Review for Forgotton Anne. Game for PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 15/05/2018 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 09/11/2018
The world of Japanese animation is always a source of inspiration for video games: whether it's a Bandai Namco tie-in, like the recent One Piece: Pirate Warrior 3 Delux Edition, or an original work like Ni No Kuni II: Il Destino of a Kingdom, souls make developers dream of all nations of the world. Today we start from Denmark, with the ThroughLine Games team, to discover a small work that designs a sublime 2D world and builds around it a game with some limits but also a lot of wonder: we are talking about Forgotton Anne, produced by Square Enix Collective.
We are in the Forgotton Lands, a rainy world populated by Forgotlings, objects forgotten by their owners: whether they are a sock, a teddy bear or a mannequin, they get a personality and a soul when they arrive. Between talking furniture and self-propelled toys, however, we find Maestro Bonku and Anne, the only human beings in this enchanted kingdom. Master Bonku, an elder builder, is the ruler of the city of the Forgotlings, while Anne, the protagonist of the story, is the young guardian of the order. It all begins when rebels detonate some bombs and Anne is ordered to go and investigate. We will then put ourselves in the girl's shoes and explore this magical world.
Pad in hand, we are faced with a 2D adventure with puzzle sections and limited platforming stages. While exploring the game world we will have to regularly jump and climb: the controls, unfortunately, will not always be very precise. The work never becomes a real platformer and does not require careful timing, so the slight limitations of the control system will not particularly affect the complex experience.
Alongside the exploration there will be puzzle game sections always very simple. Anne is in possession of the Ark, an instrument that allows her to control a limited amount of energy called the Soul. Through this power, we will have to activate machinery of various types by understanding how to bring the Soul to them. The low challenge rate allows the work to glide smoothly and maintain a good pace, but if you are looking for a bit of a challenging work, you will be disappointed with Forgotton Anne.
The real focus of the game is in fact the cinematic adventure: The world of the Forgotlings was built with care and with a wide view. The plot of Forgotton Anne is based on a large amount of excellently written dialogues that define the nature of this fantastic land in which many themes are mixed: personal freedom, both physical and identity, hope for a better life and self-centeredness of always knowing what is the right solution for everyone. These are some of the most interesting themes, but the beauty of ThroughLine Games' work lies in the way it makes them live: we will be the ones who decide how to act. The choices, of a moral nature, will not only lead to an ending among the four available, but will allow us to experience the work in a personal way, exploring the sense of "right" and "wrong" as we prefer and noting how it will vary as we progress through the plot.
It is also true that, in some moments, we will forget all these speeches and we will not be able to do anything but stop and stare at the game's backdrop. The city where the adventure takes place is beautifully crafted: there is a great search for detail and great variety. Even the animations of the protagonist are beautiful, although in this case some may turn up their noses a bit: the developers have sacrificed a certain "game elasticity" in favor of greater visual refinement. In other words, jumping and climbing will often be slow actions because the protagonist has to perform a whole series of animations, to be activated with precision: realistic and beautiful in their "physicality" but also not very accommodating in execution.
To close the circle is the dubbing and the soundtrack created by the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra: the speech (only English with English subtitles) and the musical tracks help the world of Forgotton Anne to enchant us scene after scene, giving a strong personality to every Forgotlings we meet, whether central to the story or a simple appearance.
Forgotton Anne is a small work very focused on its goals. In an effort to create a linear, fluid, and artistically delightful cinematic adventure, the development team left aside the sense of challenge and some slack in the controls. What we are facing is an animated journey that will satisfy all those who have always wanted to experience a Japanese anime firsthand, but which will not fully convince gamers who, from a puzzle-platform, want first of all to be tested. .
► Forgotton Anne is an Adventure type game developed by ThroughLine Games and published by Square Enix for PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 15/05/2018 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 09/11/2018
