As many have already stated, there really is scarcely any gameplay to be found within this "game." It could best be described as a console-style RPG that had virtually all the gameplay stripped out of it, leaving you with just walking, clicking through dialogue, and occasionally clicking on random objects to advance the plot. Basically, imagine someone played through FF6 and decided to make an entire game out of the part where Celes tries to kill herself. Which is not necessarily a bad thing.... But it does create another issue. Aside from Planescape: Torment, there are really very few games out there whose writing is strong enough to support the whole gameplay experience by itself. Game mechanics are tremendously useful at reinforcing narrative elements (as in Planescape) or simply helping the player elide weak spots in the writing itself. Goofy dialogue is much more readily forgiven when you're in the midst of awesome game-play. When you strip everything else away, any flaws in the writing and story-telling are laid-bare to the world. So you'd better bring it.... So does To the Moon bring it? Mainly yes. When all is said and done, this is an engaging, memorable, and touching experience. It's also a somewhat amateurish one - though that itself is a rich source of its charm. Clearly the makers poured a lot of love and themselves into the game. They also poured a lot of maudlin sap. The sense of melancholy that permeates the game can at times be oppressive, and you get the feeling that the one goal the makers had when they set out to create the game was to make the player cry at all costs. Nevertheless, if you don't mind a game almost physically reaching through the screen to consciously jerk at your tear-ducts, and don't mind the fact that there really isn't much game to actually be played, then you'll find To the Moon to be well worth the few hours and dollars it takes to experience it.
When this game came out, I tried my absolute hardest to love it. It certainly sounded amazing on paper. Unfortunately it's an exercise in mediocere tedium. The oppressively "serious" atmosphere does nothing to elevate the pretentious yet still run-of-mill story - it only serves to drain away some much needed life and humor from a game that sorely needs it. Further, the puzzles often are less than logical and require lots of backtracking. Don't get me wrong, this game is not at terrible. It simply fails to live up to its own hype, and the general reputation for excellence Lucasarts adventures had at this time,
