Forgotten Anne
I loved a lot about this game. The art style is phenomenal. The music is awesome. I was blown away by all the voice actors. There was a little bit of platforming and puzzles to keep you engaged but not too much to detract from the story. I found myself pausing and reflecting on the choices of the game. They did a smashing job on building the fantasy world and the characters within.
But that all changed about halfway through the game. Maybe two-thirds of the way. The game was trying so hard to punish me for my actions when really all I was doing was trying to work with what the game had to offer. Even my very first "choice" in my room the game was trying to teach me a new mechanic and threw me into this mode to drain the life away from this little scarf. I did it because even my character shouted in declaration "I have no other choice". I felt like it was the "right" choice. But time over time I felt like this dissonance between the foretold game character and my character. I'm not saying that it would be better as a graphic novel. I'm just saying that they pushed real hard on the illusion of choice when really there was never any choice to begin with. If you are ok with that then maybe you will still enjoy this game. It is only 6 hours long.
Ending Spoilers down below
Even in the end when you are faced with, I guess what you could call, the final boss fight you still don't have a choice. If you state that you don't want to drain the energy from your old friend, you are lying. If you do say you are going to, then you've proved their point. It is like those Choose Your Own Adventure books where you lose either way. And then the game gives you a ridiculous choice between looping time once again or dying. Seriously? Even the final choice isn't really a choice. The only way to win is to not play. And that is why I can't recommend this game.
11-10-2018