Truth be told, I'm having a somewhat difficult time reviewing To the Moon as a game. While it is certainly qualified as a game, the title holds more aspects of a visual novel than it does the adventure or RPG genres it is often classified as. It's interesting to note this specifically because one of the most surprising things about To the Moon is that it was actually created using the RPG Maker XP engine, and it was successfully used to its full potential. More or less, To the Moon is a visual novel in the style of a traditional RPG with player interaction being limited to moving around the environment and completing very simple grid based puzzles to advance further in the story.
In the near future, Dr. Eva Rosalene and Dr. Neil Watts are sent by Sigmund Corporation, a company specializing in memory alteration and reconstruction, to fulfill the dying wish of Johnny, a man on his deathbed with very little time left. As you can imagine, Johnny's wish is to go to the moon, only he doesn't know why. In order realize his dream, Eva and Neil must enter his memories with the help of a special machine and work backwards through his past to a point in time where they can successfully influence his desires Inception-style. Once Johnny's past memories are influenced, he should begin creating new memories that work toward his dream as a sort of alternate reality within his mind.
As players start out with memories at the end of Johnny's time and slowly regress through past events, unveiling answers to questions and curiosities that pop up along the way, we come to learn that Johnny's story is, first and foremost, a tale of love. Throughout the story, as Eva and Neil uncover the secrets of Johnny's past, they also learn more about the puzzling tale of River, Johnny's wife, and how much of a role and influence she was on his growth and being.
"But when I'm gone..."
"Who is going to watch over us?"
Eva and Neil bear witness to many events in Johnny's life, and the more that things become clear, the more complicated the situation becomes. Johnny's health begins quickly deteriorating and time begins running out for our heroes. It's hard to say much more without getting into spoiler territory, so I won't go any further, but the story does touch on many thought provoking subjects. Morality, philosophy, and most of all Existentialism are all touched on or discussed in depth, leaving you questioning whether the nature of Eva's and Neil's actions throughout the course can be justified or not, and what it truly means to live.
"When this world is no more
The moon is all we'll see
I'll ask you to fly away with me
Until the stars all fall down
They empty from the sky
But I don't mind If you're with me,
then everything's alright."
9/10
Verdict: BUY
(This review of Freebird Games' To the Moon was based off of the Steam version of the game played on a Windows 7 based PC The game was completed in about four hours. To the Moon is available now on PC for $9.99.)
Keep an eye out in the coming weeks for reviews of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3, Tomb Raider, and Fire Emblem: Awakening.
(This review of Freebird Games' To the Moon was based off of the Steam version of the game played on a Windows 7 based PC The game was completed in about four hours. To the Moon is available now on PC for $9.99.)
Keep an eye out in the coming weeks for reviews of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3, Tomb Raider, and Fire Emblem: Awakening.
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