The Forgotten City, true to the spirit of its theme, is both a game that has yet to be released and is a game that has been available for years. While I've always been one of the few hold-outs that's been annoyingly "meh" about Skyrim, I fired up my copy this week to play through the The Forgotten City, which began as an extensive mod for Elder Scrolls V. In 2019, it is getting a stand-alone version that reinvents and expands its lore, but keeps the intriguing mechanics intact. Now that I've played it once, I'm ready to play it a dozen more times in its next reincarnation.

TFC feels like it hasn't been given its due. There was a quick trailer reveal at E3 2018 but beyond that it is also a game that folks have had a few years to play in its base state. And that base state is such a polished, fascinating, well made product; not just a prototype for a better idea. So I understand how it could slip through the cracks during Game Announcements Done Quick 2018.

Skyrim Mods: The Forgotten City - Part 1 Watch on YouTube

The creator, Nick Pearce, wouldn't have started writing if he hadn't been punched in the face by a random dude on the street. For a bit of his personal history, and how this lead to him winning writing awards, I can't recommend this Kotaku interview enough. It also includes a more than 100 page design document that Pearce put together, before embarking on creating a game mod. I appreciate intense levels of dedication, but I can also see exactly why this detail-oriented work had to go in to making The Forgotten City work.

While we're doing a bit of outbound linking here, I'd be remiss to not include this blog post from RPS darling game creator Robert Yang about how the game presents player choice. Warning: a number of spoilers are included here. Feel free to skip if you're wanting to give this a pure spin.

For my first time through, I don't want to give too much away, but your Skyrim character drops through a hole into an ancient city where you first meet a dead man and then need to solve a series of mysteries building toward a central mystery of why this entire location is trapped in a forever mash-up of Tuck Everlasting and Groundhog Day... but with way more murder. The original mod is an engaging mix of counter-intuitive logic mastery and compelling writing, which I hope the new stand-alone title can update and expand upon.

Where does it go now? Weird places. Weird, weird places.

WHO GOT A GUN?

Check out the trailer from E3 below.

THE FORGOTTEN CITY - Debut Trailer Watch on YouTube

You can find the game on Steam and wishlist it now. It has a vague release date of 2019, but time is subjective these days.