One of my favorite games ever
Here's a mini-review I wrote a while ago:
To the Moon is a different game indeed. First, there's not much "game" to it, besides exploration (and there's not much length to it either, as it's about 4.5 hours of gameplay - though I feel it was just the perfect length for the kind of game it is). There are a few puzzles in the first half of the game, but they add very little (and as such, they're basically absent in the second half of the game). Some other "game" sequences feel so out of place that it almost hurts, and the game could arguably be better without them. Or perhaps not, but as I said, there's not much "gameplay" here, if that's what you're looking for.
Yet, To the Moon wouldn't work as well if it was not a game, because the interactivity and exploration aspects of its gameplay are a very important aspect of its storytelling. As the doctors explore Johnny's memories, you're there too, in a way you wouldn't be if you weren't controlling their actions. The game makes you feel like an invader sometimes, as you uncover intimate feelings and secrets that give amazingly human dimensions to the main characters in the game. It works well with the visual style and the music (FANTASTIC music, I should add) to create a really memorable experience.
And the story is easily one of the best, most humane stories I've ever seen told in any videogames. It is dramatic, but nothing about it seems forced. It is also funny at times (specially where Dr. Watts is concerned). It is also exquisitely well-written, easily topping the likes of Bioware in the quality of its writing. And it's a unique experience, that kind of story that makes you look at your own life and think about what's really important, and what could have happened had things been different. It is effective, it is heart-wrenching, it is brilliant.
In summary, this is not a "game" game. It's all about the story, and how you interact with it. But it's also one of the best stories ever told in videogame form, and the most humane game I've ever played. I highly, highly recommend it. You may not find a "game" here, but you may well find what I've found - a true gem of writing and interactive storytelling, one that is bound to make you relate to the characters like no other game ever had, and possibly make you shed quite a few tears of your own. It is one of my favorite games of all time, and one that I plan to play every year, on my birthday, as a way of revisiting my own life, and remembering what are the really important things after all. And if that's not art, then what is?
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