Forgotton Anne

Forgotton Anne has thrilled us in every possible way. Its story is packed to the rafters with charm, amazement, tension, and doubt. The gameplay satisfies in every key area with challenging puzzles and skilful platforming, and it’s these mechanics that get to accommodate a gorgeous art style which will live on long in our hearts. You need to experience Forgotton Anne for yourself, because the package as a whole is really quite special.

A fusion of East and West that will leave you breathless precisely for the agility and simplicity with which they intertwine different forms of art.

Deftly combining platforming, puzzle-solving and a non-linear narrative, Forgotton Anne is a uniquely beautiful experience that everybody should try.

A strange world where objects come to life is beautifully depicted with rich animations, making Forgotton Anne feel and look like a full-fledged anime movie. However, while the pacing is good, the puzzles in the latter half of the game lack variation. Some cutscenes could have had better animation, and the Japanese translation has room for improvement. Still, this is a magical adventure that is well worth your time nonetheless.

Forgotten Anne isn’t revolutionnary in any way but still, it finds a good balance between narration and gameplay and brings the player in a unforgottable journey.

While stiff in some ways, Forgotton Anne is gorgeous, and has one of the freshest and most charming worlds and story we've seen in a long while. It'll definitely linger in the memory. [Issue#150, p.92]

Forgotton Anne tells a wonderful story about the importance of memories, the feelings and some modern problems of our society. Artistically wonderful, the game is a bit too guided and offers simple puzzles.

A charming audiovisual experience, supported by a rich playable system despite having some shortcomings.

A bizarre mix of weighty subject matter and cartoon presentation that somehow works perfectly in portraying a morally complex world and its characters.

While it may not be adding tricks at every turn to the platformer genre or making a name for itself with its minimal puzzles, Forgotton Anne will surely win many over with its gorgeous, animated visuals and more importantly, its sense of wonder.

A visually striking puzzle platformer with a great plotline and excellent voice acting.

The way it develops a detailed world, full of unique and interesting characters, while keeping the central story compelling and surprising, is remarkable, especially in such a short period of time.

Engaging puzzles and colorful personalities set to a negative landscape make Forgotton Anne a delightful tale that is accessible to anyone vaguely interested in the genre.

Puzzles provide an opportunity for creativity and critical thinking, but not all puzzles were needed or even made sense, which left feelings of confusion more than anything else. Despite its flaws, Forgotton Anne has such fantastic qualities that may charm you to overlook these inconveniences.

It’s a wonderful story with unique characters and enthralling illustrations. The story would have been better as a linear plot unmarred by gimmicky decision points.

It's aimed at people who's looking for a video game experience rather than a traditional video game, and that's precisely its main strength. Supported by a great presentation, it's a story worth discovering.

A gorgeous 2D adventure game with light puzzles, platforming and branching narrative choices. Some design decisions slow the pace down negatively, but the story and the reveal of your decisions have devastating impact.

Creative storytelling, great design, and middling gameplay make a memorable, yet flawed, adventure. [July 2018, p.76]

ThroughLine Games made the right call in keeping the anima puzzles and platforming elements relatively simple, as well as not allowing Anne to die. These decisions ensure a steady and progressive flow, keeping the spotlight on the game's greatest strengths. With that said, considering how gorgeous the animation work is, it's a shame that the platforming itself feels somewhat cumbersome, and not particularly fluid. Regardless, this is an excellent side-scrolling adventure.

A beautiful, yet sadly dystopian game. Unfortunately, the playing itself is the least funny part of the game. It’s a must-buy for fans of the Ghiblian-style animation, for others an interesting probe into your own conscience. It’s an enjoyable experience, however you do have to overcome the bad controls during jumping passages, fortunately the game doesn’t have many of those.

Capturing the essence of classic animated films, Forgotton Anne is a gorgeous game to look at and tells a whimsical tale of forgotten things come to life. As lovely as the style is, it also affects the substance of the game, with the low frame rate animations leading to awkward feeling platforming and some puzzles that are rough around the edges. If you can look past the flaws, there’s still a rather lovely and charming tale here to explore.