The Forgotten City Reviews

The Forgotten City is ranked in the 91st percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
7.5 / 10.0
Jul 30, 2021

The Forgotten City turned out to be an amazing adventure, with a very well conceived story and an original use of the time loop mechanic. Too bad for the lack of Italian localization, which will prevent the non-English speakers from enjoying the title.

Review in Italian | Read full review

8 / 10
Jul 30, 2021

As far as time loop games go, The Forgotten City has the Midas touch. It’s easy to see just how much care has gone into the story of the game so that it not only pulls the player in, but dares them to test the possible realities. The characters all feel real and they drive the player to find the truth before the Golden Rule is broken and the loop must reset. The developers have been careful to create a narrative that, while repetitive in practice, still keeps the player engaged in the wider narrative of the world through exploration and discovery. Combat in the game remains questionable, but the gold bow is its saving grace. If you’re after a game that will keep you guessing as you move closer to the truth, then The Forgotten City is fittingly worthy of your gold.

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84 / 100
Jul 29, 2021

An intriguing mystery adventure with outstanding writing and performances.

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10 / 10.0
Jul 28, 2021

The Forgotten City is a beauty to behold no matter the eye, a deeply contemplative story matched with wonderful puzzles based in classical antiquity.

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7.7 / 10.0
Jul 28, 2021

It’s a masterclass in storytelling and a great first release for Modern Storyteller.

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Unscored
Jul 28, 2021
The Forgotten City - Review (PC 4k) video thumbnail
GameMAG
Top Critic
6 / 10
Jul 28, 2021

The Forgotten City is a project that came to be from the fan mod for Skyrim. It's a game with an interesting concept and narrative, that suffers from weak visuals, pacing issues, and shoehorned action sections.

Review in Russian | Read full review

8 / 10.0
Jul 28, 2021

The Forgotten City expands upon the original concept of a small mod and has been developed into a rich and well-balanced experience. While its gameplay is simple, its narrative and atmosphere shine through. A great game from start to end, The Forgotten City is a perfect gem for gamers who love a mystery. More than that though, it’s a fantastic game that explores the complexity of morality and challenges players to do the same long after its completion.

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9 / 10.0
Jul 28, 2021

The Forgotten City’s biggest asset is its intricate story with so many great twist and turns but as game made by a very small team, the graphics and voice acting are also surprisingly top notch. This is one of those great mods that has become an even better stand-alone game.

Review in Persian | Read full review

9 / 10.0
Jul 27, 2021

I've got a few nitpicks, but when I take a moment to loop back to the good... The Forgotten City is damn great. It's a story that had me hooked from beginning to end with layers I eagerly peeled back, before realizing I was staring at an epic worthy of being told amongst the Roman and Greek greats.

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9 / 10
Jul 27, 2021

A lovingly crafted title that sets a new standard for narrative-driven adventures. A must buy for anyone who likes feeling smart and solving mysteries, fans of Groundhog Day, and Roman history buffs.

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80 / 100
Jul 27, 2021

Choices matter, both in life and in The Forgotten City, which uses ancient Roman beliefs about morality, ethics, and law to subtly comment on our present-day conflicts. But it’s never heavy-handed and what you’ll mostly pay attention to are the characters and their needs, your own objectives, the mysterious city, and the clever way time loops and puzzle-solving work together. Whether you play it once or try for the multiple alternative endings, The Forgotten City is a unique adventure.

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Jul 27, 2021

The Forgotten City certainly doesn’t need to answer the philosophical questions that it poses before it’s allowed to examine them in a narrative context, but the ludicrously tidy conclusions to the main story and most side quests feel like substitutes for any deep engagement. The game handily transcends its mod origins and tells an ambitious and thought-provoking story, but it eventually reaches a point where it doesn’t seem sure how to end.

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9 / 10
Jul 27, 2021

Deftly written, smart, and consistently clever, The Forgotten City makes for a rousing, spirited adventure that is well worth taking part in. I wish it were longer, but that doesn't do much to knock what has been accomplished here.

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IGN
Top Critic
9 / 10.0
Jul 27, 2021

The Forgotten City does a fabulous job exploring interesting moral quandaries through excellently written dialogue and characters.

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TheGamer
Top Critic
Jul 27, 2021

Ultimately, though, The Forgotten City is one of those games that will inspire other games for years to come. It’s absurd to think it was mostly developed by a three-person team, and yet the clear, unanimous focus a team this small permits is evident throughout the entire game. It is clever not just in terms of its story or themes, but in how it packages and delivers those themes through one of the most inspired and tight gameplay loops I’ve seen in a long time.

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8.5 / 10.0
Jul 27, 2021

Utterly absorbing and rarely anything less than completely fascinating, The Forgotten City is an intoxicating microcosm of Ancient Roman society embedded in a dialogue heavy adventure and wrapped around one of the most smartly designed mysteries and sleuthing yarns to come along in a good long while. Occasional technical creakiness and issues aside, it's a deeply pleasant irony that The Forgotten City will remain long in your memory after the credits have completed their roll the first, second, third and fourth time.

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9.5 / 10.0
Jul 27, 2021

Ironically, The Forgotten City is a game I’ll never forget – it’s a brilliant narrative adventure that requires you to think about how your actions will affect others in order to achieve your goal. I never played the original mod but if it was even half as good as this, I can see why it was universally praised by the three million people who played it – it’s a very unique and well-executed concept combined with an interesting narrative, fun gameplay, satisfying multi-possibility solutions, and trophies that push you to change the way you play the game. All-in-all, it’s a fantastic experience that is best played with no guides or walkthrough, simply set aside a few hours and see if you can solve the many small events which lead up to the big mystery.

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85 / 100
Jul 27, 2021

The Forgotten City transports us fully to the Roman era and does it with great skill, with a totally engaging story and very original gameplay mechanics that together work wonders. The recreation of the Roman villa is spectacular and we will not stop until we discover all its secrets. To put the negative point, the performance and the graphic section is not his forte.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

JVL
Jivé
Top Critic
18 / 20
Jul 27, 2021

In the genre, it has been years since such a "confidential" puzzle/adventure game (4 people) had not been so blown away by its script and its mastery of the narrative. Even if the branches are not infinite and the lifespan is ultimately quite limited, the game questions as much as it fascinates.

Review in French | Read full review