An Avoidable Road Trip

Forever Ago Developed by Third Shift and published by Annapurna Interactive

When Annapurna is involved in your game, you will most certainly have many gamers interested.

Forever Ago is a narrative driven walking sim that presents a beautiful art style and had me excited to play since I first saw a trailer.

You play as Alfred, who, in the later years of his life embarks on a road trip in his trusty old camper van, journal and camera in hand. The camera appears to be a key feature of the gameplay and yet seems to be quite a disappointing part of the game. You will visit different locations, all of which have significant meaning and come across people from all walks of life, most of which seem more interesting than Alfred.

The story takes you from the 1970's thru until 2026 but unlike other similar styles of games (Mixtape, Firewatch and many others) I never felt anything for any of the characters or wanted to know more about them.

The minimal gameplay elements felt clunky, needing to move back and forth to get Alfred in the correct position just to press the prompt on screen. With minimal thrilling characters and no killer soundtrack to pull you in, the walking felt like a chore rather than excitement in getting to the next part of the story, a story of which includes pain and loss but still never quite gripped me.

In the end I was thankful to roll credits after 4 hours as I don't know how much more I could take.

After so much excitement I leave feeling underwhelmed.