To the Moon..indie RPG....relive life

[Daehawk]

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Trailer

A new Indie powered RPG adventure game is coming to PC gamers from Freebird Games called To the Moon, and it looks to offer players a rich storyline along with this classic form of exploration. We've got the launch trailer for you below along with the first four screenshots, and of course the full Press Release at the Read More button. (Note: I'm having issues getting the pics to show ATM)

Join Dr. Rosalene and Dr. Watts as they enter a patient named Johnny's mind on his death bed to grant his final request. Watch, interact, and change the past as Johnny's life unfolds before you and takes you on a magical journey inside one's head that asks the greatest question of all: "What if...?"

The music along with the idea of getting a do over at the end of your life brought a tear to my eye.

[tgb]

I loved To The Moon. I just wish I could have recruited more NPC's into my party besides Alice, Norton & Trixie.

[baelthazar]

You are so old TGB.

[Frost]

has a "Chrono Trigger" look to it. I'm a bit intrigued.

[Semaj]

looks like a great premise... what are the odds the game itself delivers?

[msduncan]

Very interested.

Also very entertained by this PC indie revolution that is sweeping the industry.

[Skinypupy]

Bill Harris mentioned this in his blog a couple weeks back, so I decided to give it a shot. Just finished this afternoon, and...wow. That is probably the most remarkable instance of storytelling I've ever seen in this medium. Incredibly well done, especially considering the technical limitations of the graphics, sound, etc that they are working with. I can honestly say I have never teared up over a video game before...until today. Two scenes towards the end made my room seriously dusty. What an absolutely wonderful story, and I can't wait to see where they go with it next.

A couple caveats I'll throw out there:

- This is a "game" in the loosest sense of the word. Although there are some game-y elements (some which are parodied hilariously), I'd call it more of an interactive story. It's only about 4-5 hours long, but the quality far outweighs the quantity.
- The game was created with RPG Maker, so the entire thing looks like an SNES title. Which, frankly, makes what they did with it all that much more amazing.
- It's not on Steam, but please don't let that deter you.

To The Moon has honestly made a strong push for my personal GOTY. I read this comment in one of the reviews, and thought it sums up the experience pretty well:

Those with patience will find 4-5 hours of storytelling that will entrance and move all but the most hard hearted of gamers, and will come out of the experience with many things to think about. For this writer, the chill in the air this morning was a little bit crisper, the sun a little brighter, and his sleeping wife a little more mysterious and beautiful thanks to this game. If that isn't worth $11.99, I'm not sure what is.

[Daehawk]

Hey thanks for the update. Sounds like an interesting offbeat time waster. May give it a go after the new years.

[GreenGoo]

It does sound fascinating.

[Hipolito]

I've finished this game. I found it tedious for the most part. The process of telling the patient's life story backwards was slow and plodding, and the interface and puzzles weren't fun to deal with. But the story ended up raising some thoughtful questions and I'm glad I experienced it.

The conclusion felt a bit too pat and tidy, undermining the message that I took from the story. But I suppose the story, at that point, is more about the doctors than the patient.

The more I think about this game, the deeper I feel!

[Lordnine]

I thought it was wonderful but flawed; it’s unfortunately a game that is greatly hindered by its engine. More than once I felt pulled out of the experience because the engine was non responsive or just because of how primitive certain elements looked. If it was built on a more modern, or simply less clunky, engine the game could have been a modern classic but as it is it’s hard to recommend as more than a fascinating experiment in storytelling.

[Turtle]

Whatever engine they use, they would need to keep it simple in order to exploit it for the more surreal or reality breaking elements of the story.

So they'll probably stick to 2D, or 2.5D just so you can do the crazier stuff a bit easily by having a fixed camera.

[Daehawk]

Steam has this on sale now for $3.39.......for only $4.24 you get both the game and the sound track for it.

[Smoove_B]

Bill Harris mentioned this in his blog a couple weeks back, so I decided to give it a shot. Just finished this afternoon, and...wow. That is probably the most remarkable instance of storytelling I've ever seen in this medium. Incredibly well done, especially considering the technical limitations of the graphics, sound, etc that they are working with.

I'm mostly an emotionless robot, but I would agree with this. It's actually pretty amazing how much of a story they were able to create with such limited assets. Regardless, the final shot of the game with one pixel hand reaching for another...right in the feels. Very much reminded me of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a movie I enjoyed tremendously. This probably isn't a game (again, very loose definition there) for everyone, but definitely a memorable experience. I didn't enjoy the game/puzzle parts either but they were mostly painless.

[GreenGoo]

I'm mostly an emotionless robot,

Dude, you weep like a little girl when a couple of pigeons find each other.

[Smoove_B]

This has been a weird week for computer romance. I figured this game was schmaltzy. Was not expecting a pigeon suicide -- and to be clear, you play as a human attending a popular private pigeon school. A game about pigeon on pigeon love? What kind of freak do you think I am?