- March 14, 2023
- Brian Wilson
- 2h median play time
The Forest Cathedral
Despite its original experimental premise, The Forest Cathedral suffers from an unpolished execution.
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The Forest Cathedral is a single player arcade platformer game with a thriller theme. It was developed by Brian Wilson and was released on March 14, 2023. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and negative reviews from players.
The Forest Cathedral is a first-person psychological thriller set on a remote island. Playing as scientist Rachel Carson, players will slowly uncover the effects of DDT by using advanced environmental technology to solve 2D/3D connected puzzles in this dramatic retelling of Silent Spring.
+5
- The game presents an interesting and important historical narrative focused on Rachel Carson and the dangers of DDT, bringing awareness to environmental issues.
- The art style and atmosphere are unique and visually appealing, with some praising the blend of 2D and 3D elements and the soundtrack.
- The voice acting and main character portrayal received positive remarks, contributing to the game's emotional impact.
- Gameplay is inconsistent and frustrating, particularly the 2D platforming sections which feel out of place, poorly controlled, and cause player frustration.
- Technical issues such as bugs, crashes, awkward controls, poor UI design, and unreliable performance significantly detract from the experience.
- The story and writing are often described as simplistic, incoherent, or immature, making it hard to emotionally connect or take seriously; the game is also very short for its price.
- story41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
The story, centered on environmentalist Rachel Carson and the harmful effects of DDT, is praised for its intriguing premise and emotional depth but is often criticized for its amateur execution, inconsistent tone, and disjointed gameplay integration. Many find the narrative overly simplistic, surreal, and at times disconnected from the gameplay elements, with some appreciating its experimental, trippy presentation while others feel it lacks seriousness and polish. Overall, the story’s potential is acknowledged but hampered by poor storytelling choices and underdevelopment.
“It's a walking sim merged with some 2d platforming sections, and it tells the real story of an environmentalist as she tries to uncover the effects of a pesticide.”
“The plot of the game is intriguing, and the less you know about ddt going in the more fascinating and interesting the plot will be to you, though it will still have interesting developments for those well versed in the matter.”
“Though tropey at times the plot ties itself together in a fairly cohesive bow though not without some faults, primarily being that the game is unfortunately too short to fully develop all strings of the narrative, but that aside i do truly believe the game is phenomenal and worth playing.”
“The story is sadly presented in a very amateur fashion; it's so surreal that it feels like watching an art house movie at certain points, yet the dialogue seems to be written for very small children and lacks any kind of seriousness or believability.”
“The platforming sections have no tangible connection to the rest of the game or story, and I have no idea why a researcher is interacting with a 2D game constantly.”
“The story is severely hampered by the fact that most of the cutscenes are literal talking heads.”
The Forest Cathedral GBAtemp
Despite its original experimental premise, The Forest Cathedral suffers from an unpolished execution.
55%The Forest Cathedral Review (PC)
The Forest Cathedral is an interesting experience but does not fully work as a video game. The narrative it is telling is based on a real-world person but introduces many elements that are anachronistic to the period and to her life. Maybe the main character should have been named something else and her story should have only hinted at the real-world scandal surrounding DDT and other pesticides. The Little Man sections don’t add much to the overall experience but offer more straight-up gameplay than the island itself. The highest achievement of The Forest Cathedral is that it draws attention to Rachel Carson and to Silent Spring. It might not get many gamers to actually read the book but it does spell out the effects of DDT and emphasizes the importance of protecting the environment and finding ways to reduce the use of pesticides and other such chemical agents. A review key was provided by the publisher
70%
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Frequently Asked Questions
The Forest Cathedral is a arcade platformer game with thriller theme.
The Forest Cathedral is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5, Steam Deck and others.
On average players spend around 2 hours playing The Forest Cathedral.
The Forest Cathedral was released on March 14, 2023.
The Forest Cathedral was developed by Brian Wilson.
The Forest Cathedral has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its graphics.
The Forest Cathedral is a single player game.
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