The Forgotten City

 PC
User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 155 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 120 out of 155
  2. Mixed: 28 out of 155
  3. Negative: 7 out of 155

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  1. SuperkenGaming
    Aug 19, 2021
    9
    The Forgotten City
    An experience you wont forget
    The forgotten city is a 6 hour long action adventure mystery game where you playas a character that wakes up in what seems like the distant past, in this land of people afraid of this golden rule, if just one person sins theyre all doomed, these golden statues will cometo live and turn everyone into gold.. but hers the conundrum, to get    The Forgotten City
    An experience you wont forget
    The forgotten city is a 6 hour long action adventure mystery game where you playas a character that wakes up in what seems like the distant past, in this land of people afraid of this golden rule, if just one person sins theyre all doomed, these golden statues will cometo live and turn everyone into gold.. but hers the conundrum, to get some info and escape, you gotta do a little sinning.. luckily for you.. youre a time traveler.. you steal the item or kill the person you need to, run to this portal, go back intime, thankfully theres a messanger standing right at the portal for you to tell all the info to, so they can run and take care of things you already took care of, not only that, youre back with the item you stole, sin free, rinse repeat, talk to the charcters in this small yet lived in feeling city,solve their problems, get what you need.. youll even get your own golden bow,which leads to some amazing dungon crawling sequences that I would’ve lovedseeing more of, youre dealing with thesegolden monsers, shooting vines leavesandalgie, to turn them into gold to traverse.. I loved it.. but again sadly this makes up maybe only 2 hours total of this 6 hour game.. the rest is just talking and listening, being persuasive, solving problems, figuring out the big giant people puzzle, how can I get what I need, gi back in time and use it against this person, or help this person.. I loved trying to solve the problem of getting info and also dealing with burdansall at the same time, and I loved that I got to keep everything I collected in between it all..
    The forgetten city is one of the coolest story games ive ever played… it is definitey boring at times.. a lot of times.. I skipped more dialog than I would in a game really pulling me in with its story.. but I was still glad I pushed through to the end, to reveal the big twist..
    If youre a fan of solving mysteries or just love a really good story, snatch this one up..
    I give The Forgotten City
    an 8.5/10    … Expand
  2. Monge
    Sep 1, 2021
    10
    The game looked like it would disappoint, mainly because of the terrible endings that games of this style have been releasing.

    However, I was surprised, with well-written dialogues and a sense of importance in the story.

    I could see the effort in delivering a good ending, and I hope the developers continue with new projects.
  3. philzlz
    Aug 12, 2021
    9
    I went in completely blind (never even heard of the mod) and loved this game. The story kept me interested, voice acting was stellar for such a small production and graphics nice to look at. Soundtrack was epic and you really felt transported to an ancient time with a lot of small details in world building.

    Only downside was the bow combat which is understandable since its not the main    I went in completely blind (never even heard of the mod) and loved this game. The story kept me interested, voice acting was stellar for such a small production and graphics nice to look at. Soundtrack was epic and you really felt transported to an ancient time with a lot of small details in world building.

    Only downside was the bow combat which is understandable since its not the main focus of the game and the tiny map, I would have liked to explore a bit more.    … Expand
  4. dick7181
    Oct 29, 2021
    10
    Simply amazing. I hear the complaints about "stiff graphics" but understanding where this game comes from as well as the idea of 'art style' will get you past this barrier. This game is an experience that no gamer should go without experiencing. It will influence other games for years to come. Play a pioneer while it's still easily digestible. Also, avoid spoilers at all costs!
  5. Archound
    Oct 1, 2021
    9
    Outer Wilds, but in ancient Rome and with a detective vibe. Must play for narrative games lovers.
  6. Aashtarsrain
    Aug 2, 2021
    10
    To those who never played the original Skyrim mod : this game is the most exciting, fresh, immersive, beautiful and cleverly fascinating mystery action game I've played in years. From a magnificent soundtrack to awesome story revelations, it's jaw-dropping in every way.

    To those who played the Skyrim mod : it's all we loved and hoped for, but different, fresh and ten times better in every way.
  7. hello_world
    Nov 23, 2021
    8
    The forgotten city is a game the lives or dies by its writing. Thankfully the game is quite well written (mostly). The game is less concerned with epic battles or even dialogue options with branching paths and is more interested with politics and philosophy. At its core, the game is about ethics, about what is right and wrong and how do we know what is right or wrong. An ambitious way toThe forgotten city is a game the lives or dies by its writing. Thankfully the game is quite well written (mostly). The game is less concerned with epic battles or even dialogue options with branching paths and is more interested with politics and philosophy. At its core, the game is about ethics, about what is right and wrong and how do we know what is right or wrong. An ambitious way to write a game, and it mostly works.

    This is not like Nier: Automata who talks about philosophers but doesn't go to far into the actual philosophy of the big thinkers they invoke. The Forgotten city wants you to engage with the ideas of ethics and morality and in the end, it does pick a side on what they think is the most correct answer to these ideas they put forth. I respect that they did this and would love it for other devs do the same instead of doing the whole "it's up to the player" mentality which has its place in gaming, but it can come off as a cop out for a mot of games and feel like the publisher was too afraid that picking a side would hurt their profits. That being said, I find that the level of depth they went into was quite shallow and isn't anything you would find in a first year philosophy class. After hiring historians to help make sure their world had historical authenticity, I felt like they could have also benefited from hiring a philosophy professor to help with the writing.

    I am three paragraphs in and I have yet to talk about the gameplay or the graphics. That's because both are serviceable and there isn't much to talk about. The game does have light puzzle mechanics, which are fine if a little one-note. The combat is pretty out of place and the game could probably be better without it. As I said in the review, the game lives or dies by its writing, because gameplay wise, it is unremarkable. The game is totally worth the experience if you're looking for something new, don't get it if you're looking for an action packed adventure.    … Expand
  8. Booth211
    Nov 21, 2021
    9
    This game was surprisingly fun. Of course it's not on the same narrative and development level as a AAA game because it was made by a team of 3 people. Granted, my bar was set pretty low, but I was pleasantly surprised. Definitely worth checking out.
  9. GibbyTheThird
    Jul 30, 2021
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm typically not the type for a mystery game; while detective work was high on my list of priorities in my youth, I've deviated from that. Now though, I thought I'd give it a try with this game. While real life doesn't have time travel (I've tried the "Time Travel to Now" trick; we never find it), I've found myself invested in this game far more than most others I've played.
    The story does follow similar story beats to the mod it's based on, but it builds upon it with new twists and turns, characters, and actual climbing mechanics. The changes made were impactful to my overall experience, and I found myself genuinely surprised and gasping - actually gasping - at most of the twists, and laughing at a few points as well, such as Descius's dialogue options in Ending #4. The writing made each character feel unique, with appropriate voice acting from each VA. While I didn't find myself going back and talking to each character, I still appreciated talking to them and learning about them.
    Despite this, there were a few drawbacks; not enough for me to not give it a lower score, but enough I was convinced to not give it higher. There were technical limitations for my laptop; while it is a higher grade gaming laptop, and I thought my computer could withstand the full quality, it was slow to spawn parts of the environment. Or clutter. Or people, which are very important to a murder mystery. Though, this may be a me-problem, so I'll let it slide. Beyond that, there was the Palace. Not the Palace itself, but I couldn't get back in. Maybe I'm incompetent with platforming, but I could not climb back up to the balcony, and I can't re-activate the quest that gets me inside. Maybe it's a balancing thing, but I would've liked to spend more time in there after further loops. Additionally, there were the facial animations. While they were on point sometimes, I still found myself puzzling while trying to read their mouths and think of them saying what I'm hearing coming from their mouths. I can't sometimes, and it spoils parts of the immersion. Finally, there were two dialogue trees that broke the impact of some quests: Horatius when "Malleolus" drops out, and Sentius when you find Sentilla. Horatius, even after the announcement about the election, will still say that M. is running and Sentius doesn't stand a chance, even when farmer boy Galerius is the opponent. Sentius, meanwhile, completely forgets that the illusion of him forgetting the loop was broken, and continues to give the typical Loop #2 dialogue unless given the Sentilla dialogue. But, these were the only two instances dialogue gave me the most trouble. The rest was on point, precise, and immersive enough to keep me invested for a long time.
    While there were problems with The Forgotten City, they were outweighed by well executed twists, deviations from the original source material, along with great writing and execution by the voice actors. With that said, I highly recommend The Forgotten City.    … Expand
  10. Jurdman
    Aug 1, 2021
    10
    Thoroughly recommend this game. It looks beautiful, and the story is engaging. The game mechanics are unique and fun. I have spent a lot of time trying to piece everything together. Think of yourself as a Mythological Phil Connors from Groundhog Day.
    It's extremely satisfying when you figure stuff out and it all clicks together. I can't say anymore, as I don't want to spoil. Can't wait to    Thoroughly recommend this game. It looks beautiful, and the story is engaging. The game mechanics are unique and fun. I have spent a lot of time trying to piece everything together. Think of yourself as a Mythological Phil Connors from Groundhog Day.
    It's extremely satisfying when you figure stuff out and it all clicks together. I can't say anymore, as I don't want to spoil. Can't wait to see what is next for this dev team.    … Expand
  11. AleM123
    Aug 25, 2021
    10
    Amazing game! Hard to find these days games like that. Impressive! Started to play and couldn't stop for hours and hours
  12. besiegedparent
    Oct 16, 2021
    9
    This is the first time-loop game I've played, and I loved it. I found it very immersive, despite its relative simplicity. It got me thinking and problem-solving in a way unlike the adventure games I usually play.
  13. webhivbbr4vio3b
    Aug 1, 2021
    10
    I am genuinely so impressed. With a team of only 3 developers, they have managed to accomplish so much:

    Fantastic story- time concepts, history, philosophy, and an open-worldish type adventure ticked all my boxes. The content of the quests was also very unique; no fetch x quests, each was memorable Acting- both the animations and voice overs were very well done; it was super    I am genuinely so impressed. With a team of only 3 developers, they have managed to accomplish so much:

    Fantastic story- time concepts, history, philosophy, and an open-worldish type adventure ticked all my boxes. The content of the quests was also very unique; no fetch x quests, each was memorable

    Acting- both the animations and voice overs were very well done; it was super engaging. Each character felt real

    Stability- with time loops involved and the quests that are included, theres a lot of potential for bugs. Surprisingly, I did not run into any (except a money exploit that I used to my benefit)

    The only downside is that I felt it was fairly short, but that might be because I loved it I wanted to explore as much as I could ASAP.    … Expand
  14. Dhshsusu
    Aug 30, 2021
    10
    The greatest story telling game I’ve ever played and the fact that it’s in time means you actually learn real story’s. It’s very intelligent dialogue and pulls you in with a very human quality, the conversions feel real and are very powerful. If they could make the Scale even bigger I’d say this game would be better then elder scrolls. But the depth of story is far better then anythingThe greatest story telling game I’ve ever played and the fact that it’s in time means you actually learn real story’s. It’s very intelligent dialogue and pulls you in with a very human quality, the conversions feel real and are very powerful. If they could make the Scale even bigger I’d say this game would be better then elder scrolls. But the depth of story is far better then anything elder scrolls had made.… Expand
  15. RetroTitan
    Aug 1, 2021
    10
    I've never posted anything on Metacritic before, but I made an account SPECIFICALLY to do so for this game.

    It all started with a Mod... and this game is an ode to that mode, while also being something fresh and original. It is one of the best mystery games I've ever played, with twists that kept me guessing, even after playing the Skyrim mod! The love they poured into this game is    I've never posted anything on Metacritic before, but I made an account SPECIFICALLY to do so for this game.

    It all started with a Mod... and this game is an ode to that mode, while also being something fresh and original. It is one of the best mystery games I've ever played, with twists that kept me guessing, even after playing the Skyrim mod!

    The love they poured into this game is evident from the get go, with so much research and care having gone into it. The entire experience is like greeting a familiar friend, only to find out they're even more awesome.

    Modern Storyteller is a developer that I believe will go on to do great things... because they already have and frankly, they can only go up from here. Buy this game, LOVE this game, share this game to your friends.    … Expand
  16. MetoTheBabo
    Jul 6, 2022
    9
    This game is pretty good if you like history or fantasy. A pretty good adventure , graphics are decent , story is really great. But just one thing I don't like about this game is that the face expressions of the chacaracters . But its not a really big problem.
  17. Mandulum
    Feb 7, 2022
    8
    An enjoyable time loop romp through a little Roman village.

    Date Completed: 2022-02-06
    Playtime: 7h
    Enjoyment: 8/10
    Recommendation: Yes!
  18. Kubasa_Undead
    Nov 23, 2021
    10
    Absolutely phenomenal game, fantastic story told in a way that just grabs you by the balls and holds onto them until the end. Bravo! Haven't play something that good for a while.
  19. MaxByMeta
    Dec 26, 2021
    8
    What a great story rich game! I enjoyed every moment of it!
    Although I learned something new about history by playing this game, so it was definitely worth it
  20. auditbadger
    Jan 22, 2023
    9
    I think that this is truly a unique game and I would recommend that if you are a fan of this type of genre then I think you should give this game a try.
  21. sersimovi
    Oct 27, 2022
    8
    Really loved the world and the whole loop concept. It must be played with patience just so you're able to connect everything all the different characters tell you.
  22. Agathra
    Nov 18, 2022
    9
    Excellent game! I can say very little without spoiling it, but think Groundhog Day meets ancient days. Well written and voiced, beautiful graphics, and a great story concept! And multiple endings mean your choices actually do matter! I understand the playtime is around 6 hours but I spent 15 hours just playing around with decisions, dialogue choices, character alliances, etc.
  23. Sepherim
    May 31, 2022
    9
    The Forgotten City es sin duda un juego muy recomendable. La historia está muy bien construida, con un buen desarrollo de los eventos, los giros de guión y los personajes. No tiene muchas decisiones que tomar ni una variedad grande de finales, pero es un puzzle muy bien montado sobre como romper el bucle temporal (me recuerda a Deathloop en esto, aunque casi sin combate ni sigilo). ElThe Forgotten City es sin duda un juego muy recomendable. La historia está muy bien construida, con un buen desarrollo de los eventos, los giros de guión y los personajes. No tiene muchas decisiones que tomar ni una variedad grande de finales, pero es un puzzle muy bien montado sobre como romper el bucle temporal (me recuerda a Deathloop en esto, aunque casi sin combate ni sigilo). El bucle se rompe de ciertas formas para lo cual hay quests con marcadores si los quieres usar para ir resolviendo cada cosa, pero que puedes tener desactivados si prefieres (como yo) hacerlo por ti mismo sin guias. La jugabilidad principalmente es cosa de explorar, hablar con gente, encontrar y usar objetos como una aventura gráfica clásica, con una pequeña zona (relativamente opcional) que incluye una parte de combate. El juego es un poco corto (9 horas para mi y eso que me dediqué bastante a hacer cosas por completismo) pero en este caso funciona bien porque no tienes la sensación de que haya nada de relleno, y haberlo alargado probablemente lo hubiera acabado haciendo repetitivo.

    Gráficamente el juego no es lo más puntero que vas a encontrar, pero cumple bien; y la recreación del entorno de la antigua roma es simplemente brillante en su detalle, rigor y cuidado. El sonido tiene un nivel bastante bueno, con una música adecuada que acompaña muy bien, buenos actores de voces (al menos en inglés), etc. Y, cosa rara en estos tiempos, yo no me he encontrado ningún bug.

    Por todo ello, sin duda Forgotten City es un juego muy recomendable. No perfecto pero si excelente. Un 8,5.    … Expand
  24. Kelen
    Jan 9, 2022
    8
    [PL]
    7,5/10 ❤️ - Bardzo dobra
    (po ukończeniu gry i zobaczeniu wszystkich zakończeń)

    Rozgrywka bardzo uboga, polega głównie na chodzeniu i rozmawianiu.
    Niewiele walki i fatalnie rozłożona w czasie gry.

    Fabuła fajna, momentami bardzo wciągająca.
    Ukończenie bardzo satysfakcjonujące.

    Niesamowicie inspirująca gra.
  25. AzorAhay
    Jan 23, 2022
    9
    Good story, I'm not regret at all playing this game. Did all endings and enjoy them all, if you like a story based game you need to play this. Plus I learn some new thinks about Ancient time.
  26. hoanns
    Nov 17, 2022
    9
    Creative time loop mechanic with intriguing plot and charatcters. Great mystery game.
  27. gmontillot13
    Jun 10, 2022
    10
    Just a masterpiece. Clever, beautiful, touching… a must play. Can’t recommend it enough.
  28. Moazelbahy
    Jul 9, 2022
    10
    The most beautiful and magnificent work of art and dedication i ever seen in my 12 years of gaming truly a once in a life time masterpiece of writing and design
  29. BoeliB
    Jul 6, 2022
    10
    good game. good game. good game. good game. good game. good game. good game. good game.
  30. Mene0
    May 23, 2022
    8
    A great game, with an exciting story told in a way that could only be told in a video game. The characters and situations are well written and the juxtaposition of ancient rome and modern times is entertaining. The amount of historical research that went into the making of this game is staggering, considering the short dev team.
  31. buficek
    Nov 27, 2021
    9
    This game has an amazing story full of twists and turns, original puzzles and beautiful graphics. I would give it 10/10 because it's an experience you won't forget. But you also won't forget the problems that the game has and they annoyed me all the time. Lags and objects appearing in front of you or the fact that the game sometimes just stops and starts loading wouldn't bother me thatThis game has an amazing story full of twists and turns, original puzzles and beautiful graphics. I would give it 10/10 because it's an experience you won't forget. But you also won't forget the problems that the game has and they annoyed me all the time. Lags and objects appearing in front of you or the fact that the game sometimes just stops and starts loading wouldn't bother me that much. What bothered me though was the over the top political correctness. It was very annoying especially because story is everything in this game. Some of the characters were in the game to impose the author's political views to the player. I want to enjoy an otherwise interesting story, not be lectured on political issues.

    The Forgotten City is an amazing game that is only stopped from perfection by its not-so-good technical state and completely inappropriate political propaganda. I look forward to more games from these developers and hope they avoid the mentioned problems in their next projects.    … Expand
  32. L337KREW
    Feb 13, 2022
    9
    Beautiful detective game. The city is visually nice, the various endings are good!
  33. Charbles18
    Jun 5, 2022
    8
    A game with great time loop and puzzle mechanics, sadly bogged down by clunky combat. The time loop puzzle is satisfying, but the game loses its momentum towards the end when it devolves into scouring the map in fetch quests.
  34. customer005
    Mar 23, 2022
    9
    Wonderful game. The story is a masterpiece.
    But the only problem is that I can finish one of the endings too quickly. I wish I had been ignorant of the truth for longer.
  35. denizsavran
    Sep 12, 2022
    8
    I will never forget this game.
    An incredible story, betrayal, intrigue, plot twist... This game has it all for the sake of story. It's a great job, according to a 3-person developer team. I must say it has better story and optimization than most AAA games. (Of course, there is a slight optimization problem.)
    But it bothered me that we asked the same questions to the people we talked to    I will never forget this game.
    An incredible story, betrayal, intrigue, plot twist... This game has it all for the sake of story. It's a great job, according to a 3-person developer team. I must say it has better story and optimization than most AAA games. (Of course, there is a slight optimization problem.)
    But it bothered me that we asked the same questions to the people we talked to in the game, and this reduced the diversity. On the other hand, after spending some time in the game, you see that we do nothing but talk. The game has a crouch key to go stealth, but it doesn't do much. Finally, as the story progresses, the names of some characters are forgotten, although the game tries to remind us of these characters, it is not very successful.    … Expand
  36. Karamis
    Oct 22, 2022
    10
    Criminally underrated Witcher 3 story telling meets inception in Greece.
    I am not the greatest fan of ancient Greek/Rome story setting, but this game made it so interesting I stayed till 5 AM till I finished the game in at least different 3 ways.
    The game is no doubt masterpiece. Clearly product of love for the few developers that worked on it. The story, characters and dialog are    Criminally underrated Witcher 3 story telling meets inception in Greece.
    I am not the greatest fan of ancient Greek/Rome story setting, but this game made it so interesting I stayed till 5 AM till I finished the game in at least different 3 ways.

    The game is no doubt masterpiece. Clearly product of love for the few developers that worked on it.

    The story, characters and dialog are well ground, fantastically delivered, and respect your critical thinking. Ending is elegant and although the plot is intricate all the loose ends are tied flawlessly.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

22
#22 Best PC Game of 2021
47
#47 Most Discussed PC Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 33 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 33
  3. Negative: 0 out of 33
  1. Games.cz
    Nov 30, 2021
    80
    A brilliant game that’s all about conversations. You get stuck in a time loop which sounds potentially frustrating but actually isn’t because you don’t have to repeat yourself in any way. It’s just a shame that the game’s a bit ugly and the puzzles a bit trivial.
    Read full review
  2. Riot Pixels
    Oct 17, 2021
    78
    Modern Storyteller did right by rewriting its popular mod for a new world. Aside from some rookie mistakes and an apparent lack of budget, the story is exciting and memorable, and I really did not want to leave this cursed city. I definitely wouldn’t mind a few additional quests.
    Read full review
  3. CD-Action
    Oct 12, 2021
    80
    It’s a very good game, but it was tailored for a specific audience. If you put the story above everything else, you’ll have a great time playing The Forgotten City. However, if you’d like to feel the adrenaline rush at least once in a while, it’s probably not a game for you, because there’s barely any action here. Oh, don’t be afraid of the whole time loop thing – this integral mechanic is forgiving and won’t erase your progress without a serious reason. If it resets, it’ll be a consequence of either wrong choices or a conscious decision. [10/2021, p.32]
See all critic reviews »