Forgotton Anne
(Subs, please check)
PC, PS4, Xbox One
Given how regularly it likes to revisit its glory days, it’s little wonder Square Enix is keen on games that deal with the subject of memory. Recently, it’s been focused on things left behind – though we’re not talking about the Secret Of Mana and Chrono Trigger remakes (and really, the less said about those the better). It’s only a few short months since Lost Sphear suggested that neglected towns and villages could simply vanish to nothing, physically blotted out of existence as people’s memories of them fade. This 2D adventure from Copenhagen-based ThroughLine Games has a gentler alternative: mislaid items blink out of sight and reappear in a different world, gaining sentience and taking jobs among a community of megaphones and petrol pumps, discarded socks and abandoned suitcases. After a few hours of play, alas, we’ve not yet encountered Square’s spellchecker.
All is not well in this world, however. Some of these Forgotlings have formed a rebellion, and the city is under attack, with power outages and explosions creating a panic among those who just want to get their ticket punched so they can be reunited with their former owners. As one of two humans charged with maintaining order, the eponymous Anne must investigate; when one Forgotling breaks into her watchtower, she’s given the option to ‘distill’ them, draining their life force – or Anima, as the game would have it – with a wrist-mounted device called the Arca. “This outcome could have been different”, you’re told – and yet, intriguingly, the game presents it as the most logical option. Later, upon finding another rebel, you’re asked to extract information from them by any means necessary: as she takes them to the brink of distillation before they spill the beans, it’s clear Anne’s job title, The Enforcer, is well earned. By any other name, this is torture, and we’re left feeling decidedly uncomfortable.
To get there, however, you’ll have to use the Arca in a very different way. Anima is also the world’s main energy source, and you’ll need to harness it across a series of puzzles that start gently and quickly become more involved. The Arca can only hold enough Anima to activate a single device, and will require a refill from another before it can be used again. An Animavision mode filters out everything apart from power lines and cylinders, highlighting them in glowing blue, and allowing you to divert Anima at junctions as well as turning things on or off. A further complicating factor comes in the form of mechanised wings, with which Anne can reach higher platforms, albeit only when the Arca is fully juiced. Occasionally, this feels a little too much like busywork: obstacles for the sake of obstacles, designed to temporarily prevent you from advancing the plot so you don’t reach the end too quickly. But other challenges are more engaging, and all the more satisfying to solve for the absence of handholding. Some benefit from the narrative context or presentation: though it seems there’s no time limit to stopping a runaway train, the soundtrack and visuals lend it a sense of urgency that means it’s a relief when you find the right solution.
Indeed, it almost goes without saying that this is an exceptionally pretty game: though a few close-ups disappoint, the hand-drawn art and animation is otherwise impeccable, combining a Studio Ghibli-esque warmth with the darkness – in both visuals and tone – of vintage Don Bluth. Yet there’s a lightness of touch, too, particularly in your interactions with the other Forgotlings: when an early quest sends you out to meet someone called Tiphany, it’s a delightful moment when she’s revealed to be a friendly lamp. Though a few questions remain over its platforming (see ‘Jumping lacks flash’), this is one world in which we’re looking forward to getting lost.
It’s a delightful moment when someone called Tiphany is revealed to be a friendly lamp