The Forgotten City Review
Release Date: July 28th, 2021
Developers: Modern Storyteller
Platforms: PC (Reviewed), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
Price: $24.99 (PC), $29.99 (Consoles)
When the Elder Scrolls VI: Skyrim came out, it changed the landscape of gaming forever. Since then, it's been ported to just about every platform and been a topic of conversation since its release in 2006, almost so much so that the game itself has become a meme because of its longstanding hold within RPGs, gaming, and media as a whole. Countless projects big and small have been inspired by the likes of it, with mods reaching a level of community support previously only seen in the likes of Valve-developed games., and going even further beyond with mods and community projects that use the game as a skeleton to create something much more vast and contemporary to this day. The Forgotten City is one such project that began as a mod back in 2015 and has since then grown so large in scale that it became a standalone experience that sets itself apart from Skyrim and holds its own identity, despite having grown using its DNA.
The Forgotten City has this very different yet complementary genre and ways of storytelling that overlap, as while The Forgotten City takes place in a lost city of Rome, the time loops, space/time continuums, and sci-fi story beats hugely influence the mechanics and gameplay of The Forgotten City that makes it feel more like a modern sci-fi thriller that just happens to have a historic backdrop. Awakening by a river with little to no memory of where you came from and how you got there, a mysterious woman who pulled you out of the river waits until you're conscious again to help you regain your memory and why you all came from the same direction. Confused, as you ask "who else?", you notice that others came down the river before you, curiously having her assume that you and others were together. Not long you're sent on your way to find any others that may have answers in a cryptic location that descends deep underground, but the further you go down you begin to notice sporadically placed golden statues, followed by voices in your head speaking in Latin. At the very bottom you're drawn to what looks like a portal, where you then walk through and find yourself 2000 years in the past in a forgotten city where the are no rules except for one that cannot be broken: The Golden Rule. This Golden Rule is what keeps their society in check, but it's an extreme rule that can be easily broken by accident, where one must not kill, steal, lie, or do anything deemed evil, harmful, or treacherous as breaking this causes society to literally collapse as the city caves in on itself and everyone is turned to gold. It's absolutely possible to play the game without breaking the rule and, in fact, there's an achievement for doing so, but time looping is not just a mechanic that feels like a punishment due to a crime that may or may not be committed by your hands, but since you get to retain everything you keep on the next loop it makes investigations and tasks easier and easier as you go, while also giving you the advantage of keeping your memory and getting the one-up in conversations, whereas starting the loop again will revert everything back to when you first got there for everyone else.
The Forgotten City itself isn't necessarily big, and you'll get acquainted with just about everyone in such a short amount of time, as well as see all the sights almost the moment you walk in through the portal for the first time, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in depth as characters and their development through story and conversation is fascinating to see and feels so organic as you uncover more and more information and gain access to certain routes. With four overall endings, how you play can go any which way in figuring out how to stop and overcome the Golden Rule, but also reveal why a God would implement such a rule to begin with, and why someone is threatening to break it. Even with loopholes, you realize every citizen has something to hide and is involved in some way, and it make everyone feel like they play a part, ridding of useless NPCs that are used as filler for the voids in a location to give the game and world a more lively look. Everyone plays a purpose and how you go about uncovering every piece of information can lead you to some interesting places, from abandoned buildings to hidden shrines and buried catacombs. How the game naturally carries itself out as you explore more and more - which is immensely rewarding if you're the stop and smell the roses type - is incredibly smart and clever, though it's biggest drawback is undoubtedly its combat which begins to occur once you've attained a Golden Bow that, much like the power of the gods, can turn skeletons into gold. You can rid of them simply with a basic bow as well, but seeing as both bows use the same arrows, you're better off just using the Golden Bow virtually every time and stop any enemies in their tracks right away. Thankfully the combat in The Forgotten City never feels like a chore and any encounter never ends up giving you more than you can't handle, as The Forgotten City knows and expects you to treat it as more of a mystery detective-esque RPG than something more Skyrim-esque where you're in the boots of a warrior.
As a whole, The Forgotten City blends together the multiple facets of an RPG in a great way but doesn't rely on levels, resource management, or the usual tropes that come with the more grind-heavy experiences. Due to the large focus on quality-of-life features the game implements, The Forgotten City allows you to focus on the story and, despite the heavy narrative, lets you relax and explore and get to know the civilians more than anything else. You don't have to ever check whether you're properly equipped to go down into a cellar or confront someone or something, and inventory is practically limitless. Add that on top of the fact that, despite the loops, you don’t have to do tasks over and over again and can send someone to do them for you so you can focus on the newer ones you'd like to complete just leaves an openness and stress-free environment to play around in and enjoy at your leisure. Sure, the combat for The Forgotten City is as barebones as they come, but combat is usually something you'll encounter that's few and far between the story-heavy premise that overall drives the game from beginning to end. The Forgotten City holds pride in its deep and evolving non-linear narrative that's thought out in every corner, and there's always something new to uncover. In a way, it's almost an RPG-lite, but whether you're planning on spending tens of hours or simply a few, short sessions or long, The Forgotten City is pure gameplay bliss that goes at your pace and never once feels like there's an obstacle to challenge skill. As the game takes place in such a historical time, knowledge more so than anything else was always a topic of discussion and an inspiration for many, so all The Forgotten City asks of you at the end of the day is to have that wit and will of exploration to truly squeeze out everything it has to offer, which is undoubtedly one of the most well put-together adventure games in years, and the first mod of its kind to win awards in writing - and rightfully so.
PROS:
A beautifully rendered mod that, outside of or the head-on dialogue exchanges, sets itself apart from Skyrim
The investigate portions of The Forgotten City are extremely engrossing and deep without being complex
Performance is very good
CONS:
The Golden Rule loop can feel a bit cumbersome after so many hours
Our utmost gratitude to Future Friends, Dear Villagers, and Modern Storyteller for providing us a copy of The Forgotten City for the purposes of this review!