28th July 2021 - Melbourne, Australia - Working in partnership with publisher Dear Villagers, indie studio Modern Storyteller are releasing their engrossingly murderous historical thriller The Forgotten City today on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One, with a Nintendo Switch port scheduled for later this year.
The game is available digitally in the standard edition for PC ($24,99/€24,99/£19,49) and console (29.99 €/$ / £24.99) as well as a deluxe edition with the OST and a digital goody pack on PC. A physical edition will be available for PS4/PS5 and Xbox One/Xbox Series in Q3 2021.
The Forgotten City is a narrative-driven murder mystery game of exploration and deduction, and a re-imagining of the critically acclaimed mod that won a national Writers’ Guild award and racked up over 3 million downloads.
Trapped in a secret underground city during the Roman Empire, twenty-three lost souls cling to life. In this precarious utopia, if one person breaks the mysterious Golden Rule, everyone dies. Players must relive the city's final moments in an endless loop, changing the course of the day with each secret they uncover. Combat is an option, but violence will only get them so far. Only by cleverly exploiting the time loop and making difficult moral choices can they hope to unravel this murderous riddle.
To capture the experience of exploring a fictional ancient Roman city with historically authentic art, architecture, costumes and customs, the development team worked with two historical consultants, Dr. Philip Matyszak, who has a D.Phil from Oxford and teaches ancient history for Cambridge, and Dr. Sophie Hay, who has spent 20 years excavating the ruins of Pompeii.
‘It’s here!' said Nick Pearce, founder of Modern Storyteller. ‘When I set out to make a narrative-driven murder mystery mod inside an Action RPG all those years ago, I never dreamed it would be downloaded over 3.7 million times, and evolve into a stand-alone game.
Of course, players won’t need to know anything about the mod to enjoy the game, but if they did like the mod, I think they’re going to love this; while the premise remains the same, everything else has been levelled up. We’ve built a new city from scratch in the Unreal engine, re-written the script (which is now twice as long) and added new characters, quests, twists, endings, gameplay mechanics, professional voice acting and a gorgeous new orchestral score. I’m immensely proud of what my core team of just three devs has accomplished!’
Featuring:
- A fictional open-world ancient Roman city with historically authentic art, architecture and costumes
- Richly detailed, deeply interactive characters
- Moral dilemmas which have life-and-death consequences
- A gripping, non-linear mystery with multiple endings
- Choose your own gender, origin and backstory
- Multiple ways to problem-solve, including reason, charm, bribery, intimidation, violence, or by cleverly exploiting the time loop
About Modern Storyteller
Modern Storyteller began as Nick Pearce’s one-man modding alias. After creating a wildly successful mod which won a national Writers’ Guild Award in 2016, Nick left behind a ten-year legal career and formed Modern Storyteller to blow minds and make hearts soar, and prove that games can be the ultimate storytelling medium.
About Dear Villagers
Dear Villagers is Plug In Digital’s publishing label. It’s a warm-hearted invitation to join them in the little unusual neighborhood they are building within the gaming industry, a place where talented studios can unleash their creativity and where players enjoy distinctive and audacious games on PC and consoles, such as Edge of Eternity, ScourgeBringer, and Astria Ascending.