The Forgotten City
Genres: Mystery, Story Rich, Atmospheric, Adventure
Release Date: 28-7-2021
Developer: Modern Storyteller
Our verdict
9/10
- Difficulty: Medium
- Players: 1
- Playtime: 6–10 h
The Forgotten City is a first-person mystery from Modern Storyteller, grown out of a Skyrim mod. You find yourself in an underground Roman city 2,000 years in the past, where one person's sin dooms everyone, and you use a time loop to question residents, untangle their lives and work out who destroys the city. It suits solo players who enjoy story-heavy detective games more than traditional escape-room puzzles.
Around 96% of nearly 9,000 Steam reviews are positive. Players praise the twisting plot, the believable characters and how each loop adds a piece of the puzzle, often comparing it to Outer Wilds or Return of the Obra Dinn. There are four endings, and most finish in six to ten hours.
The negative reviews are consistent: it is heavy on reading and dialogue, the early hours feel stiff and a bit janky, and some found the loops turn into errands or that the ending fell flat. Several advise switching off the hint options, which are on by default and give away solutions. If you like dialogue-driven mysteries, buy it; if you want hands-on puzzles, look elsewhere.
Pros
- Time loop lets you exploit what you learned to change events
- Roman city with characters whose stories interlock
- Four endings with twists players rarely saw coming
Cons
- Heavy on reading and dialogue, light on real puzzles
- Hints are on by default and can spoil solutions
- Janky movement and a slow first hour
About
Travel 2,000 years into the past and relive the final days of a cursed Roman city, where if one person sins, everyone dies. Combat is an option, but violence will only get you so far. Only by questioning an intertwined community of colourful characters, cleverly exploiting the time loop, and making difficult moral choices can you hope to solve this epic mystery. Here, your decisions matter. The fate of the city is in your hands.
- Explore an open-world ancient Roman city with historically authentic art, architecture, costumes and customs
- Investigate a gripping, non-linear mystery with multiple endings
- Become entwined in the lives of richly detailed, deeply interactive characters
- Grapple with moral dilemmas which have life-and-death consequences
- Play as whoever you want, by choosing your character’s gender, origin and backstory
- Solve problems with reason, charm, bribery, intimidation, violence, or by cleverly exploiting the time-loop
