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The game strongly asks who it is that gets to draw the line. The Golden Rule binds all, from the lowliest farmer to the highest seat of power, and it’s in the grey areas of this rule that some pertinent questions arise around right and wrong, lawful and unlawful, and what constitutes a truly good or evil action.
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Its subject matter is handled with grace, intelligence and wit, ruminating on themes of collective punishment, power and achieving utopia, all of which are analysed through the lens of human morality. Rest assured though, The Forgotten City is a stunning piece of interactive fiction. Given the amount of intrigue, mystery and importance put on the characters’ motivations within the story, the less said regarding specifics about the plot the better. You’re eventually informed by Sextes Sentius, magistrate of this supposed utopia, that one of the 23 denizens will eventually sin by nightfall, breaking The Golden Rule and invoking the wrath of the Gods, putting all in peril. A line in the sand none dare cross lest “the many shall suffer for the sins of the one”. In this character and concept-driven story, meeting the vast cast of colourful characters is a necessity, but more important is coming to grips with the rule which all are subjected to here – The Golden Rule. After selecting one of four classes and travelling back in time, you’ll be greeted by an array of golden statues that watch from afar and whisper esoteric obscurities. This mystery-adventure game based in classical antiquity begins with you following the trail of an archaeologist down a literal and metaphoric well surrounding the titular Forgotten City.
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But is this game the second coming of Prometheus bestowing the gift of fire or more akin to the tortured life of Sisyphus? Based on the critically acclaimed mod by the same name for Skyrim, The Forgotten City swaps out the grand mythos of the Lusty Argonian Maid for Roman mythology. Such is the story behind The Forgotten City. Every so often though, when the Gods smile on their abominable creation known as humankind, we see a mod rise from the clay into a fully-fledged game. The modding community is known for a great many things, such as new gear and quests, UI overhauls, more nudity than my hard drive can sustain, and most of all – doing the hard work of fixing the Bethesda ‘charm’.
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