5/5 ★ – lupincentral's review of The Forgotten City.

“The Many Shall Suffer for the Sins of the One” My word. What a special game this is. Every now and again, a game comes along that completely sweeps me off my feet. I go in with little to no expectations, and I come out of it on the other side thinking it was the best thing since sliced bread. “The Forgotten City” was one of those games, for me, and I cannot stop recommending it to people. As a story driven game with focus on dialogue, character action, and decision-making, it is ideal to go in with little to no knowledge about what it involves. The basic concept is: the player gets transported back in time to a Roman style city, where if one person sins, everyone dies. It is prophesized that a member of the community is about to commit a sin, and you must find out who, when and where, then stop them. Of course, not all is as it seems. The concept was enough to hook me, but this game goes places. As it did, I fell deeper down the hole, and consistently struggled to stop playing at the end of each evening, at the expense of a good nights sleep… It isn't perfect. Technically, it feels like an “Bethesda RPG Lite”, looking and playing rather like the game it was based upon, “The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim”. While some see this as a fault—to me, I thought this was impressive. The fact that this is a product predominantly made by a team of just three people, is just unbelievable in my eyes. The environments are gorgeous, the music chill, and the voice acting excellent—it's just a bit rough around the edges. What it lacks in polish and finesse, it makes up for in story. Everything has a superb level of detail. Characters matter, and I became attached to some, and grew hatred for others. If you make a dialogue decision, and think something might become of it, it very likely will. And, if you are in the right place at the right time, you will just as likely see said thing play out. I could talk about this game for hours, but I do not want to post spoilers, and I'd advise you to check it out. It is currently free on Gamepass, but easily worth the asking price. If you don't mind slower paced, dialogue heavy games with a focus on intrigue and story, do not miss this. 10/10 ---------------------------- Despite imperfections, I feel that “The Forgotten City” has a unique concept, and it is executed beautifully. As such, it fully deserves a perfect score. I cannot wait to see what this small development team go on to do next. Played on an Xbox Series X.