To the Moon

To the Moon really stretches the definition of what is and is not a video game. That might be a strange sentence for someone who does not play video games as religiously as so many do now of days but it is a question that has been floating about the gaming community for some time now. For many a game needs to present some sort of challenge, whether that challenge is a test of reflexes, intelligence, puzzle-solving, memory, or a mixture of one or more of these examples and possibly even more tests that I might have forgotten. Other people are content with saying that an interactive experience in which you interact with the game world. To the Moon falls into this second camp of 'games'.

To the Moon's only real gameplay are the occasional puzzle sections and moving the controllable characters around the map.

Speaking of these main characters the ones that you will have the pleasure of controlling are Dr. Eva and Dr. Neil. Eva and Neil are both doctors who work for a company in the near future that sells the ability to alter the memories of those on their deathbeds so that they can think they fulfilled their greatest wish.

These two will be your ever present companions as you explore deeper and deeper into the mind of their newest client, an old man named Johnny who, as the title references, wishes to go the moon before he dies (or at least to think he's gone to the moon). To accomplish this feat the doctors must find items that exist in a more recent memory that also were around in a prior one as well, using them to travel backwards through Johnny's memories so they can implant the false memories at the youngest age possible.

This story idea of telling a story effectively in reverse is something that has been done before but I don't think many of them can really compare to this game because where a film like 'Memento' tries to hide its big moment until the end to set up for a big reveal To the Moon shows you the them outright and forces you to continue despite it. You will see sad things in the first hour or two of gameplay that only truly become heart wrenching as you go from seeing the effect an event has on people, to the event, to people happily oblivious to the knowledge of the pain to come.

The characters in this game are all amazing and will grow on you as they grow as characters, which I feel happens too rarely in games. No character ends where they began emotionally and it adds weight to every new twist to the tale as characters are forced to cope with it either as participants or passive observers.

I won't go into spoilers here so I think I'll leave it as is and let you go pick it up for yourselves. It only really takes 4-6 hours to complete which is graciously shorter than your average Netflix binge and since the game isn't reliant on your skill as a gamer I feel like I can fully recommend this game to play.

Is this the saddest video game ever made? Maybe.

The concept and story behind To the Moon is amazing. This really ought to be a movie. The imagination and characters here really involve you as a gamer in a way you've probably never been before. Set in the future, you play as Dr. Rosalene and Dr. Watts who work for a company that enters into the memories of a dying person to grant them an artificial wish by manipulating their flashbacks in an attempt to give them complete happiness. Their newest case involves a widowed old man who always wished to go to the moon. As you dig deeper and deeper into his memories a haunted, lonely life of tragedy is revealed and the doctors have to make some tough choices.

I didn't expect the game to have this much affect on me, it's quite profound. I am holding back from a perfect review as the controls were a little stiff when moving the characters around the screen and it often frustrated me. Though if you want a unique gaming experience I highly recommend To the Moon. It's a fine, if emotional, way to spend 4-5 hours.

Seriously though...a movie of this needs to be made.

The game is amazing. The storytelling is perfect, so emotional . I cried in the end of the game. The graphic is not important when the story is perfect.