Forgotten Fields

Forgotten Fields is the new narrative driven game from Frostwood Interactive. You play as Sid, a writer who is struggling to come up with an idea for his second novel. With his inspiration drawing a blank and  the deadline fast approaching, he takes the only logical step he can… Sacking off the assignment until the very last minute as he’s called back to his family home.

At A Glance

Visuals	7/ 10
Sound	8/ 10
Gameplay	4/ 10
Overall	6/ 10

 

Positives	+ Engrossing story
	+ In depth characters
	+ Fantastic settings
Negatives	– Gameplay is a little basic
	– Technical Issues severely hamper the experience
	– Controls are nothing to write home about

 

Forgotten Fields draws similarities to games like Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture and What Remains of Edith Finch. In short, a game that is light on gameplay and heavy on the narrative that will last you the best part of an afternoon. What little gameplay we do have isn’t anything to write home about. Presented as a point-and-click-cum-walking simulator, you move Sid from one person or object to another. It serves a purpose but does not inspire any feelings of joy.

But then it’s worth remembering that Forgotten Fields is a narrative driven game and  I’m pleased to report that Frostwood Interactive absolutely delivers in this respect. I fell in love with the plot and characters straightaway;there were moments that made me think I wasn’t playing as Sid, rather we were learning the game’s morals together. Heck, we even shared the same sentiment towards music right down to the year.

The Indian state of Goa is the main inspiration for the Forgotten Fields–  unfortunately one  similarity that Sid and I do not share. The tropical beaches and rural living is an idyllic setting and would certainly inspire me to do anything I needed to! At certain points in the game, you’re transported to the world Sid is trying to create. His character is re-enacting the story he is uncovering, albeit in a fantasy setting. These sections were enjoyable and added length to Forgotten Fields without it feeling forced, and broke up the sunny beach scenes with deep and rich forests. For the most part, the graphical direction of Forgotten Fields compliments the story telling but it’s not all sunshine and smooth sailing.

There is one major problem with Forgotten Fields, how the game ran. On more than one occasion I came across glitches that had me sticking through a sofa, or not walking down a staircase during an escape scene. The worst problem I encountered was when Sid wanted to go off for a swim.- the game takes you into a first-person mode where I could only go in one direction.

I do acknowledge this review is a pre-release version of the game – in fact, fixes dropped a couple of times throughout my playthrough and I have every confidence that Frostwood Interactive will fix these issues going forward. It’s just unfortunate that I can only base my opinions on what I experienced and the issues did detract from the game significantly.

Forgotten Fields is a corker of a game. The beautiful story takes you on a sizable journey despite the short run time; it had me engrossed and packed a punch on more than one occasion. The choices made at key moments in the game felt meaningful for both Sid’s life as well as my own. Regrettably, the technical limitations hold the game back in a significant way and keep Frostwood Interactive from realising their vision for the game. When these issues are fixed, and I’m sure they will be, I would have no problem increasing the score to something Sid would be more proud of.

In the interest of full disclosure, the publisher provided VGamingNews with a copy of the game in order to conduct this review.