Dr. Neil Watts and Dr. Eva Rosalene of Sigmund Corp are professionals who do what can be described as... well... different, or if you consider present day, downright impossible. You see, what these two are paid to do is grant the wishes of dying people, literally. Sort of. At least from the perspective of the dying man.
In the future described by "To The Moon", there exists technology that can probe into peoples' memories, and then rewrite them, effectively letting them relive their lives in their heads, the way they really wanted to, but failed to. But that procedure is so taxing on the human brain that it actually causes the person to die. As a result, it's performed only on people on their death beds, so as to allow them to die happily under the impression that they actually succeeded in life.
John "Johnny" Wyles is Sigmund's latest client. He has decided that he wants to have his memories rewritten and die happily. The two doctors walk through a digital recreation of Johnny's memories, trying to figure out how to help him get his dying wish, and also why he chose what he wished for. And what is it that he wished for? To go to the moon, of course. And it's upto the player to make sure that he gets there.
^ Sample from the soundtrack of "To The Moon": Laura Shigihara - "Everything's Alright"
"To The Moon" is not your typical PC game. In fact, it's not much of a game at all. It's not a movie, it's not a game, but something in between. First of all, the whole game is in 2D. You won't see mind blowing pretty graphics here. The world in "To The Moon" and the old man's memories are all rendered as a 2D world with an top-down camera view.
^ Top-down 2D worldIn "To The Moon", the player controls Dr. Watts and Dr. Rosalene through several real world situations and through many memories belonging to old Johnny. Starting from his most recent memories, the goal of the doctors is to go all the way back to his childhood, so that they can influence his memories and make his dream come true.
Each memory you play has five "memory links" and one "memento". A memento is any object that Johnny remembers strongly as a part of his memory, and serves as a connection between two memories. Memory links are... let's say the fuel of a memento. In order for a memento to unlock the passageway to an older memory, you must find five orbs known as memory links. Those can be found among objects that Johnny remembers, and by exploring nooks and crannies of his memories. And honestly, that's all there is to the gameplay.
"To The Moon" is more of a graphic novel than a game. But that doesn't mean it's bad. In fact, "To The Moon" is a far more enjoyable experience than many single player games releasing these days. The reason is the solid story that the game tells, and the way it is presented. The journey you go on with the two doctors as they attempt to piece together the history of John Wyles and how they could help him get to the moon is one hell of a ride. One of the best stories told by a video game in recent years. The presentation of it as a whole, is top notch, with beautiful piano music covering many sections of the game, and that adds immensly to the atmospheric nature of the game.
"To The Moon" lacks gameplay features. It lacks pretty graphics. It's very short, clocking about 4 hours only. But even with all that, "To The Moon" is one of the best entertainment experiences I've had this year. If you love a great emotionally moving story, and can make do without pretty graphics and challenging gameplay (Oh, yes, this game literally has no challenge at all. It's as if the developers want you to be at ease and enjoy the show, and what a show it is.), you owe it to yourself to try "To The Moon".
Check out more details at the official site: http://freebirdgames.com/to_the_moon/
