The Forgotten Ones

Score - 20

Release: 2014

Platform Played: Steam

Developer: Digital Tribe Games

Overview

The Forgotten Ones is a low-budget indie horror shooter that blends psychological storytelling with some pretty basic FPS gameplay. The concept has potential mixing trauma, war themes, and horror elements. The experience quickly turns shallow and clunky and it doesn’t really feel like a complete game.

The Good

The game has a nice identity. The psychological angle and the PTSD trauma give it more identity than your average indie horror game. There are moments where a jump scare will have you kicking back in your seat and that creates a pretty solid level of tension.

For a small Indie project there’s obviously clear effort and the ideas are there.

The Bad

For starters, the gameplay is extremely rough. Gunplay is clunky, and unresponsive. Combat is quick and repetitive, and it lacks any depth or strategy. There are no progression and no sense of growth whatsoever, so there’s really nothing that keeps you engaged long term.

Sadly, the story quickly gets lost and whatever message that was meant to be delivered wasn’t. All enemies are very basic and the overall the experience just feels unfinished.

Final Verdict

The Forgotten Ones is a good example of what to expect out of an average indie game. The concept has potential, the beginning shows promise, then the momentum dies out very quickly into the experience. It pretty much lacks any wins through any of the pillars we use, and it doesn’t offer anything meaningful or memorable. This game is easy to skip.