To the Moon

Moby ID: 53654
Windows Specs
Buy on Windows
$1.99 new on Steam

Description

To the Moon is the first game in a planned series about two scientists, Dr. Eva Rosalene and Dr. Neil Watts, who specialise in a peculiar field. They practise a technology that allows them to alter people's memories. People who hire them can thus have them change their life, but only in their memory, erasing mistakes and guilt, and fulfilling unrealized potential. When patients wake up, they remember a life they never lived or forgot about regrets.

In this particular story Eva and Neil visit an old man called Johnny who is already in a coma. He lost his wife River some years ago and his life wish was to go to the moon. Neil and Eva enter his dying mind – time is running out – to weave new memories; to make him remember having become an astronaut and having travelled to the moon.

Even though the game is made with RPG Maker XP, the gameplay is much closer to a visual novel, along with some puzzle elements from the adventure genre. It largely consists of a series of conversations, with an entirely linear story and no ability to deviate. To create the new memory, Eva and Neil need to travel back into the patient's memory as far as necessary to introduce the needed sparks and to let it unfold. Initially they only have access to the most recent memories and they need to trace back a way into the man's youth in different phases. This is done by establishing memory links. By reliving the man's life in a reversed order – overhearing conversations and exploring the locations – orbs are collected that can be put into a memento. Once activated, a small puzzle needs to be solved to gain access to an earlier life period.

Because of the reversed chronology in storytelling, the causes for consequences are only revealed afterwards. Strange occurrences such as origami rabbits all over the house and River's fascination for a lighthouse and a toy platypus are only revealed gradually as the scientists travel back farther. They can walk around freely inside the memory, freeze characters, and introduce changes. None of these are influenced by the player however. The player's input is limited to free exploration, examining objects, and triggering the events that continue the story. Characters that are not remembered by the patient are shown as vague outlines. Near the end of the game additional gameplay options are opened up, including horseback riding and a number of action sequences. The doctors have access to a menu screen where notes, items, and information about characters are stored.

Spellings

  • εŽ»ζœˆηƒ - Simplified Chinese spelling

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Credits (Windows version)

84 People (75 developers, 9 thanks) · View all

Written by
Directed by
Developed by
Music by
Pixel Art (Original)
Illustrative Artwork
Mapping & Layout
Graphical Resources
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 83% (based on 72 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 56 ratings with 2 reviews)

One of my favorite games

The Good
The story is well thought out and the occasional humor is welcome.

The Bad
I wish it was a bit longer.

The Bottom Line
This is one of my favorite games. It honestly brought tears to my eyes when I reached the end.

No one has rated your review yet.

Windows · by Anonymous · 2023

If you don't like this game you may not have a heart

The Good
A guy I know has this listed on his blog, so I downloaded the demo. Which had me quickly hooked. It's kind of hokey to start off with, but draws you in fairly quickly and by the time the demo ends you are left wanting more. So I paid the full price and got a very nice email from the author.

But it only gets better after that. As I was playing it I found tears leaking from my eyes (courtesy of some really well-crafted music) and later on I had to keep some tissues handy and by the end I had given up on tissues and was just wiping my eyes on my sleeve. I don't think I am very easily moved but the music put me in a very vulnerable place without my even being aware of it.

There are two characters, with a fairly interesting dynamic (there is apparently a sequel in the works, which I will surely buy) and you can play as either, so some replay value there, also a very well-crafted story so lots of interest in watching to see how all the story elements are put in place and gradually revealed. So plenty of replay value, I think.

The Bad
This is an interactive story, pure and simple. If you are not a fan of these, you may want to give this title a miss. It's a very good story with a huge amount of heart, but the game play itself is completely linear and consists of hidden objects and a few very simple mini-games.

While I found the graphics entirely charming, others may not feel the same. This title will run on even the poorest hardware, even on-board graphics cards.

However, users with a better sound card and speakers will get the best of this, as the awesome sound track may just melt your heart. But if you are not a huge fan of tear-jerking music you may not appreciate the simple and emotional melodies.

Also there is no spoken dialogue, which may well be a detraction for some.

And, anyone who did not enjoy Inception, Memento, or even that episode of Seinfeld where everything goes backwards may not appreciate the well-crafted story. In short, this is a great story but it may not be for everyone.

Finally, it is very short at about 4 hours I think. Not a huge deal in my opinion, but if you were looking for something epic this is definitely not in that category.

The Bottom Line
This is another great example of how less can often be more, there is no flash to this, simply an example of how a pure story-driven experience with some very well-crafted music can be put together by a small team. In fact, I cannot think of anyone apart from an Indie who would even try to bring something like this to market. It is obviously a labour of love that took years to bring about.

So even though this is minimalism at its best, I do not think anyone will feel in any way cheated after playing this. It delivers a rich and moving experience, and I felt the better for having played it. But the demo is free and offers a good sample of what the game is and is about, so there is no real cost to try it. If you liked Braid, the graphics are very much the same (but not the game play!).

So I think anyone who enjoys finely crafted games with a great story may like this.

There is minimal adult content but due to the nature of the story probably not a good choice for younger players, despite what the quality of the graphics implies.

Windows · by thud (97) · 2012

Trivia

Retail version

The UK retail version published by Lace Mamba Global Ltd. comes with a soundtrack disc.

Awards

  • 4Players
    • 2011 β€” Best Story of the Year
  • Independent Games Festival
    • 2012 β€” Excellence In Audio β€” Finalist
  • IndieDB
    • 2011 β€” Indie of the Year
  • Gamespot
    • 2011 β€” Best Story of the Year β€” Winner
    • 2011 β€” Best Music of the Year β€” Nominated
    • 2011 β€” Most Memorable Moment of the Year β€” Nominated
    • 2011 β€” Best Writing/Dialogue of the Year β€” Nominated
    • 2011 β€” Best Ending of the Year β€” Nominated
    • 2011 β€” Best Song of the Year β€” Nominated
  • National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers
    • 2017 β€” Game, Original Adventure β€” Nominated
    • 2017 β€” Original Light Mix Score, New IP β€” Nominated
  • RPGFan
    • 2011 β€” Best Indie RPG
  • Steam Awards
    • 2016 β€” The 'I’m Not Crying, There’s Something In My Eye' Award β€” Nominated
    • 2017 β€” The 'The World Is Grim Enough Let's Just All Get Along' Award β€” Nominated
  • Wired
    • 2011 β€” Top 20 Games

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Sciere.

tvOS, Nintendo Switch added by Rik Hideto.

Additional contributors: Havoc Crow, Patrick Bregger, firefang9212, Tythesly.

Game added December 9, 2011. Last modified March 15, 2024.