The Forgotten City:
The Forgotten City: A Roman Interpretation On The Golden Rule
The Forgotten City: Comparative Religion and Deception
The Forgotten City: Conquering Death and Plot Holes
Heads up, game ending spoilers, a reveal of the ultimate villain, and some vague ideas how to defeat him. But I won't reveal the final outcome.
Poor, unlucky Hades, always the enemy of humanity. Ever since his younger brother overthrew the titans, he has ruled the underworld, the dreaded place of suffering. It isn't his fault. When he and his two brothers divided up the world, it was by drawing lots, and he drew the worst of the three. In Greek Mythology, Hades isn't particularly detestable. He rules over undesirable landscape that everyone goes to eventually, but he isn't worse behaved than his other brothers, who are much more likely to rape women and murder men. Disney's Hercules, along with many other movies and video games perpetuate the modern idea of Hades as the bad guy, even if the ancient Greeks didn't see him as any worse or better than his siblings. That's part of why I enjoyed Supergiant's Hades. He was complicated, but not detestable.
In The Forgotten City the ancient gods are real. They've watched over humanity since at least the Sumerians. But they are not mythological deities. Rather, they are aliens, elevated beings who came to Earth to aid humanity develop into ethical beings like themselves. Eventually the gods despaired of helping humanity. They left, returning to their home planet, which Hades describes as a paradise. Hades remained because his wife, Persephone changed herself into a human, and Zeus forbade humans on the home planet of Elysium. The details of how Persephone changed herself into a human, or what that even means, are not explained. The final reveal introduces a number of absurd plot holes. As a human Persephone was subject to aging and death. Hades put her in a cryogenic freezing technology to keep her alive, trapped forever, but alive. Hades thought that if only he could return her to Elysium he could return her to godhood. Since Zeus forbade her return, Hades bargained for an escape. Hades and Zeus made a wager; if one Earth city could live without sin for a single year, Persephone, and all of humanity, could travel to paradisal Elysium. In an absurd decision, which doesn't appear to be part of the compact between himself and Zeus, Hades made 1,000 special coins and gave them to the Sumerians. Only those who die with these special silvers awake in The Forgotten City upon death (where everyone else goes remains a mystery). Why Hades limited himself to only 1,000, or why he doesn't introduce more, is the writer's artificial attempt to limit the story. It makes the protagonist and Al the final two coin holders. If the protagonist fails, humanity is doomed. Except it's not; Hades isn't clear if he would simply leave, or destroy the Earth in a pique of rage.
The player has two paths to victory. One, use time travel to threaten to kill Persephone. Or, debate Hades. Both have the same exact outcome, Hades leaves, and the people of The Forgotten City are freed.
The debate with Hades is fascinating. It covers ethics, history, personal grudges, and philosophy. Hades is a egotistical, self-centered tyrant, who deems himself perfect in every way. Despite existing for untold eons, he is a pathetic debater. Whenever he loses, even for a moment, he works himself into towering rage, throws a tantrum, and threatens to transform the remaining citizens into gold statues.
The gods probably tricked him into remaining behind so they didn't have to deal with him, except they are all probably as pathetic as he is.
Defeating Hades in debate is difficult, because the player can't criticize him harshly, even though they are inclined to do so. The philosopher hiding in the catacombs offers superb advice; most opponents are swayed by emotion, rather than reason. Hades can't be defeated with direct criticism. The player must carefully show him the error of his ways, guiding him to discover it for himself, leaving him a way to portray himself as the misguided, but ultimately good god he believes himself to be. The player must also appeal to Hades' fear of losing Persephone.
The problem is, it's too easy to upset
Hades. He has inflicted so much suffering, defends so many perverse
positions, and bristles at the smallest criticisms. Losing to Hades
is frustrating, because it takes too long to return to his room from
the last save point. Beating him by debate requires picking the
exact correct answers through an extended dialogue. Different
websites give slightly different steps. One, which describes the
process as “bouncing his words back at him,” includes a two phase
process with 36 steps. A single wrong reply can doom the player to
an attack by Hades, forcing the player to restart the entire process.
Another website has 37 steps. A third only describes the more
exacting second phase, with sixteen precise dialogue choices.
The player only defeats Hades by carefully revealing his faults, mistakes, and failures, but in a way that allows him an out; a means to prove himself a virtuous person.
Or, if this seems too much effort, threaten to kill Persephone, and win.
Both victory solutions result in the same ending, the fourth and final. It provides perfect closure, with an excellent resolution for every character. It's a strange, surprising aside, but it works. A single piece of advice. If you plan to challenge Hades at the restart of a loop, instead of sending Galarius on his errands, complete them yourself. I didn't do this, but it should result in a superior ending. Or it won't and I wasted your time.
In Conclusion,Games about Greek Mythology beg the question: Are they intelligent, or do they merely appear so? The Forgotten City contains enough subtle references, complex philosophy, and rational dialogue that it is deserving of being labeled clever. The time loop, often a conundrum, is well designed. The characters are deep enough to serve their purpose. Occasionally the puzzle solving is too simple. The larger mystery, likewise, flows too naturally together. It's difficult for the player to lose the thread, which would frustrate their experience, but it also leads the player to feel like their success is predetermined. The pathetic combat mechanics are a carry over from the Skyrim mod. The developer should have redesigned this element of The Forgotten City, or eliminated it entirely. The foresight required to defeat Hades, and his lack of logic, is frustrating, but the conversation is well written. The fourth ending, which every player should aspire to reach, offers a more satisfactory resolution than most games. Though the aged City has its faults and cracks, the encompassing experience makes it an epic visit.
Recent:
The Forgotten City: Comparative Religion and Deception
Relevant:
Pillars of Eternity: Characters, Companions, and Combat
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