Forgotten Fields is an extraordinary indie game that has superbly crafted narrative and dialogue, with a beautiful soundtrack to back it up. More of an experience than a game it finds its niche and will surprise and delight players.
Forgotten Fields is a narrative-driven adventure game that follows the story of a struggling writer seeking inspiration for his final novel. The game explores themes of nostalgia, creativity, and self-discovery as you navigate through beautifully crafted pixel art environments and interact with a cast of quirky characters. With a poignant and emotional narrative, Forgotten Fields invites players to reflect on their own dreams and aspirations.
The game features a captivating and relatable narrative that explores themes of nostalgia and self-reflection, resonating with players experiencing similar life transitions.
Visually, Forgotten Fields offers a unique art style and beautiful environments, complemented by an evocative soundtrack that enhances the emotional depth of the story.
Despite its technical flaws, the game provides a heartfelt experience that encourages players to appreciate the present and cherish memories.
The game suffers from numerous glitches, including character clipping, awkward controls, and camera issues that can disrupt immersion and gameplay.
Gameplay is often shallow, with limited interactivity and a linear storyline that may leave players feeling unengaged during certain sections.
The writing, while heartfelt, can be overly wordy and lacks the polish expected in a more refined narrative experience, leading to moments of boredom.
story
274 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
64%
3%
The story of "Forgotten Fields" revolves around a nostalgic novelist grappling with writer's block, interweaving his personal journey with a fantasy narrative he is creating. While the game features a unique structure and relatable themes, many players find the execution lacking, with some sections feeling overly verbose or unengaging. Despite its rough edges, the storytelling is praised for its emotional depth and beautiful presentation, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of narrative-driven games.
“Rainswept packs full of amazing cinematic moments, a crime story has a fine twist, a solid plot, very plausible, mature and relatable story.”
“Forgotten fields tells its story of adolescent nostalgia and creative crisis in a very meditative, quiet manner and the landscapes bathed in warm lighting emphasize this melancholy beautifully.”
“The imaginative way the story is told, along with the memorable characters and exceptional soundtrack makes this one of my favorite games so far this year.”
“It's very wordy and almost like it's a partial life story of the developer (which isn't a bad thing - don't get me wrong), but there are sequences where you may end up just clicking through text because it's just not interesting or engaging.”
“- very linear story line, without any real major developments”
“your choices in decision making don't really matter or make any difference to the story.”
music
87 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
37%
3%
The music in the game is widely praised for its ability to enhance the emotional depth and atmosphere, with contributions from artists like altadore and micamic that evoke nostalgia and complement the storytelling. While some users noted issues with abrupt music cuts and glitches, the overall sentiment is that the soundtrack is engaging, memorable, and integral to the game's charm. Despite minor audio inconsistencies, the music remains a standout feature, elevating the experience and resonating with players.
“The game's music, featuring songs by Portland-based singer-songwriter Altadore, plays a crucial role in crafting its bittersweet atmosphere.”
“Altadore's music captures the melancholic yet contented emotions central to the game's themes.”
“The soundtrack is incredible, really, really complements the overall themes of the game.”
“It's ridden with glitches and animation errors, abrupt music cuts, and more.”
“The time the music forgot to stop playing only to abruptly realize it had missed its cue and shut off halfway through the next scene.”
“Or the audio, for the most part; the songs are chill, although there are multiple areas with no music and minimal sound effects... or there is the beach scene where the waves are so loud you can't hear anything else (including yourself).”
graphics
69 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
66%
6%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the unique art style and atmospheric visuals that enhance the storytelling, while others criticize the simplistic and occasionally glitchy graphics that detract from immersion. Despite the presence of graphical issues, many find the visuals charming and fitting for the game's narrative focus, suggesting that the aesthetic choices serve the overall experience well. Overall, while not groundbreaking, the graphics are deemed adequate and contribute positively to the game's nostalgic themes.
“The combination of visuals and sound helps convey the nuanced sentiment of appreciating the present while acknowledging the nostalgia for the past.”
“Some of the graphics are impressive and incredibly atmospheric and immersive.”
“Beautiful artwork and lovely, colorful environments.”
“The horrendous art style and graphics, a mix of 3D with shaded art, and the character models without eyes were right out of a horror story. The waves crashing onto polygon rocks and 80s background graphics were cringe.”
“The amount of bugs, poor and awkward controls, graphic issues like the road popping in and out of the vehicle during cutscenes, and the lack of detail in items versus scenery and characters really made this a bad experience.”
“There are a number of graphical issues throughout, including characters walking in mid-air or swimming oddly, which can pull you out of immersion.”
gameplay
56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
81%
5%
The gameplay in "Forgotten Fields" has been criticized for its janky controls, awkward mechanics, and a lack of meaningful interaction, with many players finding it shallow and at times frustrating. While the game features some engaging narrative elements and a cozy atmosphere, the inventory system feels redundant, and the gameplay often detracts from the overall experience. Despite these shortcomings, the emotional depth of the story allows some players to overlook the gameplay flaws.
“Ultimately, Forgotten Fields' quiet poignancy outweighs its minor gameplay shortcomings.”
“Gameplay-wise, there are a few minigames and unexpected quick time events, but overall it is a very calm and cozy experience that is centered around the dialogues and is concerned with setting the mood.”
“The gameplay elements were enough to keep me interested and aware that it is indeed an adventure game, as opposed to a visual novel, but the puzzles themselves are exceptionally simple.”
“The inventory system doesn't really flow and feels like a redundant tacked-on mechanic that's rarely used meaningfully.”
“Forgotten Fields tells a story that will likely resonate emotionally while at the same time having absolutely numbing gameplay.”
“While Forgotten Fields excels in emotional depth and tone, it falls short in terms of gameplay.”
stability
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
5%
95%
The game suffers from numerous stability issues, including frequent glitches, clipping through objects, and awkward controls that can detract from the overall experience. While some players found these bugs to be minor inconveniences that didn't significantly hinder enjoyment, others noted that the game's clunky movement and camera problems were frustrating. Overall, the game's stability is a significant concern, with many recommending caution due to its buggy nature.
“This game is a new release and an indie game, so it is definitely not bug-free, but the bugs I encountered didn't detract from my enjoyment of the game.”
“It's currently (v1.6) too buggy, glitchy, and clunky to recommend.”
“The only issue I really had was the animations; they're very buggy and clipping through stuff very often, which takes you out of the experience a bit unfortunately.”
“Unfortunately, the way the game is programmed means the interactive bits aren't actually fun to go through. Moving through space is buggy and kind of annoying at times.”
emotional
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
"Forgotten Fields" is praised for its emotional depth and heartfelt storytelling, resonating with players through themes of nostalgia and personal growth. While the game features rough character animations and some gameplay shortcomings, its well-crafted writing and evocative music enhance the emotional experience, making it a touching and relatable journey for those facing life transitions. Overall, it is described as a raw and contemplative game that leaves a lasting emotional impact.
“Forgotten Fields, created by Frostwood Interactive, invites players to embark on an emotional journey through nostalgia, creativity, and the passage of time.”
“This game is raw and heartfelt; it's a deeply personal experience that will connect to those of us having a 'quarter life crisis,' or anyone who is embarking on the next big chapter of our lives.”
“The music is astounding and really emphasizes the emotional pull of the story.”
atmosphere
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
20%
13%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its immersive and nostalgic qualities, largely enhanced by a poignant soundtrack featuring altadore's music. Players appreciate the remarkable outdoor environments and the cozy, family-oriented narrative that evokes a sense of warmth and reflection on cherished memories. Despite some technical glitches, the overall ambiance successfully creates a relaxing and engaging experience that resonates with players.
“Brought to you by the same developer who made Rainswept, Forgotten Fields is an atmospheric, narrative-driven, cinematic experience, chronicling the events of one summer in a quiet town.”
“It is incredibly atmospheric and immersive with a slice of life appeal that makes you feel completely invested in the outcome.”
“The game's music, featuring songs by Portland-based singer-songwriter Altadore, plays a crucial role in crafting its bittersweet atmosphere.”
“The environments, especially the outdoors, and just the general atmosphere are remarkable.”
“Furthermore, the inclusion of these ordinary tasks established a family atmosphere and helped demonstrate Sid's memories of family events, whilst also conveying the message that family time should be cherished as nothing is permanent.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
Overall, the game's optimization is mixed; while some players report smooth performance at max settings on newer hardware, others experience occasional performance dips, suggesting that further optimization could enhance the experience, especially for lower-end PCs.
“The game is perfectly optimized for me at max settings (I am running the game on a new-ish desktop PC, so I can't comment on how it would run on lower-end PCs).”
“Aside from these bugs, there were no performance issues.”
“For such a simple-looking game, it should run great, but at times the performance does take some dips, so it could use a bit more optimization.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Character development in the game is severely lacking, with numerous technical issues such as clipping, poor controls, and rendering problems detracting from the experience. The character models are basic and lack facial animations, contributing to an overall sense of disconnection and uninterest in the characters. Additionally, the gameplay is marred by glitches and uninspired puzzles, further diminishing character engagement.
“The characters keep clipping through objects and walls, controlling the characters is not smooth, the camera is poor, the models often hover above the ground, there are rendering issues, no facial animation, and very basic character design. There are loads of glitches in this game, and the puzzles are not very interesting either.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers limited replayability, primarily appealing to players seeking additional achievements, but lacks substantial content to encourage multiple playthroughs.
“The game has a bit of replay value if you want other achievements, but otherwise, there's not that much to do.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a refreshing escape from the monotony of everyday life, providing an enjoyable distraction despite its repetitive nature.