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Forgotton Anne | Reviews thread

Maxime

Maxime

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,990
Embargo dropped an hour ago and, so far, it looks solid. The game is out on May 15 on PC (Steam), PS4 & Xbox One, is developed by ThroughLine Games and published by Square Enix Collective.


​

Imagine a place where everything that is lost and forgotten goes; old toys, letters, single socks. The Forgotten Lands is a magical world inhabited by Forgotlings; creatures composed of mislaid objects longing to be remembered again.
Forgotton Anne is a seamless cinematic adventure with a focus on meaningful storytelling and light puzzle platforming. You are Anne, the enforcer who keeps order in the Forgotten Lands, as she sets out to squash a rebellion that might prevent her master, Bonku, and herself from returning to the human world...
Key Features:
  • Discover a beautifully realised world of wonder filled with Forgotlings - charming everyday objects brought to life, bursting with personality.
  • Uncover the truth behind the harrowing conflict taking place between an impassioned ruler and ruthless rebellion.
  • Harness the power of Anima, the energy that brings life to the Forgotten Lands. Use it to solve puzzles and command ultimate control over Forgotlings' lives.
  • Choose carefully. Your words and actions can alter the tale being told thanks to a branching dialogue system that places the power in your hands.
  • Run, leap, and soar as you strive to guide Anne home, unlocking areas and abilities along the way.
  • Enjoy hand-animated visuals created using the same traditional techniques that brought your favourite animated movies to life.
  • Immerse yourself in a soaring orchestral score performed by the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra.
​


Eurogamer: Recommend
Deftly written and designed, Forgotton Anne is proof that seemingly small, simple things are well worth treasuring.
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PlayStation Universe: 8.5/10
Deftly combining platforming, puzzle-solving and a non-linear narrative, Forgotton Anne is a uniquely beautiful experience that everybody should try.
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Push Square: 9/10
Forgotton Anne has thrilled us in every possible way. Its story is packed to the rafters with charm, amazement, tension, and doubt. The gameplay satisfies in every key area with challenging puzzles and skilful platforming, and it's these mechanics that get to accommodate a gorgeous art style which will live on long in our hearts. You need to experience Forgotton Anne for yourself, because the package as a whole is really quite special.
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Engadget (No Score)
Forgotton Anne looks like a gentle animated feature film you can't quite remember the name of, with an art style somewhere between Studio Ghibli and those curious kids' animation series I used to watch from Europe. The charming characters, mostly anthropomorphic objects called forgotlings, make for an entertaining adventure, combined with occasionally smart puzzles and surprising gameplay twists. That said, ThroughLine Games have made a gorgeous animated story where the gameplay comes second.
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Wcctech: 6.5/10
Forgotton Anne tries so hard to look and feel great. The first part is easily accomplished, the second one not so much as the game strives to be an emotional, imaginative adventure, but fails to communicate with the player all the way through.
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Twinfinite: 4/5
Its puzzles and platforming may not be anything to shout about, but they aren't Forgotton Anne's focus. The way it develops a detailed world, full of unique and interesting characters, while keeping the central story compelling and surprising, is remarkable, especially in such a short period of time. Anne is a strong, emotional character and her adventure is one worth experiencing, even if you want to do nothing more than marvel at the stunning animation.
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God is a Geek: 7.5/10
Forgotton Anne is a wonderful, surprising game that tells a story that feels oddly prescient. It presents an image of beauty and fun with the gorgeous animation and cast of colourful and amusing characters. Anne is a plucky protagonist, determined to do the right thing and uphold the peace, but the dark, dystopian vibe that underpins it all is unsettling. It is a shame that some minor technical issues and some design decisions spoil the experience somewhat, but if you can look past these minor flaws you will find a game that manages to disarm you into making innocent decisions that will devastatingly come back to haunt you.
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Exentryk

Exentryk

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Oct 25, 2017
3,236
If this released a week earlier, I'd have already purchased it. But now I've found another game to keep me busy, so will get this after that.
 

Deleted member 24550

Ac
Banned
Oct 29, 2017
2,398
Game looks fantastic. Sadly the rumored Switch port is still a long way out, so it will have to wait a few months as I try to finish my PS4 backlog first.
 

Wouwie

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,462
Solid scores so far. I'll be buying it next week. I have been looking forward to this one since it was revealed.
 
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Wouwie

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Oct 27, 2017
1,462
It currently has a 80% rating on Opencritic, with 21 reviews. That doesn't seem bad at all. Looking forward to checking it out.
 

Deleted member 12352

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First I've heard of it but that actually looks pretty nice. I'm definitely interested. Should have been docked points for that bad spelling though.
 
PoshAlligator

PoshAlligator

Member
Jan 24, 2018
49
My review will be dropping in the next issue of OPM (UK), but I liked it a lot and I think more people should play it. Great visuals, great story. Feels like a very fresh and original animated movie.
 
FallenGrace

FallenGrace

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,036
I've been interested this for a while. Push Square brought my attention to it months ago. They have it a 9/10 to boot. Looks gorgeous.
 
takoyaki

takoyaki

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,677
Such a great-looking game, been interested in this one for a while. Glad to hear it turned out well.

US Gamer: 4/5
As for the game itself, Forgotton Anne is determined strongly by choices. I imagine behind it lies a complex web of decisions—the type that Quantic Dream drop in the trailers for their games—showing the many, many different outcomes. As a game with six concrete endings and a number of different branches to get to each, Forgotton Anne goes beyond simple black and white morality choices. A lot of the choices you direct Anne to make are far more nuanced
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While the platforming is often frustrating, the game's captivating world, art direction, and meaningful choices more than make up for it.
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EDIT:

OC - 80 [22 Reviews]

MC PS4 - 79 [10 Reviews]

MC PC - 80 [6 Reviews]

MC XONE - 82 [Reviews]
 
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Deleted member 679

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
14,741
How long is this game supposed to be? I could go for a short adventure game that looks as good as this. It'll be harder to find time for it if it's long, though.
 
sredgrin

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Better scores than I expected.

Any of the reviews talk about the voice acting? The early footage of it seemed rough.
 
sir_crocodile

sir_crocodile

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,511
sredgrin said:
Better scores than I expected.

Any of the reviews talk about the voice acting? The early footage of it seemed rough.
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Gamecentral's's does:

http://metro.co.uk/2018/05/15/forgotton-anne-review-a-story-to-remember-7546049/

In Short: A bizarre mix of weighty subject matter and cartoon presentation that somehow works perfectly in portraying a morally complex world and its characters.

Pros: An ambitious and smartly-told story that has plenty of thematic depth and a well-written script. Great visual design, superb soundtrack, and excellent voice-acting – especially from the leads.

Cons: None of the gameplay elements are particularly interesting in themselves. The story doesn't seem quite sure how to wrap itself up. Animation is very limited when viewed close up.

Score: 8/10

Sounds like a good story but an average game? Might try it out anyway as I like the art style, but it doesn't sound like the platforming is up to prince of persia standard, which is the first thing I thought of when I saw the trailer.
 

Deleted member 679

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Oct 25, 2017
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I think this is the coolest package of content for a Digital Collector's Edition kind of thing I've ever seen:

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I think I'll get this version.
 
kodax_shc

kodax_shc

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,453
Southern California
Added to my PSN Wishlist. Will grab this at some point this year when I am not too busy with JRPGs. The next few months are going to be Xenoblade 2 -> Octopath -> Dragon Quest XI.
 
Remo Williams

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I'm just a bit less than two hours in, but so far I'm thoroughly enjoying this. It really does feel like playing a good traditional anime (although I'm happy to report that it slightly reminds me of The Phantom Tollbooth as well!), and the puzzles are not bad either. Wonderful presentation all around, I'm very pleasantly surprised.


Gbraga said:
I think this is the coolest package of content for a Digital Collector's Edition kind of thing I've ever seen:

HlnMEnl.png


I think I'll get this version.
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This looks great, is it only available on PC?
 
Genetrik

Genetrik

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,736
I was looking for the info for how long it is. Would have been perfectly fine with 6 hours but 10 hours (or a bit less) is still ok. My backlog begs to differ but pffff I am posting here.
 
Jonnykong

Jonnykong

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,918
Is there no OT for this game?

Played a couple of hours of it tonight, it's okay so far. The actual gameplay elements are a bit janky, but I really like the story and the forgotling characters.
 
Remo Williams

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People. Play this game. I'm almost at the end, and it's been a magical journey. Out of all the games I've played this year, this is easily my favourite.
 
Remo Williams

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Finished. What an incredible experience this was for me, utterly incredible! To think that a small team that I've never heard of could put together a game of this caliber, and give it so much polish (although there are tiny blemishes here and there, but nothing serious) - I'm lost for words. And apparently they already have another game in development, bring it on! But there's still so much to discover here, there are many meaningful choices you will make on your journey, and they're all nicely tied together.
 
litebrite

litebrite

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Oct 27, 2017
21,832
Remo Williams said:
Finished. What an incredible experience this was for me, utterly incredible! To think that a small team that I've never heard of could put together a game of this caliber, and give it so much polish (although there are tiny blemishes here and there, but nothing serious) - I'm lost for words. And apparently they already have another game in development, bring it on! But there's still so much to discover here, there are many meaningful choices you will make on your journey, and they're all nicely tied together.
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This is great to hear. I'm saving my 20 dollars for the next time The Evil Within 2 goes on sale but after that I'll be looking to check this out.
 
Exentryk

Exentryk

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,236
Put in a couple of hours, and really liking the game so far. Nice art, interesting characters, good voice acting, and an intriguing story. On the platforming front, the character isn't responsive enough, so it doesn't feel that great.

On the technical side, you can't select a higher resolution than your desktop resolution even with fullscreen mode. So I hope they patch this. Another thing they should fix is the small font for mementos.

Overall, I'm enjoying it so far.

Edit: Made some more progress and there have been some interesting developments in the story. Good stuff!
 
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Deleted member 679

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Oct 25, 2017
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I decided to test it today, play it for maybe an hour and then report back, but when I realized I've played it for around 3 hours, and I think I'll play it some more in a minute.

I'm really surprised at how much I'm enjoying this. Definitely wasn't expecting to like it as much as I am right now. I expected a bland but charming game, that would make it easy to forgive its flaws. But so far it's just really damn good. It is charming, it's beautiful, very well animated and the acting is also surprisingly good, but I'm having a great time with the puzzle and platforming aspects of it too!

I was expecting both the exploration and the narrative to be a lot more linear than they are. The first time I got the popup telling me that this could play out differently, it was kind of a shock. I was tempted to just restart and get a better outcome, but I decided to go with it and deal with the consequences. The Anne I'm playing is kinder than you'd expect when she's interacting with people she already knows, but lives up to her reputation when it comes to work.

Everything about the story is so intriguing so far, I didn't really uncover much to be able to say how well they deliver on the premise, but every little detail feels meaningful, with purpose to the larger narrative. When you encounter a little side character and talk to them, it's not just a short story about them and the world, it's about how their lives relate to yours. I always find it easier to relate to sidequests in games when they're pertinent to the core story and themes, instead of just being their own self contained stories.

If it keeps up being this good throughout the whole experience, I think I'll create a thread once I finish the game, it deserves more attention from Era. It's so good.

Did anyone else get the Collector's Edition on Steam? I have no idea of how to access the extra content, is it unlocked after I finish the game? That would make sense, but I'd like to be sure. Nevermind, found it.

My main negative is the UI design, it's pretty poor, especially considering how incredibly polished everything else is. A good first impression is fundamental, and the main menu for this game didn't look that different from stuff like Getting Over It. It just screams "Unity Game". The in-game UI is also questionable when it comes to things like button promps, though the game's own prompts with the unique art look fine. It's just when it gets to what I assume are stock Unity assets that it looks super jarring, and even amateurish.

And this isn't really a negative for the game, but I was surprised to find out that it's PS4/Xbox/PC only. This feels like the kind of game that would do well on the Switch. I don't even have one myself, so I don't personally care, but I want this to be successful.
 
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litebrite

litebrite

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
21,832
Gbraga said:
I decided to test it today, play it for maybe an hour and then report back, but when I realized I've played it for around 3 hours, and I think I'll play it some more in a minute.

I'm really surprised at how much I'm enjoying this. Definitely wasn't expecting to like it as much as I am right now. I expected a bland but charming game, that would make it easy to forgive its flaws. But so far it's just really damn good. It is charming, it's beautiful, very well animated and the acting is also surprisingly good, but I'm having a great time with the puzzle and platforming aspects of it too!

I was expecting both the exploration and the narrative to be a lot more linear than they are. The first time I got the popup telling me that this could play out differently, it was kind of a shock. I was tempted to just restart and get a better outcome, but I decided to go with it and deal with the consequences. The Anne I'm playing is kinder than you'd expect when she's interacting with people she already knows, but lives up to her reputation when it comes to work.

Everything about the story is so intriguing so far, I didn't really uncover much to be able to say how well they deliver on the premise, but every little detail feels meaningful, with purpose to the larger narrative. When you encounter a little side character and talk to them, it's not just a short story about them and the world, it's about how their lives relate to yours. I always find it easier to relate to sidequests in games when they're pertinent to the core story and themes, instead of just being their own self contained stories.

If it keeps up being this good throughout the whole experience, I think I'll create a thread once I finish the game, it deserves more attention from Era. It's so good.

Did anyone else get the Collector's Edition on Steam? I have no idea of how to access the extra content, is it unlocked after I finish the game? That would make sense, but I'd like to be sure. Nevermind, found it.

My main negative is the UI design, it's pretty poor, especially considering how incredibly polished everything else is. A good first impression is fundamental, and the main menu for this game didn't look that different from stuff like Getting Over It. It just screams "Unity Game". The in-game UI is also questionable when it comes to things like button promps, though the game's own prompts with the unique art look fine. It's just when it gets to what I assume are stock Unity assets that it looks super jarring, and even amateurish.

And this isn't really a negative for the game, but I was surprised to find out that it's PS4/Xbox/PC only. This feels like the kind of game that would do well on the Switch. I don't even have one myself, so I don't personally care, but I want this to be successful.
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I haven't played it yet, but I do agree with you that it seems like the type of indie game that would do well on the Switch.
 
Pixieking

Pixieking

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Oct 25, 2017
5,956
The Washington Post reviewed it, too. No score, because it's the Washington Post, and they don't score any reviews, regardless of medium.
As much as I dug the well-executed, if somewhat predictable, story line I was continuously amazed by the quality of "Forgotton Anne's" animation. I delighted in watching Anne move from one environment to the next.

[...]

For parents looking for a new game to play with their children or for anyone who with an abiding love of sweet-tempered cartoons "Forgotton Anne" deserves a look.
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Remo Williams

Remo Williams

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Gbraga said:
I was expecting both the exploration and the narrative to be a lot more linear than they are. The first time I got the popup telling me that this could play out differently, it was kind of a shock. I was tempted to just restart and get a better outcome, but I decided to go with it and deal with the consequences.
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Yeah, about that... I don't want to say too much and potentially spoil the game, but there's less to this narrative non-linearity than it migh initially appear. It's not that player choices don't affect anything, but story progression is pretty much linear no matter what you decide to do.

Level progression allows for some optional exploration, and there are plenty secrets to be found at least. What I was pleasantly surprised by was the way the game handles post-game activities (and I also have some questions about that, so I'm looking forward to having a conversation with someone who's finished the game at least once).

And I thought the game was coming to Switch, just at a later date? Maybe not, maybe I confused it with something else.
 

Deleted member 679

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Remo Williams said:
Yeah, about that... I don't want to say too much and potentially spoil the game, but there's less to this narrative non-linearity than it migh initially appear. It's not that player choices don't affect anything, but story progression is pretty much linear no matter what you decide to do.

Level progression allows for some optional exploration, and there are plenty secrets to be found at least. What I was pleasantly surprised by was the way the game handles post-game activities (and I also have some questions about that, so I'm looking forward to having a conversation with someone who's finished the game at least once).

And I thought the game was coming to Switch, just at a later date? Maybe not, maybe I confused it with something else.
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Yeah, the narrative progression seems fairly linear, but I wasn't even expecting dialogue choices or things like that, mainly because the voice acting is really good, and voicing every option and answers to that option would add to the budget. A lot of it has to do with me not really having any idea about what this game is, even though I did watch a couple of trailers. For example, it took me by surprise reading in this thread that it had platforming, I thought it would be more like Night in the Woods, where you have a jump button, but traversal is pretty much holding left or right until you get to the story destination. So even that aspect that some reviews criticized was a pleasant surprise to me, I wasn't expecting it to be mechanically engaging.

I love the optional stuff so far, or at least what I think is optional stuff, no idea if I'll have to go to some of these places eventually. And there's post game stuff too? That's kind of crazy. Can't wait to get home and continue my playthrough.

I hope you're right about it coming to Switch.
 
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