To the Moon

 Switch
To the Moon Image
Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 68 Ratings

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  • Summary: Dr. Rosalene and Dr. Watts have peculiar jobs: They give people another chance to live, all the way from the very beginning... but only in their patients' heads.

    Due to the severity of the operation, the new life becomes the last thing the patients remember before drawing their last    Dr. Rosalene and Dr. Watts have peculiar jobs: They give people another chance to live, all the way from the very beginning... but only in their patients' heads.

    Due to the severity of the operation, the new life becomes the last thing the patients remember before drawing their last breath. Thus, the operation is only done to people on their deathbeds, to fulfill what they wish they had done with their lives, but didnt.

    This particular story follows their attempt to fulfill the dream of an elderly man, Johnny. With each step back in time, a new fragment of Johnny's past is revealed. As the two doctors piece together the puzzled events that spanned a life time, they seek to find out just why the frail old man chose his dying wish to be what it is.

    And Johnny's last wish is, of course... to go to the moon.

    * A unique story-driven experience
    * Innovative mix between adventure game elements and classic RPG aesthetics
    * Acclaimed original soundtrack that closely ties to the story
    * An espresso execution with zero filler and no time drains    … Expand
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. Everyeye.it
    Jan 20, 2020
    92
    A narrative masterpiece.
  2. FNintendo
    Feb 2, 2020
    90
    To The Moon is a game that plays like an interactive novel with an enveloping, touching and moving story. Its plot may be short but it's unforgettable, as is its soundtrack and simple but lovely visual environment. Its arrival on the Nintendo Switch is nothing short of welcome and anyone looking for a personal experience will find an unmissable work in the form of To The Moon.
  3. CD-Action
    Feb 18, 2020
    90
    I may be some nine years late to this party but I’ll reiterate the opinions of countless reviewers before me – To the Moon is a writing excellence and most of all – a truly unique experience. [03/2020, p.64]
    All this publication's reviews
  4. Game Informer
    Jan 15, 2020
    83
    To the Moon may be light on gameplay, but it is a storytelling powerhouse that explores the themes of love and regret.
  5. GAMINGbible
    Jan 22, 2020
    80
    That most of the game takes place in a virtual world constructed from a dying man's fading memories, accessed via high-tech headsets and computer programs, is purely a background element in a fulfilling, affecting experience that will leave most players solemn and silent at its end, but happy, too. Because while To the Moon is definitely a sad game, warm and generous humour runs through it, especially in the interactions between the two doctors.
  6. 4Players.de
    Jan 17, 2020
    80
    A moving story with charming charaters and the occasional mechanical flaw. But overall it didn’t lose anything of ist original fascination.
  7. TheGamer
    Jan 20, 2020
    70
    To the Moon is well-worth experiencing, so long as the player knows what to expect going in.

See all 16 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 18
  3. Negative: 6 out of 18
  1. SuperConan
    Feb 10, 2020
    10
    a heartfelt pixelated tale. this is a great top down pixel story adventure. Kan Gao really did wonders with this one! this game definitelya heartfelt pixelated tale. this is a great top down pixel story adventure. Kan Gao really did wonders with this one! this game definitely gives you "the feels"!… Expand
  2. Poliuyeras
    Mar 31, 2020
    10
    In my personal opinión, this game gave me a good moment, i cried around 4 times cause the history really made me feel like doing so and it hasIn my personal opinión, this game gave me a good moment, i cried around 4 times cause the history really made me feel like doing so and it has an unexpected end that at any way could have been better, the only problem would be the time of the game, but its an RPG maker game and also is a 2011 game. Even so my opinion is a 10/10… Expand
  4. Daitya
    Apr 4, 2021
    10
    No sé cuantas veces he llorado con este juego. Es una historia emotiva acompañada de música que te hará caer las lágrimas aunque intentesNo sé cuantas veces he llorado con este juego. Es una historia emotiva acompañada de música que te hará caer las lágrimas aunque intentes contenerte. De los mejores juegos que he jugado y también de los más cortos. Son 5 horas pero menudas 5 horas, hasta terminarlo no vas a poder dejarlo.… Expand
  5. benrg11
    Jul 7, 2020
    9
    Great story with an amazing soundtrack, if you want a truly impactful narrative experience this is the game you will want to play.
  6. Crobi
    Jan 17, 2020
    6
    To the Moon has a good story, but the game itself has a few major immersion-breaking and badly designed elements. it's a good story in a badlyTo the Moon has a good story, but the game itself has a few major immersion-breaking and badly designed elements. it's a good story in a badly made game. First off, I don't know if this game was translated into English or was written in it originally, but there are a fair amount of times when there are common phrases said wrong, or dialogue between characters doesn't fully make sense. One example (spoiler-free) was when the old man and his wife were talking about "her" and immediately after the playable characters reference "her" by her name and mention how the couple did, despite it not happening. I also personally wasn't a fan of how they handled a condition of one of the main characters. One of the player characters often references "people with that condition" and it comes off as a bit tone-deaf and against what the game is trying to say.

    Onto the gameplay itself. First off, I noticed often (I didn't notice this on pc, but it was an issue on switch), the player character would randomly move on its own. I thought this was my joycon drifting, but I tried 2 different joycons as well as a pro controller and it happened with all of them, but when I closed to the Nintendo Switch home menu it didn't happen proving that it was an in-game issue. There was also a lot of times where a character would stand still and could not be moved. Usually, this happened after an event, but it took a good second or so before the character could move again. These pauses were a fair bit longer than any other rpg maker game I've played and it messed with the pacing of the game. Also if you loaded a chapter, sometimes a character would slide across the screen to their where they're supposed to be. Another thing is if you walk all the way up to an object you can't change direction, you have to walk away and walk up to it again in the correct direction. i've never seen this happen in an rpg maker game before and made selecting objects a bit weird.

    Another issue with the game design itself is where you colled some sort of orbs? They light up at the bottom of the screen and then they fill up a bar in sections at the bottom. The issue is that the orbs are different colours and have a set order, so if you collect the green one and it's third in the order it will light up, but the first section of the bar underneath the first orb will light up. it can make it confusing as when you look the last orb will be lit up, but the bar won't be full and it just makes it confusing.

    The worst issue of all though is that for me at least, the game crashes after the credits and before the scene at the end. It's happened three times (I restarted my switch and redownloaded the game) and it still happens. I had to look up a youtube video to see the ending of the game.

    Overall I'd give the story a 7.5/10, but the terrible controls (which I believe are a switch only issue as I don't remember this happening on pc) and the fact I am unable to see the end of the game make me give the game a 6/10.    … Expand
  7. autumn77
    Jan 27, 2021
    2
    Just watch a playthrough on 1.5x speed. The controls are clunky, and their minigame attempts at making this something other than a walkingJust watch a playthrough on 1.5x speed. The controls are clunky, and their minigame attempts at making this something other than a walking simulator just make it more miserable to complete. Objectives are unclear, with no visual indication of what arbitrary objects (most of which contribute nothing to the story) you're supposed to click to progress the story. Cutscene art is blurry and dominates the game yet somehow managed to be the best part of the experience. This should've been a film.… Expand
  8. Nintendist
    Jun 29, 2022
    0
    this game has a terrible gameplay. the soundtrack is very frustrating. why this game sounds like these

See all 18 User Reviews

Awards & Rankings

22
#22 Best Switch Game of 2020
61
#61 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2020

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