne and its premise years ago but it has been so long that I barely remembered much of it, so I went back to watch some gameplay. Since I enjoyed that game so much, I wanted to give Forgotlings a chance as well but unfortunately it just dragged too much for me. Either the setting or the premise never managed to hook me the way Forgotton Anne did. Maybe the original simply had a certain magic that is missing here or maybe I was a different person back then - who knows. I'm still glad I supported the developers but unfortunately this one wasn't for me. I didn't connect with the characters, the setting never really clicked and despite how much I liked Forgotton Anne, I couldn't bring myself to finish this game. Hopefully the developers find their footing again but unfortunately I'm letting this one go.

I rarely write Steam reviews and, given I didn’t do one for their last game, I feel obligated to here because this is clearly a labour of love that undeservedly flew under the radar. I just want to say that I recognise the hard work the devs put into this. Here’s me doing my part to show appreciation for both the game and the devs. Spoilers ahead. So real quick to go into my background with this game, I played its previous entry, Forgotton Anne, in 2023. I loved it, and replaying it this year reaffirmed that ahead of Forgotlings, one of my most anticipated games of the year. Forgotton Anne was a strong Ghibli-inspired cinematic puzzle platformer with impressive production values for a studio of its size. The animation, lighting, voice acting and environmental detail all stood out, and it told a solid story with an okay ending. So when I heard about a potential sequel, I was excited. Forgotlings had me mixed before release though. Hearing it was a prequel focused on Fig was a little disappointing because I hoped it would expand on Forgotton Anne’s ending, which felt abrupt and unsatisfying regardless of which ending you got. I liked Fig as a character, I just wasn’t convinced a pre…

Even though Forgotlings has beautiful graphics, a great story, and well-written dialogue, I’m tired of games that lock you into a single current save. If you want to see an alternative outcome, you have to replay the entire game from the beginning. I don’t enjoy this kind of gameplay where I’m basically just a passive observer forced to accept random events or conditions with no chance to retry or explore different choices in the moment like in normal story-driven games. Because of that, I give this game a 1/10.

I wanted to like this game, but in the end, the combat is very basic, and you spend most of your time either backtracking to find your way or skipping boring dialogues.

A gorgeously rendered word of sentient, forgotten objects that exudes character-driven charm alongside a philosophically rich meditation on finding one's purpose in life. While the platforming and combat did not always reach the high bar set by the narrative, the game's thoughtful writing, world-building, and lore delivered a nuanced teleological discussion that tugged at my heart and my head in equal measure.

Great game, loved the characters, story. Very beautiful game. Loved it.