Sometimes a game falls through the cracks. Not because of problems with the game, but the general nature of games journalism. Smaller games get pushed aside for the triple A titles full of coverage and clicks. This isn’t to demonize journo work, it’s hard to make a living in it. This is the context that brings me to Moonrise Fall, a game from solo developer Christopher Mathes. This is a title that didn’t get the coverage that other games had, and we had the key for a month. That feels very appropriate for a game about being lost, so let’s shed some light on this indie game.
After a car crash kills his parents, a young boy finds himself alone in a mysterious forest. With a guidebook for the area, a lantern and a camera, his only option is to explore the woods. There are many interpretations you can make about why this kid is trapped here, but that’s not as vital to enjoying the game as you’d think. It’s less about a strict narrative and more about emotion. Negative emotions run deep, and while morbid content is never shown there is something dark about these woods. It’s beautiful in its sadness, and it soaks in those anxieties and fears. Yet, with that focus on more upsetting emotions, it’s cathartic. As if the game is telling you “Yes, let’s explore being sad. Nothing wrong with that”.
Moonrise Fall 1.21 Out Now - 06/17
- Changes made to fix opening cutscene crash
Hotfix 01 - 06/19
- Steam Achievements here disabled while troubleshooting the cutscene. This hotfix reinstates them.
Thanks
The Indie Game Website - Review 8/10
Moonrise Fall - Worth falling for
Moonrise Fall opens with a dramatic and harrowing car crash. As an introduction it’s cryptic, but it’s clear that the victims were a kid and his parents. The boy survived, the parents didn’t. As haunting music plays, the boy appears to transcend – perhaps to heaven, perhaps into unconsciousness – eventually finding himself in a mysterious, dreamlike forest with nothing but a journal, lantern, camera, and one hell of a creepy mask.
Like many things in Made From Strings’ brain-teasing puzzler, it’s all open to interpretation. The opener is straightforward, but it hits in the right places. Its emotional resonance – aided by a fantastically expressive score – sticks with you one throughout this odd spiritual journey. It raises a lot of questions, too. Who is the boy? Where or what is this forest? Did he survive the crash? There’s an engaging central mystery here, but one you’ll have to work to uncover.
By work, of course, I mean photographing the forest’s weird and wonderful inhabitants. As you explore, your journal populates with encounters with odd creatures and unusual entities. Following along with these well-written riddles helps you snap familiar yet deeply unearthly beings. They’re rewarding to find and their unnatural shapes and varied designs make them exciting to reveal...
