I don't remember how I even became aware of this game but it was on some sort of list where the story inside of a particular game was meant to be really good. I enjoy a good story as much as the next guy and am willing to tolerate very retro graphics in order to get one.
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The gameplay is terrible
The game only takes about 4 hours to complete and thank goodness for that because while the story does have some great moments to it and leaves you wondering what will happen next, the gameplay itself straight up sucks. You really don't do a great deal but simply wander around, hovering your mouse over everything in the various rooms until the icon changes and then you go and interact with said item in order to get the requisite 5 things from that particular part of the story in order to move on. Sometimes these items don't even make sense in regards to the rest of the story - some of the items seem totally random and forced.
Although I did not play it on Switch because I don't own one I have heard the gameplay is even worse since you can't simply mouse over the entire screen to find the tedious 5 items you have to interact with - you must walk around the entire area and stand next to them before it becomes evident you can interact with them. Glad I didn't play that version of the game!
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The tedium behind all of this can really grind at your nerves as some part of the game the available screen space is quite big and you find yourself clicking and clicking, old school action adventure game style, over and over on the screen in order to find something stupid like a pot of olives on the side of a bench in a forest that for some reason is an important part of that particular region and you MUST find it before you can move on.
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At the end of each portion of the story there is a puzzle that you have to complete but there is just one problem with these puzzles: You can't possibly do them wrong. The game will allow you to do as many moves as you want in order to eventually complete them which leaves me asking "why bother having the puzzles in the first place?" It's not like they are fun or anything... it's just stupid.
The music is really good
I'm bagging on the game so far but I will say that the soundtrack is actually really good. It kind of sounds like if Sims piano music had some real tragic soul to it and therefore it accommodates the story of the game (which is tragic) very well and influences the way you feel about the game a great deal. I found myself pausing the game with some of the music playing in the background rather than muting it while I did something else like make a sandwich.
Unfortunately, this is kind of really the only good thing that I have to say about this "game."
The story IS touching but the dialogue is stupid
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There are two main characters that you control during the game and a vast majority of what they say is just stupid and unnecessary. I suppose that it is meant to be funny at parts but mostly it is just dumb and I didn't find any of it to be even remotely amusing. It appears to be little jokes designed for 5 year old's but this game has a very adult theme about death so the game wasn't meant for that audience.
I think that about 75% of the dialogue could have been skipped, it would have made the game half as long, and the experience would have been the same. I found myself clicking the spacebar and at moments not even reading what was going on with the spoken story for a lot of the game because it is just tedious. It isn't funny, it doesn't add anything to the overall story, and it is poorly written.... so why have it at all?
Overall Impression
To the Moon isn't really a game. You'd have go full retard to not be able to complete this game. It is a story that maybe would have been a decent movie if the writing was significantly better. I don't have a problem with games not really having engaging gameplay and this is evidenced by What Remains of Edith Finch being one of the better games (IMO) that I have played in the past several years. A good story with limited interaction on your part and the inability to "die" or lose doesn't bother me, but to the moon just gets the gameplay aspect of the entire experience so terribly wrong that I can't get on board the hype train as far as this game is concerned.
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To quote "John" from the game yes, this game is just different and sometimes that is a good thing. However, I am going to disagree with the majority of reviewers out there that are kissing the ass of any indie developer that comes along and makes something that is simply playable. This is not a great game and the "amazing story" that you hear about is more just kind of ok than it is great.
I only paid $4 for this game and don't think it is worth that. Watch a YT video that sums the game up because you'll be just about as involved in the gameplay by watching a video as you will be by actually playing this game.
I tried to play this title on a phone and it was horrible. The gameplay was very poorly adapted. It also had a bug that made it quit the app, technically I never got to play it as such. Maybe I'll give it another shot on PC.
ah yes, I forgot about the bugs too. In one instance I was halfway through the game and it simply wouldn't load anymore. Restarted PC, still can't play it. I had to uninstall / reinstall and because I was so hyped about the amazing story I played the entire game all the way through in one day and didn't want to have to start back at the beginning every damn time I shut down the game.
I don't know why the critics are "over the moon" (pun intended) about this game. I just don't get it.
I appreciate what they were trying to do with this and it is a touching story. I never played it and just watched a video or two with full spoilers so I already know what happens and therefore don't need to play it :)
well it really feels like a very early NES release with the graphics. I suppose the story is touching but the attempts at humor just aren't funny. I think that for most people, just watching a YT recap of the story and gameplay would be enough because there just isn't much to the game.