Nor has Gao neglected the requisite emotional heartache, a facet that’s become almost a trademark of Freebird Games. That’s not inherently a negative, however the storytelling is evolving, avoiding stagnation in an established pattern, and the script’s ability to hook players remains as strong as ever, even if the overall atmosphere is darker and more mysterious.
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As a result, this third installment in the series initially feels tangential without spoiling anything, it functions largely as an aside to further flesh out some plot threads that were previously only teased. The story does eventually tie back in with the tale established in To the Moon and Finding Paradise, but it requires no shortage of storytelling gymnastics to bring everything back around to Drs. Yep, turns out this is actually a time-travel whodunit, with a Lovecraftian end-of-the-world scenario thrown in late in the game for good measure. Then, stepping back into the main foyer, he makes the shocking discovery of his hosts alive and well, awaiting him at the top of the mansion’s grand staircase. After examining the bodies, bloodying his hands in the process, Quincy makes a beeline for the bathroom, scrubbing them vigorously at the sink.
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And stumbling upon two corpses isn’t even the full extent of it. Kan Gao, lead designer and writer since the franchise’s inception, is clearly flexing some creative muscle this time around, changing up the narrative formula significantly. Whereas the earlier titles featured plenty of humor with no small number of sad undertones, a murder mystery thriller is new territory. This unexpected revelation sets up a large portion of what follows, immediately making Impostor Factory quite distinct from its predecessors. As Quincy steps out of the study, he’s greeted by a grisly sight: his hosts lie sprawled on the floor, savaged, surrounded by spatters of their own blood. It’s here that the game does a one-eighty and carves out a unique niche for itself within the greater series. Rather than acknowledge him, the pair promptly exits the study, leaving him there to chat with Lynri, a young lady who’s also a guest at the party. Haynes and Yu, in their cozy upstairs study.
Entering the manor, Quincy soon meets his hosts, the elderly Drs. Apparently he’s been invited to a dinner party here, though he seems to have no recollection of why, or even whose house he’s just arrived at. Instead we’re introduced to a new character: Quincy, a young man standing in the pouring rain in front of a gloomy mansion in the middle of the woods. Also absent is any trace of a sick or elderly client whose memories might play host to our intrepid duo. The two physicians, whose job it is to infiltrate and alter the memories of terminal patients in order to fulfill that person’s life’s wish, even if only in their mind, are nowhere to be seen at first. Eva Rosalene and Neil Watts, the main characters from the previous main entries in the series. But as the game opens, it’s surprising to find no sign of Drs. Impostor Factory looks and plays almost identically to its older siblings. To be sure, there are many recurring aspects evident right off the bat. Then the game begins, and the proverbial rug is pulled right out from under your feet. The RPG pixel art aesthetic remains highly pleasing, the formula tried and true, with the developer’s storytelling style firmly established, and there’s a decided comfort in the familiarity of returning to the same kind of experience once again, certain of what awaits you on the other side of Impostor Factory’s title screen. The tale that started with that game and continued with 2017’s Finding Paradise (and to a lesser extent, 2014’s spin-off bridge episode A Bird Story) is back for its third full-fledged installment, and at first glance it appears that nothing much has changed. To the Moon is one of those games that by now requires little introduction anyone with an interest in deep, emotionally powerful interactive narratives has at the very least heard of, if not played Freebird Games’ 2011 indie darling themselves.
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