To the Moon: Simple, yet immensely emotional

Noirit Mustapha

Somewhere in the near future, technology has advanced enough to let scientists enter, and even alter, the memories of people.
The biggest group leading research in this field, Sigmund Corporation, makes profit by sending their scientists to dying patients and altering their memories to realize their lifelong wishes.
The two central figures to follow are doctors Eva Rosalene and Neil Watts. In a chapter of a planned series, they visit the house of an old man named Johnny, who tells them that he wishes to go to the moon. Given no other clue, except the possibility that his late wife River is connected to it, the player must guide Neil and Eva through Johnny’s memories and help them to fulfill a dying man’s final wish.
There is little to be said about the game play of ‘To the Moon’. In fact, it is nonexistent most of the time. The game is made in RPG Maker XP, and it makes no effort to hide that in its simple, classic art style and assets.
The player mostly guides Eva and Neil through the story, while solving some puzzles along the way. However, ‘To the Moon’ remains even now, one of the best examples of game play not being integral to a game.
The game’s narrative and soundtrack is where it gains so much of its praise, thanks to writer Kan Gao’s expertly woven twists and heartbreaking moments, and Laura Shigihara compositions. Tears will fall when the main song of the game hits near the end of the game.
All in all, ‘To the Moon’ tells an exceptionally engaging and emotional story through simple gestures and text boxes, juxtaposing them with a beautiful soundtrack to complement each and every mood. It has some laughs, a lot of drama, and remains one of the timeless examples of video games as a medium of art simply because of that. 

To the Moon: Simple, yet immensely emotional

Noirit Mustapha Somewhere in the near future, technology has advanced enough to let scientists enter, and even alter, the memories of people. The biggest group leading research in this field, Sigmund Corporation, makes profit by sending their scientists to dying patients and altering their memories to realize their lifelong wishes. The two central figures to follow are doctors Eva Rosalene and Neil Watts. In a chapter of a planned series, they visit the house of an old man named Johnny, who tells them that he wishes to go to the moon. Given no other clue, except the possibility that his late wife River is connected to it, the player must guide Neil and Eva through Johnnys memories and help them to fulfill a dying mans final wish. There is little to be said about the game play of To the Moon. In fact, it is nonexistent most of the time. The game is made in RPG Maker XP, and it makes no effort to hide that in its simple, classic art style and assets. The player mostly guides Eva and Neil through the story, while solving some puzzles along the way. However, To the Moon remains even now, one of the best examples of game play not being integral to a game. The games narrative and soundtrack is where it gains so much of its praise, thanks to writer Kan Gaos expertly woven twists and heartbreaking moments, and Laura Shigihara compositions. Tears will fall when the main song of the game hits near the end of the game. All in all, To the Moon tells an exceptionally engaging and emotional story through simple gestures and text boxes, juxtaposing them with a beautiful soundtrack to complement each and every mood. It has some laughs, a lot of drama, and remains one of the timeless examples of video games as a medium of art simply because of that.