Game Review: To the Moon (Mobile)

To the Moon is a story-driven RPG that pulls on the heart-strings with an emotionally told, realistic and relatable tale. Worth every penny, the trash of the mobile market makes unearthing a gem like this all the more sweet.

The game opens introducing us to Dr. Rosalene and Dr. Watts who have unusual jobs. They work for a company that gives people a chance to live a different life. A chance to be anything they want to be, to change the past and experience a different set of events.

To do this they perform an operation that involves them going into the patients memory. Changing and adapting it to the person’s wish. It’s not an easy task nor is it safe, so these operations are performed on those who are soon to die. So the last thing they remember is the life they wished they had.

What an amazing idea for a game. It already conjures up so many ideas yet To the Moon keeps things simple, focusing on one character only. A wise decision as it allows us to be immersed and invested in this man’s dreams.

The man is Johnny who has asked the two doctors to change his past. Now in a coma and with little time to live, it’s up to Dr. Rosalene and Dr. Watts to enter his memories and make his dying wish come true.

A wish to go to the moon.

Phenomenal. To the Moon is a phenomenal game that barely puts a foot wrong. It’s not just the incredible story that is told but the wonderful pixel style visuals, amazing soundtrack and interesting puzzle aspects.

Moving through Johnny’s memories is not as simple as walking down a corridor and opening a door. Each segment of his life must be bridged often by finding important moments and using them in conjunction with an item that connects parts of his memories together. It’s a really clever way to do it as it’s relatable. Our memories are fragmented but often it’s certain items that trigger a trip into the past.

Look around you right now…there is probably something nearby that links several memories in your life together.

This interactivity is important for the game as there is a lot of narrative and not a lot of actual playing. Often it’s just to move the characters to the next section of dialogue or story using simple touch screen controls. This would be more of a problem except you often are given a bit more freedom to walk around and explore should you choose too. Also the story is so gripping that most will be more then happy to move things on just to see what happens next.

We keep coming back to the story because it is the reason to play To the Moon. What we described above is just the outline. The depth in this tale is truly staggering and while it occasionally stumbles with some of its humour, it pays off your investment wonderfully.

We put this game up there alongside Little Inferno, Love You to Bits and Thomas Was Alone was the best games you can play on your mobile device. No ifs, no buts. To the Moon is one of the best mobile games out there and you’ll be hooked from beginning to end.