Would you believe they put a Man on the Moon?

Another game has been given the boot from my Hall of Shame: To the Moon!

There's a wide variety of Indie games available on Steam - but with such a large number it becomes something of a challenge for one game to stand out from the rest. So why To the Moon? Well I'd heard that it was released 2011 but already gained a reputation for being one of the greatest tearjerkers ever conceived in gaming.
And my immediate response was: 'You're on Buster!'
Far be it from me to be a masochist who relishes in being depressed but I'm not one to back down from a challenge.

So what did I take away from this game upon it's completion?
What indeed....

Let me get this out of the way: To the Moon is a failure as game. There isn't much for the player to do except drive the player characters from one location to the next along an extremely linear path. There is little to do except solve small picture puzzles and collect objects within a contained environment. Many gamers, these days it seems, really hate how games are dictated by linearity and how their role as a player is reduced to nothing more than pushing the narrative forward.

So it pretty much falls to the story to hold this game up - and if that is the case then To the Moon's story would have a strength rating comparable to Hercules.
I won't give too much away but I've seen a lot of stories played out in gaming and To the Moon stands head and shoulders as one of the best. It was fascinating to see the life of a character play out, complete with bad luck and missed opportunities - I'm not sure if any other game has attempted this but I give Firebird credit for having the balls to do so. Also, it was great to see the use of symbolism and finding out how all the clues given over the course of the game slot into place. In addition, River proved to be a fascinating character and her romance with Johnny came across as nothing short of compelling. In fact, now that i think of it, this game really did work for me at a personal level - and if a game can do that then it must be a damn good one.
Mind you, the presence of the goofier moments of dialogue were puzzling. They seemed like they'd come in from a completely different game and an intrusion into the mood of the game. It could be argued that the goofy dialogue provided a relief for the player but somehow I doubt it was necessary.
And the conclusion? Well I didn't shed a tear - but I would be lying if I said I didn't feel a lump in my throat.

Also worthy of mention is the music (THE MUSIC!). There's only so many adjectives I can use but it's best people discover it for themselves - in fact now I feel kinda silly for buying the game on Steam and not the physical edition which included the soundtrack!

That being said does To the Moon work as a game? Could it have worked better as a movie? That's hard to say. It can't be argued that movies are indeed hard to get made these days (a statement made baffling considering the rubbish that sometimes gets made) so many people with great ideas are finding a different way to get them across - whether in comics or in games. Now whilst having a game that's completely story driven may sound like it's completely defeating the purpose of it being a game itself - but the story is such a strong one that playing To the Moon, I found myself all too willing to forget whatever shortcomings in the gameplay department.
And that in itself is worthy of a medal.