Can You Make My Dreams Come True? To the Moon Reviewed

Is the past worth revisiting? Can you undo your mistakes? If you could, would you?  These questions and more were filling Rock's head as he sat down for some quality time with To the Moon. Read on for Rock's impressions of this indie gem from Freebird Games.


I was insanely surprised when I first saw the trailer for this game. Surprised because the trailer moved me in a way that so many trailers before had tried and failed to do. I was feeling true emotion, actually getting choked up, and I felt compelled to play. Good thing, then, that the game is fucking fantastic. First thing's first, here's the trailer.

       

Doctors Watts and Rosalene have arrived at the home of an old man named Johnny, called to his bedside for their amazing skills:  they have the ability to traverse a dying person's memories and impart upon them the will to make their greatest wish come true. In so doing, the subject will die with the memory of having accomplished their wish. Right off the bat it's an incredible premise that leaves me wondering at all the possibilities.  There is risk involved, however: because the procedure is so drastic, it is only performed on those who are close to death. So the doctors are in a race against time to get the new memories implanted before Johnny dies.

Throughout the game, you'll come to know all about Johnny's past.

The game's graphical style immediately calls to mind many 16 bit-era RPGs, with beautiful color and some really splendorous scenes on display.  To the Moon is simply charming to behold.  The music is similarly touching, with beautiful piano pieces throughout.  The soundtrack is pitch-perfect and excellently accentuates the plot of the game.

The art style is possessed of a simple beauty.

The gameplay is very simple, which makes sense to me since the focus here is more on the story.  Basically, each memory that you travel to serves as a level. While there you'll see the memories play out, and you'll have to find a handful of  items connected to the Johnny's memory.  These could be anything: clocks, books, umbrellas, etc. Once you've found the required items, you'll go through some very light puzzle solving and proceed on to the next memory. None of the gameplay is particularly challenging, and that's OK.  To me, the gameplay just serves as a vessel to get from one part of this story to the next. In total, the game took me about 5 hours to get through.

I don't want to give any story beats away here, because you really should experience it for yourself.  Throughout the game, you'll explore such themes as love, regret, failure, and depression and how one man dealt with these.  Truly, the small team at Freebird Games have crafted a beautiful, heartfelt story.  Many times throughout, I found myself closely relating to the characters, and the game's conclusion is a triumph that actually left me with tears in my eyes.

The heartbreak in Johnny's life is laid bare, and it's up to you to fix it.

Check out this critically acclaimed piece of art, you'll be glad you did. Few games can touch on emotions like To the Moon does, and the themes it explores have kept me thinking. Now available on Steam, To the Moon is well worth the $10 asking price!


Verdict: 5/5

Rock is truly glad he stumbled upon this game.

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