For the whole game I guessed at the significance of that blue and white rabbit. River, in one of John's most recent memories, had pleaded with him to understand its deeper meaning, and he couldn't work it out. I noted down at the time, "The agony of the meaning of the rabbit." By its eventual reveal, well, I was broken.
So yes, if I can be unpleasantly self-indulgent for a moment, I do have something of a reputation for crying at games. It's a reputation that's not really earned. I can think of two games that have ever made me cry, and have a nagging suspicion that there's a third I'm forgetting. In 30 years of playing games, it's not a common factor for me. But add another to the list. I sobbed twice during To The Moon. And then a third time when I told my wife why. I share this information in the knowledge that I'm underlining the endless teasing the follows, because I think it's crucial to explain why To The Moon is quite so significantly good. I don't want to tell you anything of the story beyond those opening scenes I've described, so letting you know quite how moving it becomes is excellent short-hand. In fact, I think the most recent teaser trailer for the game does an excellent job of capturing the overall mood.
None of those scenes are in the game, by the way. But that turn, that moment when things feel different, that's something the game keeps achieving over and again. To do it once is impressive - to be able to shift the mood from silliness to heart-wrenching sadness so many times demonstrates incredible skill. And it sustains this for a long time. The game lasts a decent five hours.
To The Moon takes on old age, regret, mental health, and love. It's about the role of ambition versus reality, and what's worth sacrificing. It's a properly funny comedy, and a hanky-requiring tragedy. Games this effective are rare beasts, and when it's disguised by such simple graphics (albeit with wonderful animation, and such detail), old-school Japanese RPG presentation (something it brilliantly jokes about very early on), no voice acting, nor photo-realistic expressions, it's something of a feat. What it does have, however, is incredible music by creator Gao, including a perfectly used piano refrain that so brilliantly scores much of the game. When there's so much meaning to be found just in the choice of notes used in the music, you know you're onto something special. And at the end there's a song by Laura Shigihara. (Oh, and in my first post about the game I made a snide remark about wishing one game's theme didn't have a single strain of a violin in it. I'd just like to say that I'm a wrong idiot, since a single strain of a violin caused my second bout of sobbing - its use was extraordinary.)
To The Moon is incredibly special. I implore people to play it.
