The Forgotten City

 PC
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 170 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 130 out of 170
  2. Mixed: 30 out of 170
  3. Negative: 10 out of 170

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  1. Mathluzz
    Aug 22, 2023
    9
    One of the best games i ever played, deserves recognition, i Wish there were more games like this
  2. Samvell
    Aug 21, 2023
    4
    Massively overrated. For a game that relies so heavily on dialogue, the dialogues themselves aren't all that good. Voice actors do their best to elevate this material, but there's only so much they can do. This game wasn't written by a professional script writer, and it clearly shows.
    This whole timeloop mechanic is very tedious. I have no idea how both this game and Outer Wilds are some    Massively overrated. For a game that relies so heavily on dialogue, the dialogues themselves aren't all that good. Voice actors do their best to elevate this material, but there's only so much they can do. This game wasn't written by a professional script writer, and it clearly shows.
    This whole timeloop mechanic is very tedious. I have no idea how both this game and Outer Wilds are some of the most well-received adventure games of the last five years, despite the timeloop implementation being equally as awful in both of them.
    The journal is a joke. It lets you put a tracker on a quest you wanna follow, except half the time this tracker doesn't work and you have to navigate on your own. I hate this kind of approach. You either let a player track every quest or none of them. The way it's done here, it just creates confusion.
    The graphics are nothing to write home about. A tad more fidelity than you'd expect from your typical indie game, but still nowhere near enough to compete with big budget contemporaries. I couldn't help but think that instead of these "pretty" graphics and fancy voice acting they could've invested more funds and effort into the actual gameplay, quests, etc. Take, for example, Age Of Decadence, which, yes, looked way behind times, but it had a much better writing, actually interesting characters, more and better quests, even more locations variety. Better score too. The soundtrack in The Forgotten City is basically just stock "ancient music" and lacks severely in originality and memorability. Once again, if we're talking smaller budget, indie titles, take something like Enderal, which had a massive 5-hour long OST with tons of memorable tunes.
    Overall, this game is an admirable attempt, but still a letdown in so many ways. The developers clearly bit off more than they could chew. Perhaps they should've started with something more lowkey, prove themselves and gain more experience, before undertaking something so ambitious.    … Expand
  3. TypInSomething
    Jul 11, 2023
    6
    Greek, Roman or Egyptian. Whatever it is, I always think of mythology as a superhero comic. And this game is built upon it. I don't know who fked whom. I don't know who is what? So it was hard following their stories.

    But the game did a fantastic job of telling everything about them or stories I need to know to follow through. So if you even don't know wtf their mythology comic is    Greek, Roman or Egyptian. Whatever it is, I always think of mythology as a superhero comic. And this game is built upon it. I don't know who fked whom. I don't know who is what? So it was hard following their stories.

    But the game did a fantastic job of telling everything about them or stories I need to know to follow through. So if you even don't know wtf their mythology comic is about. Don't worry the game got your back.

    The story, 65% of the story was phenomenal. It was fantastic. It got stale at the end but did not drop the ball. There are 4 endings. Each one of them is very clever. Except for the canon one.

    The character models were ok. Except for the ladies. Every fking lady in the game looks the same. The lack of facial expression was very noticeable. These things can be excused as this is an indie game.

    And as always, they must include Western woke culture for the sick fks out there.    … Expand
  4. NouredinFrahat
    Jul 5, 2023
    9
    FABULOUS GAME!!
    I was intrigued throughout the game, the story, the OST, everything was top notch.
    It's hard to believe this game was made by only 3 people.
    REALLY LOVE IT
  5. TwoEars
    Jul 2, 2023
    1
    Jesus Christ what a buggy mess. Just play the Skyrim mod instead, it's free.
  6. OMGitsTHEMEMI
    May 18, 2023
    9
    An amazing game with and incredible gameplay mechanic, the history could be better but it is still a pretty good gone nonetheless, the game also have enough paths that you wont be bored at all.
  7. Ratingss
    Apr 24, 2023
    6
    A woke groundhog day in ancient rome, the timed quest and npcs chimping out and locking you out are annoying, you dont have multiple ways to progress, you will follow the same path up to a point, and then choose which of the obvious 4 endings to follow through with. But as far as story centered walking simulators go, this is decent.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. hoanns
    Nov 17, 2022
    9
    Creative time loop mechanic with intriguing plot and charatcters. Great mystery game.
  11. 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.
  12. phuchaitt3
    Oct 22, 2022
    6
    Not a game for people who dislike a lot of reading and running around aimlessly. I like the mysteriousness but I dislikee the lack of direction. The city isn't interesting enough to keep you running around looking for clues.
    There are quests that I have no idea how to complete. There will be a lot of time spent testing out a clue, or an idea and then be disappointed that it doesn't work    Not a game for people who dislike a lot of reading and running around aimlessly. I like the mysteriousness but I dislikee the lack of direction. The city isn't interesting enough to keep you running around looking for clues.
    There are quests that I have no idea how to complete. There will be a lot of time spent testing out a clue, or an idea and then be disappointed that it doesn't work out, and then stuck without knowing how to make the story progress.    … Expand
  13. 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
  14. 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
  15. 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
  16. BoeliB
    Jul 6, 2022
    10
    good game. good game. good game. good game. good game. good game. good game. good game.
  17. 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.
  18. gmontillot13
    Jun 10, 2022
    10
    Just a masterpiece. Clever, beautiful, touching… a must play. Can’t recommend it enough.
  19. 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.
  20. 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
  21. 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.
  22. 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.
  23. bancandrei
    Feb 19, 2022
    5
    Came for the story, stayed for the graphics. That is of course not ideal. I expected to be more impressed by both the story and the interactions. I was thinking 2 things while playing it: boy, this writing sure pales in comparison to Disco Elysium and this kinda feels like a Fallout New Vegas Vault. It probably worked much better in its original incarnation as a mod
  24. L337KREW
    Feb 13, 2022
    9
    Beautiful detective game. The city is visually nice, the various endings are good!
  25. 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!
  26. sekiro-hate
    Jan 24, 2022
    5
    The game is decent, but I don't understand the hype, though I must say I played around 1h and I have gave up. For me it is so boring because dialogs are flat, life of the city is not better than Skyrim NPCs and we have 2022 not 2011. There is too overwhelming pathos: music, dialogs. Maybe it was fine back in the day but today I feel it makes narrative flat. Interactions with the world areThe game is decent, but I don't understand the hype, though I must say I played around 1h and I have gave up. For me it is so boring because dialogs are flat, life of the city is not better than Skyrim NPCs and we have 2022 not 2011. There is too overwhelming pathos: music, dialogs. Maybe it was fine back in the day but today I feel it makes narrative flat. Interactions with the world are boring and even though I tried 3 times I can't force myself to play more in this game.… Expand
  27. 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.
  28. 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.
  29. 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
  30. Traxillion
    Dec 11, 2021
    7
    Unique, well-written, surprising, and interesting throughout it all, The Forgotten City is a great game that deserves your time.
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Awards & Rankings

21
#21 Best PC Game of 2021
45
#45 Most Discussed PC Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 34 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 34
  3. Negative: 0 out of 34
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 30, 2024
    100
    The creators from Modern Storyteller, have done what others can't - they have managed to turn a successful modification into a standalone game that is receiving acclaim on all sides. Excellent production values (especially for an indie game) meet with well-crafted and original game design to create a truly unique experience. [Issue#317]
  2. 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
  3. 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
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