I played To The Moon

I could talk about game play and graphics here, but the truth is this is a game you play for the story. That's going to be my focus this time. I'm still going to try to avoid spoilers so I won't talk much about what happens. I could tell the whole story, but it wouldn't have the impact that it does when you play the game yourself. And I highly recommend that you do.

This takes place in a modern setting, with one particular piece of curious technology. There's a machine that lets people enter the minds of others. (Kind of like in inception.) And a company uses this to help the dying realize their life long dreams.

Once inside their patient's mind they use their machine to create a whole new set of memories for them to implant and overwrite the memories currently there. All as a means to provide somekind of comfort to those at the end of their life.

The morals of this are dubious if you ask me. Just on a personal level my memories are to precious to sacrifice (even on my deathbed) for a fantasy. Even the most horrible things I can remember are too important to me. But this is a fictional technology in a video game, so let's run with it.

Your character and her partner arrives at a beautiful cliff side lighthouse home where an old man is at the end of his life. He has no family and is kept company by a woman he hired to care for his house, along with her children.

His life long dream was to visit the moon. And you're going to help him accomplish that. No matter the cost.

To do this you have to experience his life, and find out what needs to be changed to create the memories to lead to fulfilling that goal. You meet his wife, and experience their love going back through their lives, all the way into their childhood. Even knowing how it ends the game manages to throw a twist that changes so much of what you experienced. Learning why he wants to go to the moon. A why that he's likely long forgotten himself.

There's so much of this story that's sad and sweet, even mixed with some good humor, and throwing in a little suspense to boot. And it's not some mess like one might believe with so many elements to it. It's all timed and executed wonderfully. I cannot emphasize enough just how well this story is told. I love to write, and could never hope to tell a story as well as this.

And like all stories the characters are vital. They're written believably, and have great interactions. The whole story flows naturally, only slowing down at the parts that make it a game instead of something more akin to a movie.

And you can't count out the original sound track from the game. It emphasizes the story so well, with lighthearted pieces, lovely tunes, and a centerpiece that has a very powerful part. Piano takes the focus of the music, as the piano has an important part in the story. But it is often backed with some very good strings.

I'm not any good at describing music, so I only leave it with a blurb. And unfortunately that's not enough to do justice to much of the music I hear in games.

As I said at the beginning, this is a game you play for the story, and you really should. I know there's sequels, and I haven't played them yet. But I will. And if this caliber of story telling holds through the series I know I'll be in for a treat.

So, what do you see when you look into the night sky?