First up I’m going to talk about the ‘cloud version’ part of the game, which is probably the worst part. The cloud aspect means that the game always has to be connected to the internet and requires lots of loading times, it also means that textures and general graphics can be hampered! I also found that if I locked my screen for a minute or so the game would boot me out and if I hadn’t saved I’d be repeating stuff I’d already done, I think for a console like the Switch where you’re supposed to be able to pick up and play whenever the cloud version of a game definitely goes against that. I personally wouldn’t choose to play a cloud game again…….Anyway on to the main game.
In case you don’t know The Forgotten City is based off of a Skyrim mod, so immediately if you’re a Bethesda fan you’re going to enjoy the gameplay and the way the world looks/feels. The story is odd, but definitely interesting – you are tasked with finding a gateway to some ruins after someone goes missing, and when you do find them you are magically transported back to an ancient Greek city who’s citizens have to live under the ‘Golden Rule’. This rule states that if a sin is committed everyone will be turned into solid gold, I tested it pretty early on by trying to steal and was immediately chased down by these weird golden gods/sentries and I had to run back to the gateway to essentially reset the world, this actually becomes a really important game mechanic as you need to reset time when you get things wrong to go back and help people (it resets to when you first entered the portal). The leader of this weird little town tells you that he knows someone will break the golden rule, thus damning them all, and you must work out who it is before you all get destroyed by the gods. The whole idea is to figure out how to get out of this crazy place without breaking the golden rule, stop SOMEONE from breaking the golden rule, and also completing quests whilst remaining a good person. Everything links together in a really smart and intriguing way which kept me playing and playing.
When it’s broken down it’s really just a like a massive escape room, where each time you solve someone’s problem that will make it easier to help somebody else as you’ll get a useful item or some such. Think of it as one massive Skyrim quest without magic and most of the combat and you’re pretty much there. The gameplay is mostly walking around and talking to get clues however after a few hours there is some combat in the form of a bow, this is actually really cool but I don’t want to spoil it for you. I really enjoyed figuring out how to get into each different place that’s locked and thus enabling me to help more of the citizens. It’s a really well written and well made game and I really would highly recommend it. There isn’t a tonne more to say without spoiling some of the great ideas and quests that are here, and I think with something short and sweet like this surprises are very important! The story definitely goes somewhere I didn’t expect, I would most definitely play a full 20 hour game of something like this, but then again it works as a short game because each problem you need to solve lasts the right amount of time and keeps you invested.
The characters and the story are all really interesting and will most definitely keep you invested for the game’s 4 or 5 hours of gameplay. If I was playing on PlayStation I would definitely be going for the platinum. I think they’re charging around £25 and I do feel that’s a little bit too much given the shortness of it however I have really enjoyed it. Given the price, time and cloud issues I give it a: