Forgotton Anne (not a typo) launches today on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC, and it feels like a game that Hayao Miyazaki would make. (If it weren’t for his infamous dislike of technology, of course.) The game’s art has a distinctly Studio Ghibli vibe, with locations that feel both magical and lived-in, and characters who move in a way that is warm and human. But the resemblance is more than just how the game looks, as Forgotton Anne also has a premise that calls to mind animated classics like Spirited Away or Howl’s Moving Castle.
It takes place in a realm parallel to ours, where lost objects — everything from missing socks to discarded lamps — come to life, hoping to one day be remembered again and return to our world. They’re all assigned jobs when they arrive, so you’ll stumble across guns who serve as cops and train engineers who are actually plush, purple chairs. Each of these objects, known as forgotlings, is imbued with a magical energy that turns them from household object into a living, feeling creature. As Anne, seemingly the only human in the world, you have the power to suck that magical force away. She’s a police officer, judge, and executioner all in one, attempting to keep the realm in order by punishing deviants. The forgotlings call her “Madame Enforcer.”
In one of the earliest scenes in Forgotton Anne, the titular character is confronted by a rebel fighter, who may or may not have been responsible for a devastating explosion in the town she protects. Anne stumbles upon the rebel hiding in a closet, and this discovery forces her to make a choice: she can let him go or…
