Review: The Forest Cathedral

Have you ever imagined yourself alone on an island, with only a tablet in your hand and no mosquitoes around? A rather peculiar scenario, right? As peculiar as The Forest Cathedral.

THE GAME

The Forest Cathedral is a puzzle game by Whitethorn Games, with 3D and 2D elements. You play as Rachel Carson, a scientist who existed in real life. In fact, the game is inspired by the real story of the scientist and her book Silent Spring. In the game, Carson is sent to an island, alone, for field research. There, there are no mosquitoes, because entomologist Paul Muller synthesized a pesticide called dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, popularly known as DDT, and dispersed it all over the island. The doctor also provides a tablet called iRGB, which will assist you throughout your journey.

All exploration of the island is done in a 3D environment, with a limited and linear space. Soon you are introduced to Little Man, a 2D character that you control to solve the levels, as if it were a platform game. This little guy will be your main companion and your biggest problem solver.

At first, the game seems simple and without any surprises, but as the days go by, strange things start to happen. Rachel then sets out to find out what is causing trouble on the island.

Little Man in action.

MY IMPRESSIONS

I confess that I didn't know what to expect in The Forest Cathedral. The game is quite simple. In the moments when you control Rachel, there is not much challenge, you go to each terminal and activate them. And that's where Little Man comes in, the part I found the most fun of the game, which vaguely reminded me of the game The Pedestrian: a 2D platformer scrolling in the foreground with a 3D environment in the background. At this point, the game gives you a bit more challenges, but nothing that will make you break your head or spend too much time on them. In fact, the game is not very long, in less than an hour you complete your journey.

The graphics are decent, but they need to be optimized. As a pixel art lover, I really liked the characters being represented through this type of art. The ambiance, sounds and music are pleasant and well used. The game is entirely dubbed in English, conveying emotion in the characters' speech, which works very well. Unfortunately, at the time of this review, the game has no option for subtitles in Brazilian Portuguese. As there is a story being used as the basis of the whole game, much is lost, which ends up emptying the experience if you do not have knowledge of basic English.

2D and 3D in harmony.

ACHIEVEMENTS

For those who like to hunt achievements, The Forest Cathedral will be no problem to do 100% of them. No achievement requires anything special, just progressing and finishing the story will be enough to conquer them all.

Tão pacífico quanto as conquistas do jogo.

CONCLUSION

When I started playing, I was quite lost. I knew the synopsis of the game, but nothing more. I allowed myself to be surprised. Initially, I thought the game would just be a series of moments where I would use Little Man to pass the puzzles and that's it. Progressing through the game, things really change, until the tone of the game, from something cheerful and without much excitement, becomes something full of suspense. At one point, I thought the game would go to the horror side, which even gave me an extra desire to see what was to come.

I tried not to put too much about the story of the game and Rachel Carson in the analysis because it would be like emptying the game. The Forest Cathedral was made to tell that story. Using fantastical elements and inspired by real facts, the game presents you with an important event in the history of environmental protection. If it wasn't for the part where you control Little Man, the game would be completely contemplative.

In certain cutscenes, I didn't know if some things that appeared were actually programmed to appear or if they were bugs, but nothing that influences the course of the game.

As I said, I let myself be surprised, but I don't think I was satisfied. For me, the balance is positive, but lacked a little more pace. The game ends very quickly, because it was made to tell a simple story. I think this factor will frustrate some players who expected a bigger game.

To close, a curiosity: the abbreviation of the pesticide is DDT, right? And what are the professionals who exterminate insects called? Dedetizers. It's silly, but it blew my mind when I realized that.

SCORE: 5.0/10