A truly beautiful, heartwarming and emotionally involving experience. You owe it to yourself to play this game...
The story of To The Moon revolves around two doctors, who work for a company who's primary job is to fulfill people's wishes. They are sent to a large manor atop a cliff-top, where they are to fulfill the final wish of an old dying man named Johnny. HIs wish is to visit the moon...
There is a problem however. In order to make a person's wish come true, the doctors must know exactly why the client has this desire, and Johnny tells them that he doesn't actually know why he wants this so badly. The doctors therefore must traverse through the man's memories, and uncover where this desire emerged from.
The story is fantastically deep, and handled in such a way that makes it believable, despite the inclusion of things like time travel. It's the conversations and interactions between characters that gives this game such a strong sense of believability and heart. Whether you're watching a conversation between Johnny and his terminally ill wife a few years in the past, or one between Johnny and his school-friend when he was a child, they are written in such a way that makes them instantly relatable, and they have such an air of real life about them.
The story itself contains many twists and surprises, some of them heartwarmingly beautiful, some of them heartbreakingly tragic. It's a tale that never becomes predictable, and will always have another brilliant revelation just around the corner.
I will not divulge the content of the story too much, as it is something you must experience yourself. But believe me when I say, it will move you in ways you are not expecting...
To The Moon also contains some fantastically funny moments throughout. These pieces of humour are so brilliantly written that I'd go as far as to say they rival the likes of Valve. The dialogue between the two doctors is consistently funny, with clever little insults and jokes always cropping up. Even early on in the game you are given a taste of the comedy that is to come. You come across a squirrel in the woods, and the game changes into a classic turn-based-combat RPG game, with amusing "attack" moves that you can select. It's fair to say the comedy is amazing throughout, but more importantly, it never undermines or interferes with the beauty of the main storyline. Freebird games did a phenomenal job with making sure that was the case.
The game also has a stunning musical score. The music throughout the entire experience adds so much depth, meaning and beauty to it all. The gorgeous melancholy piano that is the game's theme music is a work of art.
Music can always add emotion to a game, but it is rarely done as brilliantly as it is here. It rivals the likes of Metal Gear Solid with it's inclusion of music as an emotional tool.
I haven't touched on every aspect of what makes this game so truly great, but I have listed the ones which I hope will make you purchase it if you haven't already done so. I promise you that this is an experience more than worthy of it's small admission fee. If you consider yourself a true gamer, then you need to play To The Moon...