Never Forgotten

Just over 2 hours in length or so, Never Forgotten is a excellently told story, building gameplay elements up slowly over time, and growing an initially simple combat system by spinning it mechanically into the narrative of the game. Puzzles are simple, but intriguingly laid out. Environments are minimalist and skilfully utilised to create a mix of foreboding and wonder. Creature design, music, and the text all start seeming foreign from each other, dissonant and separated, but blend perfectly by the end. This game honestly has one of the best realisation of mechanics as storytelling I've ever seen in a final sequence. Three things I'd say: First - Go in with no information on the plot, how to play, all of it. Just learn as you go. Second - Play it all at once if you can. It's short enough to do, and it absolutely benefits you to do so. Third - The game almost thematically demand you take moments to stop and just sit with things from time to time. In fact, the music will often abruptly cut off when you switch screens, or engage with key objects. I 100% suggest you take your time in these moments to really get the full experience. If you're even vaguely interested in storytelling through games as a medium, this one is a must.

God i hate the combat in this lmfao, that final boss is pissing me off, good game still, I just have ginormous skill issues

This game is well worth the download, the art and music blend together so well, and the story, though confusing at times, is beautiful. Peak game.

An emotional and captivating game that will leave it’s mark on you. Never Forgotten does what some of my favorite games do, bring me to tears through a heartfelt story while keeping me enthralled by fun game-play, challenging bosses, stunning art, and a soundtrack that I will definitely be listening to a lot more. Puzzles that will have you scratching your head sometimes but easy enough for all players to enjoy is the main game play aspect of the game that is thoroughly enjoyable and helps drive the story that is being shown. The enemy fights are easy enough to understand and the way it builds on itself on later segments of the game makes for a semi-difficult yet fun time. The art. The art I could gawk at for hours and still not get enough, the dark, black and white of the world combined with the detailed flesh scenery and monsters the developer makes leaves me begging for more. Now the soundtrack, is truly what ties everything together and makes the game for me. I would sometimes find myself sitting in a room/ area or idle on a boss fight just so I could listen to the entire track. From Gentle and somber piano, to tracks with catchy electronic sounds with beautiful melodies (reminiscent of Celeste), to intense drums and beats. There is a track that fits perfectly with every mood the game wants to convey and raises my enjoyment of the game by a lot. The story itself doesn't reveal itself too blatantly but instead uses the flesh covered world to leave you enticed and reveals itself more and more in game play as you progress and explore which I find to be a pretty ideal way of storytelling. As for the contents of the story, I think anyone who is thinking of getting this game should see for themselves, I don't want to spoil but i'll say that by the end it left me in tears. The game isn't necessarily perfect but the game did everything it set out to do and I couldn't ask for anything more. As for the developer, If this is what you can do with your first game on here, I can't wait until we see what you have in store for us next.

unequivocally peak

If you liked the Faith trilogy, I would give Never Forgotten a go. Faith has demons and puzzles and jump scares, Never Forgotten has demons and puzzles and the sinking feeling of dread as you start to assemble all of the pieces to find out why exactly the protagonist is having to confront literal and metaphorical demons in the darkness. (There are gameplay elements that remind me a little of Undertale, too, so I wouldn't be surprised if that was also a design influence.) But let me be clear: Never Forgotten is its own game; I never felt like I was playing a Faith clone. I play a lot of "walking simulators" and games where the story is "the point" of the game. Indie devs are the ones still carrying the torch - few walking simulators have the potential to be a viral, commercial success for a AAA (or quad-A! :P) studio - and I appreciate the creative but still highly polished games like this one giving people like me spooky and emotional stories to enjoy.

What a beautiful game, the music is amazing thank you so much creator <3

buy

This was an interesting late night play, although I will say that the tags are a little misleading, at least for me. If's more psychological horror than anything else using survival horror elements to better convey its message and atmosphere. The game started a little slow, was at its best in the middle and dragged a lot at the end. First, I would like to put here something that helped me a lot, written in another review, so that it stays "on top" : Long story short: final boss fight HOLD ON only (don't take dmg) UNTIL u are max health and def (it will say you can't get any stronger), then PERSIST only. It's not the most obvious thing to do especially if u take dmg/ alternate the two or simply played this in one sitting and are tired by the end. This will make the finale so much better for you. Now, the pros and cons (in my opinion): Pros: - The story is built up very well up until the end, it's vague enough that it's not obvious from the get go, yet with enough specifics that u can piece it together, when u combine it with the symbolism and general atmosphere. - The puzzles and fights are simple, but it feels intentional. Meaning that they are there simply there to help build up certain feelings, rather than trying to actually provide a survival horror experience. They are trying to convey a message in an interactive way and I think they nail that for the most part managing to inspire less intense variants of feelings and experiences common through grief, depression and the grueling path of healing. - The music and art are REALLY GOOD (wish there was more, an epilogue art would be nice) and more importantly, tailored to the story. Together they create the game's personal vibe. Cons: - I think the end drags on too much, I think I understand the reasoning behind it, but it's the only part that falls short for me story wise. It ends up feeling repetitive (again, I get why, healing is a pain in the a*s for the most part), but instead of managing like the rest of the game, through it's design to convey a message/feeling, it ends up being simply annoying from a game perspective. The frequent "headache" stops, the longs walks with not much to see or hear, all before a boss fight that without what I wrote earlier is disproportionality harder than the rest, with the 1st time that I feel the music doesn't fit the feelings and atmosphere it has built up until then, instead breaking that trying to actually provide an rpg boss fight that feels a little forced with 3 stages, the last two of which flopping both in consolidating the story's finale and from a design pov. The ending afterwards is unsatisfying, dragging on more than it should (the too fragmented and long epilogue dialogue, the meh walk through the house that could have been just the long piano playing) without succeeding in properly offering an emotional relief. - If you understand that the fights and puzzles and item interactions are more metaphors than anything else and u are okay with that great (as I have said in pros), but if u actually expect survival horror? it's really not your game. It's simply not designed to provide that for you. At the end, those elements become really same-ish (which serves the story well, though again I would argue it's a lil' too long of a segment). - THE BIGGEST CON BY FAR: in MANY sections it's not clear at all where u can expect an invisible wall or not, where u can't or can walk. It's annoying to say the least and it really does not feel intended, just bad map design. - The music is good, but sound direction at times falls through. Sometimes it's way to quiet and then it becomes way too loud suddenly. Oscillation are expected to create atmosphere, but this is too much. Also the flashing lights are really for nothing here in my opinion, they add nothing aside from a literal headache. THAT BEING SAID: If u keep in mind what i said above and want an interesting and short experience (for me it was worth it as I bought this at a sale ), it's worth it. I will not put it in the same league as undertale, but it provides a lot from that intention. It's a pretty great game considering it seems like the 1st game of a solo dev and with a sale u can get it for close to nothing.