The Forgotten City

Review based on patch 1.3.0

Story:

After being saved from drowning by a mysterious woman named Karen, the player character is asked to search for her friend who went missing in the nearby ruins. While exploring the ruins, the player stumbles into a restored version of the city during the time of the Roman Empire. The handful of residents living there - which include ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans - all follow a "Golden Rule", where if any of them were to commit a sin, everyone would be turned to gold as punishment by the gods. No one is sure what counts as a punishable sin, but the magistrate asks the player to use their status as the 'newcomer' to discover who is most likley to sin.

Gameplay:

The player has the ability to loop time - repeating the same day while retaining both physical objects and information obtained from the previous loop. The narrative is one that discourages violence, brute force and combat, and instead asks the player to talk, listen, and think. It delves heavily into moral philosophy, asking questions such as what counts as a sin? Who gets to decide what is right and what is wrong? Does cultural context matter? Rufius for example, has a condition that causes him extreme pain and makes him irritable, which he takes out on Vergil. With treatment Rufius becomes much more pleasant and takes steps to correct his previous bad actions. If Rufius couldn't control his behavior before treatment, then how responsible is he for his actions? Desius has the only medicine that can save a woman's life, but will only part with it for an exorbitant sum of money. Is the Golden Rule then to blame for creating an environment where anyone who can't afford treatment must die? The player can always steal the medicine and carry it over into the next loop, essentially duplicating the item, but is this moral? A life will be spared, but to obtain this item everyone will need to be turned to gold at least once. It is a loophole the player is exploiting, not unlike how Desius operates. The narrative also explores society's relationship with its laws, religion, history, and cultural appropriation. The Greek residents for example, think the Romans appropriated their religion and the Egyptians think the Greeks appropriated theirs, but are resistant to the idea that they did the same to the Sumerians. I don't want to give too much away because this game is best experienced blind. It is roughly 6 hours long but very well written and thought provoking.

"If there is one thing I have observed about rules, it is that virtuous people do not need them, and evil people will always find a way around them." -The Hermit