Review: To the Moon

To the Moon (2011)

Developer: Freebird Games

Platform: Personal Computer

Induction Date: 09/13/2012

 

If there was a technology out there that would allow you to relive your entire life one last time inside your own head right before you die so that you can live differently, would that be something that you would be interested in doing even if it means that all of your real memories would be replaced? Wouldn't that mean you would just be living a lie? But wouldn't it be worth it if you have lived a miserable life and you just wanted to feel really good one last time before you perish? Perhaps this procedure is a better alternative than to allow your own brain to do whatever crazy thing it does potentially outside of your control before that trip to eternal slumber? These were the questions that I started asking myself when I started playing To the Moon as I was introduced to the game's premise: You play as Dr. Rosalene and Dr. Watts, two Sigmund Corps employees who are tasked to give a dying old man by the name of John Wyles his final wish through the aforementioned procedure. His wish? It seems simple enough. He wants to go to the moon.

 

The two doctors seem to have known each other for a very long time.

 

To the Moon is a heavily story-driven adventure game where you get to traverse through the important events that shaped John's life before making proper changes to his memories so that the desired outcome can be accomplished. Though you are mostly reading and watching throughout the adventure, the game does a great job of making sure that you feel involved in how things progressed. You are always given time to explore each of the memory segments and sometimes, you are even given a list of choices on what to do. Things may sound too fantastical in the beginning but I am very impressed that there are a lot of thoughts put into the narrative and everything from the actual mechanics of the memory altering procedure to the background story of the client himself makes perfect sense. The game itself only takes less than 4 hours to complete but the brilliant storyline engaged me from the very start and wouldn't let me go until its satisfying conclusion. I didn't stop playing the game since the first time I booted it up until I actually finished it because the story is incredibly engaging. I must also admit that this is the most emotionally-challenging game I have ever played and it tore me up deep within my psyche. To the Moon is an adult-oriented fare filled with astute observations on life's joy and anguish. There are deep existential themes to be found here that are carefully explored and they will stay with you for a long time to come. And all of these were able to be properly communicated with using low resolution pixel art. The game has that timeless classic 2D role playing game feel to it and To the Moon proves that point that you don't need expensive computer generated cinematic or real time 3D character models plus voice acting to get a player to fully invest in the game.

 

What is life but a continuously fading memory.

 

To the Moon is an extraordinary creation. It's touching, different, and most importantly, thoughtful. I cried through most of it. There were some clever humor in the game too but they never felt out of place. Kan Gao, the man responsible for writing, directing, and composing almost all of the game's beautiful soundtrack, has crafted himself a masterpiece.  You can get the game for $9.99 on Steam or directly from the developer by clicking here. To the Moon may be one of those games that you will probably play only once - I don't know if I am willing to subject myself to the painful part of this game again - but it is an important one that has to be experienced by everyone.

 

RATING: 5 out of 5

Steam key provided by developer.