Forgotten Anne

Forgotten Anne is one of those games that makes me wish Steam had a ‘meh’ choice when recommending a game. Because Forgotten Anne doesn’t really do anything wrong, for the most part, but at the same time nothing stands out as well. Allow me to explain. Forgotten Anne is a game following the title Character Anne, a human law enforcer in a world full of creatures called Forgotlings. Called that because they used to be inanimate objects in our world someone forgot about and were transferred to the Forgotling’s world. There they gain sentience and the ability to move on there own while still retaining their other world design. So, a toaster in the Forgotling world would still look like a toaster but run around like a dog. And you know what, the concept and world alone are worth looking into, mainly due to the very strong Studio Ghibli vibe the game emanates. So with that said your in for a very charming and whimsical game full of delightful writing, fascinating world building, gorgeous art, and fun character design. However, the more observant of you have probably noticed that I forgot to include anything about the game part of this video game, and that’s because what passes for gameplay fills very little of the game.

Overall the game is trying to be a puzzle platformer wherein you’ll have to direct Anne though a gantlet of challenges that unfortunately boil down to, pull a lever, pull a switch, redirect energy, siphon energy and long jump over pits. Now you may be thinking that this sounds just fine, just know that the platforming sections are short and require no real skill or timing, especially once you get your wings and can long jump. Once I got those I found that most platforming challenges could be solved with a simple running long jump. And as for the puzzles, they also don’t require a lot of thought put into them too and become more of an obligation than a challenge. On a whole gameplay is very lacking in this Video Game and is basically a visual novel crossed with a walking sim.

However, if you’re into those kinds of games then know that those positive aspects I mentioned earlier will get you through the game, unless you like stories driven by characters. Allow me to explain myself.

While the cast of Forgotten Anne are all very charming people there not characters. There either simple ideologies given form or blank slates, the worse being Anne herself. Witch, I imagine they did because the game does a moral choice thing and they probably wanted it to make sense for Anne to be on either side. However, that leaves her with very little personality to go off of and what remains is in constant flux due to players choice. She can be kind, soft-spoken, woeful, angry, hateful, racist, and sarcastic all in a single scene. Which could have been solved if the game distinguished between renegade and paragon. Leaving it up to the player to infer through context alone, which can sometimes backfire since you never know if an exclamation point means angry shouting or simply speaking up. It’s a shame too because if Anne was better characterized the game’s themes of free will, choice, loyalty, and government intervention would have been much better executed. Sure, she reacts to every revelation and challenge of faith properly, but there’s nothing else to attach so it’s harder to sympathize with her. Something that can probably be blamed on the game’s rushed pacing, especially towards the end, making some of the more heartfelt moments less impactful because the previous scene setting them up just ended and no one has had time to absorb anything. All and all the story isn’t the best but there is enough charm in the dialog to see you though at least 3/4th of the game.

Now after hearing all that you may be thinking why I did not give this game a negative rating. Well, that’s because it does enough right to balance out the wrong. Yes, its characters are a little flat, yes, the gameplay is boring and repetitive, yes, there are sections where there drive to make art outpaced there drive to make a fun game. But. There is some wonderful and charming dialog, creative and funny character designs, and a few moments of quiet visual storytelling that tip the scales to neutral.

Bottom line buy the game if you can excuse little gameplay and lackluster characters. Or buy it on sale if you’re interested but you agree with some of my latter points. Or if you’re a designer who may be interested in making a game like Forgotten Anne, pick it up. A friend once told me that you can learn a lot more from an imperfect game than a perfect one. It's not going to have something for everyone and those things might not be polished that much. But what it has polished is well worth your time and to ensure that this game will not be forgotten.