Not really a game, more like an interactive story. But a good one at that.
With the help of special machine you access a dying man's memories, find some memorable object from his past, that allow you to jump further to the past, all the way to his childhood memories, and while there, implant a desire to go to the moon, so that his memories of his entire life would be altered in a way that in the end he'd become an astronaut and fly to the moon.
A touching story, which isn't as much about getting to the moon, as it is about the main character's life. I enjoyed it all the way, although the last act and ending were a bit too cheesy for my taste.
Characters in the story are mostly love-or-hate. I'm mostly inclined towards the hating. Especially Dr. Watts, one of the 2 playable characters. His stupid and childish behavior made me question his competency as an actual doctor of science.
While playing the game, I remembered a quote from Ghost in the Shell SAC - that Japanese have great imagination, but they just can't create realistic and believable characters. And this is true for almost all Japanese games.
Gameplay in To the Moon is almost non-existent. Finding objects scattered around the place, and a few mini-games just don't do for me anymore.
All the wondering around is just a way for the player to witness important days in the life of the main character. Which makes To the Moon more of an interactive story, rather than a game. The game is super-easy, with no challenge whatsoever, and can be finished in about 4 hours (which might be about right, for the budget price).
The technical aspects, like graphics and sound, didn't impress me as well. I really don't mind old-school graphics, if they're done with care. But this seems like just quickly put together in RPG Maker, and with few exceptions the environments are very unimpressive.
Music is quite enjoyable, and sets the mood well. But there are too few tracks that repeat too often, and there's no way to turn the music down to hear ambient sounds.
I can't say I disliked To the Moon. The story really is what holds the game. But I'd appreciate if I could do more than watch cut scenes, read dialogues, pick up items, and play an occasional minigame.