History with some drama

In the 1960s, scientist Rachel Carson published an environmental book titled Silent Spring. The latter documents the nefarious effects of synthetic pesticides, such as DDT, on the environment at large. Her research paved the way for environmental protection actions that perpetuate today.

The Forest Cathedral puts us in control of the very same Rachel Carson on a field research on an island where she quickly discovers something is off with the ecosystem and might be tied to the recent DDT use.

However, The Forest Cathedral’s plot spices things up by dramatising the event. There are scenes of acute poisoning, close calls with wildlife and a menacing mad scientist. It’s an original way to translate the message of Silent Spring and the game deserves some recognition in this regard.

A retro platforming game disguised in a modern title

It’s not just the plot that The Forest Cathedral mixes up but also the gameplay. The game initially starts off as a first-person exploration title with Rachel equipped with a notebook which serves as an objective guide, and scanner that can help her navigate in low visibility situations. She can also interact with a radio to communicate as well as solve puzzles. 

So far, The Forest Cathedral isn’t far from a “walking simulator” but then you get introduced to a new gameplay aspect of the game when Rachel interacts with some terminals. These play out in a 2D, retro monochromatic platforming game where you’ll get to jump, dash and attack in order to reach your goal. Completing the latter will subsequently trigger an action which allows you to progress further into the story; even if the way this unfolds does not always feel natural.

It’s an interesting “games within games” concept which endows The Forest Cathedral with some originality. The platforming levels are what adds the most challenge to the game. The challenge is quite real, reminiscent of yesteryear games and can occasionally be frustrating, especially with the delay in executing attacks.

 

Not far from a forest fire

Unfortunately, this is not the only frustrating aspect of The Forest Cathedral. Despite an original reimagined plot based on actual events and interesting gameplay mechanics, the overall execution feels unpolished.

Sometimes the animations can feel off, the plot jumps across story beats and I’ve even experienced the voice over being drowned by the soundtrack.

Speaking of voice over, while the voice acting attempts to flesh out the characters, it is not devoid of its own issues. There are several cringe-worthy lines where Rachel talks to every piece of equipment and calls them Mr This and Mr That. Some performances can also be unconvincing, when Rachel expresses disbelief or attempted enthusiasm.

The ending is also quite abrupt, and culminates with an info dump which could instead have been slowly eased into the main story. 

Thankfully, you don’t have to bear with the issues for too long as The Forest Cathedral is a short that you can finish in one sitting, should you decide to pick it up. It presents interesting experimental concepts which overall suffer from execution issues that hinders the title from being gripping.

The Forest Cathedral - Launch Trailer