DISCLAIMER: I playtested this game before release.
Story
I'll start with the story as, whilst I'm a fan of story games, I don't think I quite 'got' the story of Never Forgotten. In my head, the protagonist was searching for redemption or absolution (cemented by the fact that the final fights were against Guilt and Absolution), but I never got the connection between what had happened between Her (presuming the mother in the story) and Them (presuming the sister in the story). There is a good chance I missed some dialog because I clicked through it too fast, but I didn't see where the protagonist really fit into this dynamic. Was She a bad parent? Did They leave because She couldn't accept them as non-binary? As a player, I was searching for a sense of closure, even if that closure is grief, sadness, or acceptance. But I was left feeling like I never truly got the full story.
I love the idea that the protagonist is trying to achieve this sense of peace by mending a piece of themselves through this journey. They have to face the ugly, selfish parts of themselves in order to progress and even succumb to the inky rot of guilt that had infested their mind in order to eventually cast it aside. Their constant mention of 'I can't give in' drives that home, but I'm not really sure what they are searching for absolution or redemption from. Like I said, it's probably a me problem rather than a story problem, and I wouldn't want an expositional dump in the game. There just didn't seem like there were many hooks in the story to make me understand what was going on outside of the main factors (Her passing, Them leaving, Her not being very nice to Them revealed at the end). It just seems a little obtuse at times. You clearly have a very powerful story to tell here, but from the perspective of someone who doesn't already know this story, it's hard to unpick the nuances that might mean a lot to you but not to the average player.
Gameplay
The nicest thing I can really say about the gameplay overall is that it doesn't get in the way of the overall game. With pixel body horror art and thrashing music like this, you don't want to have anything get in the way of you seeing the next creepy boss fight or hearing the next theme for them. The game at its core is a very basic adventure game with light puzzle mechanics and an inventory system that is so unremarkable I've already forgotten what it looks like. That's not a bad thing though - people remember a bad inventory system, but they rarely remember anything better than 'normal', and the button inputs for combining items are quick so you'll never find yourself on that screen for too long. There are several weird and wonderful items in the game that you can pick up, like bags of blood that heal you and weird syringes that increase your maximum health or your base attack. However, it's never explained that these effects are temporary, and something should be said for people like myself who want to 'level up' in the game only to find that after a little while all the effects have worn off and I'm back to a little squishy bag of wet pixels in the next boss fight.
Graphics
There is no doubt that the graphical style is what will sell this game. There is no other game that looks like Never Forgotten, and that's something you should lean into. The initial graphics are super simple, but then you're hit in the face with the detailed monster models and mind-bending flesh landscapes. I think the battle menus were a little too simplistic in contrast to the hyper-detailed monsters, but it's by no means a game-changer. My only regret is not seeing more of the world, more landscapes, and more of the monsters during battle, etc.
Combat
Combat is a twist on active combat systems reminiscent of Undertale, and if you've played one of those styles of games before, you'll feel at home in Never Forgotten. Chances are you'll die a fair few times in various boss fights, figuring out the best way to hold your controller to maximize button efficiency to dodge all the incoming attacks. Some of the drawbacks I found were that there was no clear explanation of the combat economy. I tried my best in one boss fight to avoid all damage, all the time chipping away 1hp from their health bar at a time, only to accidentally get hit and have my attack power increased to 2, so I could essentially double my attack power from that turn on. The mechanics of combat are explained fairly well, but intrinsically as players, we want to avoid damage in combat, so including a 'hidden' mechanic where damage actually makes you stronger was not only discovered in the much later stages of the game but seemingly completely missed through the first 3/4 of my playthrough. A simple pause and dialog box to explain this mechanic would have helped me juggle some truly frustrating boss fights through the first sections of the game.
Music
I'm thoroughly impressed with the soundtrack on Never Forgotten, and my only criticism is that we don't hear any of it for at least 20-30% of the game. It feels criminal to hide away musical talent from Alex De Anda and Cody Hodge when the tracks are explosive, energetic, and well-produced. They breathe life into some of the boss fights that otherwise would be a bit of a slog. I'm selfishly hoping that Cody allows streamers/content creators to use this music copyright-free as it's amazing. The OST for Never Forgotten is to indie games what the OST to Metal Gear Rising Revengeance was to the MGS series or the Doom 2016 OST was to the Doom franchise. Over the top, in your face, and exactly what you want in that section of the game.
Overall
Never Forgotten is one of those indie games that you'll always remember. In the case of Never Forgotten, you'll always remember the graphics, and you'll probably remember how bombastic the OST was. My worry is that the story might be so closely linked to the creator that it's only decipherable to them, leaving the rest of us in awe of the graphics, impressed with the music, and frankly a bit lost on the story. For their first game, Cody Hodge has put their heart, soul, and more than a bit of their own personal trauma and pain into Never Forgotten, which makes the game special. I'm certain that in time we'll see other monochromatic adventure games like this and point and go, "Look, it's a Never Forgotten-like."
