TRAGIC LOVE MONTH #10: To the Moon, by Freebird Games (2011)

Type of Media: Video Game

To the Moon is about regret. Although it starts out as a comedy, where you control two doctors trading quips while working a night shift, ultimately it's a tragedy told in reverse. The premise of To the Moon is that, in the near future, there is technology that allows people to enter the memories of others and alter them. Since the ethics that come with that get very muddy very fast, it can only be used on people who are dying. You play as Drs. Eva Rosalene and Neil Watts who work for Sigmund Corp., a company specializing in granting last wishes to people on their death beds so they can pass with no misgivings.

Rosalene and Watts are assigned to Johnny, an old man who lost his wife two years prior and now lives in his cliffside house with a caregiver and her two children. Johnny's last wish is that he wants to go to the moon, but he doesn't know why. Your job is to dive into Johnny's memories, find out what spurred his desire to go to the moon, and alter his inner past so that he imagines a new life in which he achieves his goal.

The way you move through Johnny's memories is by searching for consistent objects throughout his life. A jar of pickled olives, an origami rabbit, and a stuffed platypus are emotional anchors you'll use to leap from one part of Johnny's memory to another. Gameplay-wise this amounts to just going around an area and clicking on things while occasionally solving simple tile puzzles, but the game is less about engaging you on its own than it is about propelling you through the story. And what a story it is.

Because Rosalene and Watts start with Johnny's freshest memories and have to work backwards, Johnny's life story is told in reverse chronological order. It's incredible how well To the Moon manages to keep a forward momentum and include narrative surprises even though you technically know how the story ends already. You see how Johnny's marriage with his wife River ended up forlorn even though it started with so much promise, which only serves to make the reality of Johnny's death even more sad.

While playing To the Moon it's easy to think that you're fixing Johnny's life, but you're really only breaking his memories further from his actual experiences. You're reminded eventually that the new past you make for Johnny is constructed based on what he wanted to happen, not what actually happened, and you can't change the reality of his rocky marriage. 

There are not a lot of games that you can call "tear-jerkers", but To the Moon is a rare exception. Part of this is that its narrative strikes a nice balance of comedy, sentimentality, and sadness, but its story is generously aided by a great soundtrack. There are some scenes where the simple, two-note main theme comes in at just the right time for maximum emotional effect, and it's hard to get through the game without one of these moments getting your eyes all watery.

Gamers who prefer the story bits of RPGs to the combat will almost certainly love this game, but it could play well with anyone in the mood for a sad story who has at least a little bit of video game experience. And if To the Moon has you wanting more, Freebird Studios is coming out with a sequel, Finding Paradise, later this year.