Forgotton Anne Review (PS4)
Forgotton Anne grabbed my interest the moment I saw the gorgeous, fully-animated trailer for it, accompanied by a soaring orchestral score, and it was very reminiscent of Studio Ghibli. The 2D side-scroller is what I wanted it to be, and I fell in love with the game’s magical nature and the developer’s creative imagination.
You play as Anne, a solitary Enforcer, who works to keep the peace in the Forgotten Lands. When items from our world go missing, such as the odd sock or a discarded toy, they find a new home among other similar beings known as Forgotlings. Each Forgotling is put the work, and Anne ensures that those who are fit to work do work, and so she isn’t best liked by the Forgotlings. Ann, with the power of her Arca, is able to distill – to kill – Forgotlings, and so begins her journey to capture the rebels who are out to take down Master Baku.
The rich world of the forgotten and Anne’s personal inner turmoil come together to deliver a heartfelt game which ThroughLine Games should be proud of.
Its story is set up wonderfully and it’s larger than I’d ever have guessed, and I found myself glued for the final few hours of the game. The rich world of the forgotten and Anne’s personal inner turmoil come together to deliver a heartfelt game which ThroughLine Games should be proud of. Forgotton Anne is a strong debut, and among its many achievements is in how many times it tripped me up because its unique style of forgotten isn’t spelt with an e!
The 2D side-scroller gameplay is fluid, and there’s plenty to explore and do in the Forgotten Lands. I missed out on various trophies which also means I missed out on a bunch of cool opportunities to talk with more characters, despite being pretty thorough with my first playthrough. I returned to experience the second ending and a few other things, which is easily done as you unlock a level select after you’ve completed it once.
There’s a wonderfully executed vision here, and it’s clearly brimming with love.
You’ll have gathered this if you’ve seen any screenshots or trailers for Forgotton Anne, but it’s an absolutely beautiful game. I was in awe of how gorgeous the game is during my eight or so hours of playing, and each hand-drawn animation, design and locale is breathtaking. There’s a wonderfully executed vision here, and it’s clearly brimming with love. I adore Anne’s simple but striking design, and the various animated objects are overflowing with personality – the animation work is simply outstanding, and each movement is mesmerising.
Many fantasy works tends to have European tendencies, and Forgotton Anne is no different with its British accents. There’s plenty of voiced dialogue and each character is notably different from one another, and it helps to bring life to the fantastical world that’s been created. The game’s sweeping soundtrack, and its visuals of course, remind me a little bit of Studio Ghibli, which is very high praise.
Forgotton Anne is a brilliant debut.
Forgotton Anne is a brilliant debut and Square Enix Collective, and its fans, have done well in picking this title to support and release. There’s so much love and care here across all aspects, and the final product is one that all parties involved have every right to be proud of. A second playthrough is encouraged due to many of the easily-missed trophies, and other choices available to make that have an outcome on the story and how other characters interact with you, and for its cheap price point you can’t go wrong with Forgotton Anne.
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