Skip to main content

Forgotton Anne review - masterly storytelling in a fantastical world

You will remember this.

Eurogamer.net - Recommended badge
Deftly written and designed, Forgotton Anne is proof that seemingly small, simple things are well worth treasuring.

I wish I could just tell you that Forgotton Anne is brilliant and wrap things up there. I want to leave you to go enjoy it without saying anything else, because that's the way this story should be encountered. It's a game about a lack of knowledge - yours, and Anne's - and how this can be both a curse and a blessing. It's a game about forgetting things and about loss, about remembering what you had and the cost of doing so. Best of all, it's a game which will win you over with its huge amount of heart.

Fine, then. Let's talk about the scarf. Within the first few minutes of playing you'll meet a living scarf. His name is Dilly, and he's a Forgotling - the name for the living objects in Anne's world. Comparing Forgotton Anne's style to Studio Ghibli seems a lazy comparison - it's anime, right? - but there's a definite inspiration from the whimsy of that studio's ideas. Anne's world is a place where the forgotten items from our reality end up and there, somehow, they find consciousness. And so you meet the scarf, Dilly, who has broken into your house.

There's been an explosion outside and Anne thinks it's rebels - and then you see Dilly snooping around, unable to explain why he's there. He's clearly a threat. You're the Enforcer, it turns out, one of just two humans in this world and who, together, have taken charge of it. He is just a scarf wearing a pair of glasses, but it is the natural reaction to stop him, of course - so you do. You have the power to distill a Forgotling, remove its life-force, and without any second warning the game lets you. Sapping out his energy using the Arca device on your wrist, the little scarf crumples motionless to the floor.

Watch on YouTube

I can appreciate when a game tells me I'm approaching a big decision or a point of no return. It's got to the point where it now feels a discourtesy not to do so, particularly in monolithic RPGs. But while Telltale does it and Life is Strange does it, Forgotton Anne does not. There are times when you are told an interaction's outcome "could have played out differently", but only after the fact. Without spoiling too much, it feels like the right decision. The method to simply scare Dilly the scarf is present - I've gone back and played it through again after finishing - but there's no reason you would use it at this point. Later, another Forgotling whose fate you decide can be scared off by just starting the distillation process but not continuing with it - something I discovered almost by accident while trying to work out how to avoid actually killing them. I wouldn't have even thought to do so at the game's beginning.

Forgotton Anne mixes its story with light platforming and puzzles which generally involve powering up bits of machinery and opening doors to progress. You do so with your Arca device, literally on hand, which can store one charge of energy at a time. The most frustrating this ever gets is when you are short an energy charge and need to go hunting further afield for one. Forgotton Anne is very much a linear game, but areas often allow you to roam back and forth a fair way, and there are lots of places to go digging around to meet extra characters and learn more about the world - which you should definitely do as much as possible. Doing some of these side-sections and using up energy there can leave you energy-less when it comes to finishing the next big progress-blocking puzzle, though - so there were a couple of times I had to backtrack a little and work out where I could draw more energy from.

Finding those characters and making those introductions is well worth the hassle, though. Forgotton Anne builds its world and enables Anne's slow, growing understanding of it through your meetings with its oddball mix of other Forgotlings: stoner lava lamps and childlike rocking horses, a feisty quill pen who works as a forger, and the motherly blanket who once belonged to a small child. The only other human character is your mentor, the distant and oddly-named Master Bonku, who is close to completing an invention which might take the two of you home to the real world. And then there's my favourite - the brilliantly written and performed Fig, the charismatic leader of the Forgotling rebels, who believes there's a better way for them to live than under your rule.

Anne has shades of BioShock Infinite's Elizabeth, who has grown up in a kind of isolation and developed a rather childlike understanding of the worlds she has seen. There are storytelling tricks which remind me of Bastion, and specifically Brothers: A Two Souls - where you realise you're doing something unprompted, because it simply feels the right thing to do in a situation, and only afterwards realise how the game has quietly led you there. Unlike those other games, though, there are narrative choices throughout. Whatever the game throws at you - and at points it gets particularly heavy - you feel in control of where it is headed. And when all is said and done you'll want to see what might have happened if you'd chosen differently, looked the other way.

It all comes back to that scarf. As the story concludes there's plenty of time for reflection on your journey through it, and I can't shake what is now a genuine guilt at how it all began. I want to say more about why and how, but I can't. Forgotton Anne is brilliant, and I'll wrap things up there.

Read this next

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com