izigame.me

PREMIUM SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
So I noticed that there's a divide in the review section between a supermajority of people that praise the game as a work of art, and a small minority that strongly disagrees, finding the game lacklustre and boring.
I do believe I've found the reason for this. It has all to do with one's expectations of the game and opinion around the primary mechanic of the game. That mechanic is the time loop. The forgotten city is ALL about the time loop. You walk about, you talk to various characters and observe their behavior. You continue to do this until something forces you to go back to the start. Then you use knowlege, obtained during the previous loop, in order to change the events of the current one. You're essentially practicing the scientific method - making an observation, forming a hypothesis, putting it to the test and either confirming it or rejecting it and starting anew. You keep doing this until you've figured out the way to beat the game.
Whether or not you'll enjoy the forgotten city lies pretty much entirely on whether or not this concept appeals to you, for the game offers little else (besides a few short action sections, which I'll get to later). It wouldn't be incorrect to call this game a "time loop walking simulator". If that causes you to groan with boredom, let me save you the trouble - you don't have to read further. This game isn't for you. Just move on.
However, if you're still with me then you'll be glad to hear this game does the time loop really well. The main traps of a time loop game are either that the triggering of the loop is poorly explained, or that the constant repetition of tasks gets really annoying and boring as you progress to the game, accumulating a vast array of things you have to do in order to get cerain outcomes. Thankfully, the game handles both of these aspects very well. If the time loop is triggred you can be almost certain as to what triggred it, you probably won't just have it go out on you for no reason. Similarly, the devs have implemented a very simple, yet effective and lore-friendly way to automate the repetition of various tasks after you have already completed them once yourself. This way, you can concentrate on finding new things to do, instead of just wandering about the city doing your chores every loop.
Speaking of the city, it is beautiful. Perhaps it's due to the game's setting being ancient Rome, which is as close to a cheat code for beautiful visuals as game developers have, but it really is quite visually appealing. On a technical aspect, the graphics are good, but nothing stunning. However, the way that the visual style is applied and handled is what makes the difference. The environmental design, the vistas are just spot-on.
So, if we've established that the time loop mechanic is handled well, and the city is an appealing place to be in, this leaves one question - does the story give us a good enough reason to stay in it for long?
The short answer is yes. The premise is definitely interesting and the characters have enough interactions to make their relationships with the primary mechanic, the time loop, feel interesting and worthwhile. This isn't to say that they are all that detailed, though. Most characters only have a handful of dialog trees to go through, and a couple more that can be unlocked after you've done a specific thing to unlock them. Nevertheless, the characters interact with eachother and you'll find yourself learning about characters in more ways than just them infodumping you their backstory during dialog. Though with this said, I sometimes felt like being able to ask them more about how they feel about certain other characters would have gone a long way in helping to flush out their stories. For example, there are followers of a certain religious denomination, whom the Romans consider a dangerous cult, and it appears that revealing this information is only useful for the few times when the game actively wants to show it to you. You hardly ever hear about what the other characters think of this and how they would interact with the supposed 'cultists'. Nevertheless, the characters endeared themselves to me enough to where I would care about what happened to them, and that is fundamentally the most important part of just about all character-building.
The game deals with subjects such as ancient religion and philosophy. Certainly, explaining the exact rules and ways of operation of the main time loop mechanic made for an interesting mystery to ponder over, as well as the question of whether or not its application could be defined as moral, ethical, or desirable. You'll get a chance to debate such questions, though you should know the philosophy never really goes further than high school level. You'll have a think, but you're not going to have your brain blown by amazing revalations on the topics of ethics, civics or the like.
I mentioned the game offers certain short action elements, too. This it does. They amount to perhaps a little under 5% of the game, and many of them are optional. At the beginning, I wasn't impressed. You really only have one weapon (there is a second weapon you can obtain by making certain choices early-on, but this second possible weapon is very limited in its use) and one enemy type. I found the combat to be generally bland and mediocre, even somewhat repetitive. Thankfully, the game offers you a way to upgrade your primary weapon. Should you choose to do this (and I strongly recommend you do), you'll find that it unlocks new mechanics that can be tied to the use of said weapon, as well as the weapon itself becoming far more satisfying to use. This made the combat sections actually enjoyable and something that actually broke up the general gameplay in a positive way. Nevertheless, were they to be extended for too long the novelty would certainly wear out. Luckily, the use of this mechanic is measured and as such it generally does not overstay its welcome. You should note, however, that the purpose of these action-combat mechanics is to break up the usual pace of the game. If you're looking for an action-oriented experience, you're barking up the wrong tree.
It took me just over twelve hours to finish my first playthrough. This is with me generally playing normally and trying to figure out most of what is going on in the city. I recommend you play with objective markers and hints turned off, as they can spoil the experience. You may then turn them on at certain times at your own discretion, if you're ever stuck on something.
I left the game feeling happy that I had played it, as it was generally a very interesting and enjoyable experience. It was worth my money (though I did admittedly get it on sale), and I left it generally agreeing with the positive view of the supermajority far more than the negative views of the minority I mentioned in my opening. The game has its flaws, yes, and it will certainly only appeal to you if you enjoy the idea of a time loop mechanic, but if you meet that criteria - there's a very fun experience to be had here and one you'll definitely remember. Respect to the developers of taking a mod to a full game release, that ain't easy.