To The Moon Review

Indie games are by far my favorite type of new games coming out today. As a gamer who loves the classics, this slew of future classics is so wonderful to play. Indeed we find that the Indie developers are inspiring the big game companies to produce better games that people like me actually want to play. Let me introduce you to the Indie developed PC point and click adventure game To the Moon. You control two Dr. Rosalene and Dr. Watts, they are employed by Johnny, an elderly dying man to use the latest technology to alter his memory. In doing so they will grant his final wish which is to go to the moon. Why does Johnny want to go to the moon? Johnny does not remember and it is up to the duo to find the answers by exploring his memory in a virtual space. Moving backwards through Johnny's life, far from answering the question, simply brings about more questions and you must put the pieces together to send Johnny to the Moon before it is too late.

The story and its characters are the best thing about this game. The narrative is told backwards moving from Johnny's old age to his youth and you have to piece his life together in reverse. There are many powerful moments in the game that I will not spoil, however this makes it difficult to go into any more detail than I already have. What I will say is that the story moves me on a personal level as many of the struggles Johnny faced in life parallel some of my own. In short the story has the weight to move you to tears and also tackles subject matter that I feel is not often explored in games. The story is moved along by the two, very entertaining playable characters, who each are tortured souls in their own way. Throw in some very funny pop culture references and you will laugh out loud as well as cry. In the end it tells a story that few games could pull off and does so very well.

The presentation is supremely unique, you play from a top down perspective reminiscent of 16 bit RPGs on the SNES. For a point and click adventure this is the only one I have ever played with this perspective. With wonderful visuals that call to mind games like Chrono Trigger, I found myself won over by the simple, but beautiful presentation. The menus are clean and the heads up display slides in and out as you need it and allows for the game's graphics to be presented full screen for most of the game. All the dialogue is in text, which to me just adds to that classic, timeless appeal. Personally I am excited to see an indie title presented in a 16 bit style, I feel 8 bit has been done extensively and 16 bit is my favorite presentation style. I admit that it may not be for everyone and newer gamers may not find the visuals as charming as I do. But they serve their purpose well and there are no blemishes that I could make out.

The second best thing about this game is the sound. I ordered a physical copy of the game from Amazon and it came with the soundtrack on CD. Before I played the game I listened to the music and was hooked. Piano is my favorite instrument and I love any soundtrack that makes extensive use of it. Which might be why I enjoy the Breath of the Wilds soundtrack more than most, but I digress. Listening to the music is a calming and therapeutic experience and is perfectly matched to the tone of the game. There are also just a good variety of tracts that feature multiple renditions of some of the themes. The music is very much a part of the story and each song is an accompaniment to the themes of the story. That said, I do not remember hearing many sound effects, just music. This is also very much like the SNES era, but a few good effects could have enhanced certain moments in the story and while the story is not hurt by there absence, it could have been used to enhance it as well.

The weakest link in the chain. You can move by clicking on terrain, objects of interest or other characters. However, I found that my clicks were not always responsive, or would become deselected because of stairs or other terrain obstacles. You can use the keyboard to move the character and interact with objects but this also is at times problematic as you can't always get close enough to an object to interact with it. I found that swapping throughout the game between these two methods works the best. There are some mini games sprinkled throughout the game, but the control for these games feels more of an afterthought. Despite this though this is the type of game where precise control is not necessary. Game over is not an option and the story narrative moves along no matter how many times you have to click on an object. The only other game play I should mention is the tile flip puzzles used to progress between memory hops. You will be presented with a puzzle where a click on the corresponding vertical, horizontal or diagonal button will flip all the tiles in the line. I very much enjoyed these little puzzles though I wished they were a bit more challenging. None of them were particularly head-scratching hard and only a few I did not solve in the ideal number of moves.

Mainly consisting of an open canvas to click on and advance the story, the design of the environments is a strong part of the appeal for this indie title. I have already mentioned that it looks great, but a game's design can look great but feel terrible. While that is not the case here, I would say that sometimes it is difficult to maneuver through environments because some objects you can walk over and some you can not. Particularly in some of the games larger settings you will find yourself stuck on a bush of stump that you swear you just walked over a minute ago. Indeed this is more a nitpick than a genuine criticism. The only set piece that I did not find instantly appealing was the memory scape. This area, while successfully conveying what we might expect such an artificial environment to appear like, does not have many redeeming factors in its design and just feels sort of bland, especially in comparison to the other rich environments of the game. But again this is one tiny area, all the rest of the game perfectly carries the player exactly towards the desired conclusion. Simply designed, beautifully presented.

There is some debate as to whether games like this are truly “games.” But to me gaming as a medium is interactive storytelling. That is exactly what this is. It is true that you can not lose in this game, but that is okay with me as the ease of access is purposeful to make sure the player is engrossed in the story. I like every aspect of this game except the controls. But as I stated already, that control does not matter, because this game is not about fines like a platformer it is about the narrative. My final word on this game is that it tells such a unique story about an ordinary man. Johnny is not a superhero or even the normal guy having to pick up a gun to fight for his family. The playable characters are not trying to save the world or even a small part of it. Much like C-3PO and R2 DT, they serve as a storytelling vehicle to move through the life of the real star Johnny and his relationship with his wife River. Their story is powerful because it is a real story, filled with heartache and tragedy, but also love and hope. It is hard to convince you without spoiling the game for you, so I will just say play the game. It is on Steam for 10 dollars and is a great game to play if you like interactive storytelling and point and click adventures, or even if you don't.