When listing the Best and most engaging mystery adventure RPGs I’ve played, The Forgotten City is top on the list. The game was developed by Modern Storyteller and published by Dear Villagers in collaboration with Film Victoria. Although the Mod was released in 2015, the full game wasn’t released until 2021. The Forgotten City is currently available on PS 4 and 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and MS Windows. The game is also available on Nintendo Switch (cloud-based version). 

An RPG Set in a Medieval City

The Forgotten City is an award-winning game that has captured the hearts of gamers across the globe. This innovative RPG brings to life the daily lives of ancient Romans, one of the fascinating periods in history. It is also one of the most poorly documented periods, making The Forgotten City an incredibly unique and exciting piece of interactive fiction.

My favorite thing about this game is that it breaks away from the Elder Scrolls world, giving the game a fresh perspective and a new story. The many twists and turns in the Storyline, as well as the adventure, is sure to keep you thrilled and entertained all through. 

A Mysterious Awakening and an Unexpected Mission 

As you begin the game, you will find yourself by a beautiful river —Tiber. Standing next to you is a cloaked figure looking all scary and mysterious. Next, you will create an avatar for your avatar, after which you’re ready to begin your missions. Your first mission in The Forgotten City is to find Al, a stranger who is said to have suddenly disappeared without a trace. That’s all from Skyrim and the Tiber River, as you will find yourself in the ancient city of Rome. A beautiful sight, I must say. 

The Forgotten City is not just challenging but entertaining. Also, the art style is impressive and quite remarkable. You’ll be able to explore various areas, each with its own set of challenges and mysteries that you need to solve or overcome to progress in your adventure!

A Mysterious Storyline About a Mysterious City

In The Forgotten City, the player has to make his way through an ancient Roman city to discover what happened to its inhabitants. The game’s story revolves around the idea that the past is not as forgotten as we thought. 

While playing the game, your investigation leads you to different parts of the city, where you must search for clues to help you locate the missing Al. After solving puzzles and finding clues to your case, you find out that there is more to your investigation than just a random murder case. There is something strange going on in the entire city, and it’s up to you to figure out what it is. Thankfully, all of your answers lie within The Forgotten City! 

It Feels Like You’re Taking an Adventurous Tour in Ancient Rome

It’s hard to discuss the fun, innovative elements of The Forgotten City without first gushing about the game’s hauntingly beautiful aesthetic, which I fell in love with as soon as I saw it. While the top-down 2D graphics aren’t exactly unique on their own, the thoughtful design and unique touches added by the developers add up to a visual experience that’s unlike anything else I’ve seen before, and that simply begs you to spend time exploring every nook and cranny of the city.

The Forgotten City design perfectly captures the design of the ancient roman empire in such a way that makes you feel like you suddenly travelled back in time. The architectural designs are superb, accurately representing various landmarks and public buildings. I could freely walk across the city through the Aqueducts, making exploration more fun and adventurous. 

Few Residents, So Many Unclear Rules

As you progress into the game, you will find less than 30 residents in the entire city. More surprising is the fact that the residents are governed by some strange laws that aim at upholding the moral standards of the residents. Upon further investigation, you will learn about the city’s history and how the gods have punished the entire city for the sins of a few in the past. 

The city’s slogan is ‘Many shall suffer for the sins of a few.’ It is not just a quote, as that is the residents’ predicament. If any residents go against specific laws, everyone suffers the consequences as they would all be turned into gold statuses. 

The City is Surprisingly Filled with Corrupt and Scheming Men

Due to the strict laws and unforgiving consequences in the city, I expected to find a calm environment with peace-loving and law-abiding citizens. To my utmost shock, the city was loaded with immoral and overambitious people who had found a way to go around the rules and turn things in their favor or perform sacrilegious acts without directly breaking any laws. 

Their wisdom makes the gameplay more complicated, as you must find ways to defeat these bad guys without breaking the rules yourself. My major missions in the game were to stop or defeat the bad guys or protect the innocent citizens from the ‘not so innocent ones. Of course, I failed so many times when trying to master the gameplay. True to their words, the gods turned everyone to gold every time. 

An Immersive Gaming Experience 

By tapping into something I love —ancient history— and combining it with my favorite pastime gaming, Modern Storytellers has created a truly unique gaming experience. The Forgotten City offers one of those ‘just one more turn’ narratives that drives me to keep playing. The game leaves me feeling like I spent time on an immersive adventure after each round.

The game’s system presents you with various challenges that test your abilities and make sure that you pay attention to what is going on around you. You might even get stuck occasionally, but thankfully there are plenty of online resources where other players share their tips for beating these challenges. Sometimes, it can take weeks before finishing all aspects of The Forgotten City game… so buckle up and get ready for an adventure!

Conclusion 

The Forgotten City is an ambitious effort to bring the ancient city of Rome to life with modern technology. The game design transforms the old town into something far more intricate than in real life, allowing you to interact with its architecture and people in ways that would otherwise be impossible in reality. The gameplay mechanics are relatively straightforward, though enough to keep you interested through several playthroughs. The Forgotten City will especially appeal to adventure game fans and RPG lovers who want to forget about their daily stresses for a few hours. Overall, I recommend playing The Forgotten City if you are looking for something different from your typical hack-and-slash RPGs.