Jennifer Allen
By Jennifer Allen
“Is this the right place?… What did I come out here for?”
I came across Before I Forget almost serendipitously through a YouTube video mentioning stories which use memory and recollection to reach their audience. As a first-person exploration game, it’s relatively short at 45-60 minutes depending on how in depth you wish to dive into every little detail.
The setting is depicted like a constantly shifting watercolor painting as the protagonist wanders throughout her London flat. You immediately sense something is off when you spy various Post-It Notes strewn around to remind her of seemingly menial tasks. Eventually all color washes away as she continually gets lost in a seemingly endless hallway of doors on her way to use the restroom.
It isn’t until you finally find said restroom that you spy one of those ‘pill a day’ containers on the counter with a prescription label for Donepezil; an inhibitor medication to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
As the player investigates each item displayed in the flat, words and pictures will emerge bit by bit like a brush exposing a lost artifact. You can observe an array of photos and celebratory cards showing the protagonist and her husband at various stages of their relationship. You eventually learn that this woman is Dr. Sunita Appleby, an award-winning Cosmologist who is married to Dylan Appleby, a pianist and composer.
With tender voice-over from Anjali Kunapeneni as Sunita and Mason Scott Robinson as Dylan, you’ll be treated to assorted fleeting flashback moments as she remembers certain points in their relationship. A small purple umbrella prompts one of how they met in Amsterdam while music on the radio shifts to the day they moved into the flat as newlyweds.
As a secondary treat, we also learn that Sunita’s passion for Astronomy comes from her Leela Auntie (Bushra Lashkar). Small, endearing tidbits gradually emerge of the pair’s trips at night via a small telescope. We hear Auntie speak of various tales such as the punishment of Prajapati (in the Constellation Orion) which adds some endearing insight into the protagonist’s South Asian culture.
Before I Forget is the first title published by 3-Fold Games. The two-person team of Chella Ramanan and Claire Morwood who met by chance at a British game jam where they would also conceive the game’s concept. They also made sure to research the effects of Alzheimer’s disease with mental health charity to make sure the dialogue and puzzles would be more authentic. The inclusion of a somewhat abstract watercolor palette was used to better covey the contrast of confusion and clarity.
Since its final release in July of 2020, the game has been lauded as a unique experience to help explain the emotional impact of dementia through a first-person viewpoint. The gameplay allows the player to gradually piece together each part of Sunita’s rich life-story right along with her. It’s also extremely encouraging that it compassionately celebrates the culture of a South Asian woman.
If you know someone struggling with dementia, I highly recommend playing this game if only to gain the tiniest existential glimpse into what they may experience on a day-to-day basis. Perhaps, it’ll even leave a similar resonance to one of Leela Auntie’s tragic tales when you find yourself gazing up into the night sky…
Before I Forget is available to play now on PC and Console.
Jennifer Allen works at Saathee and is also a Podcaster, Blogger, Photographer, Graphic Artist, Gamer, Martial Arts Practitioner, and all around Pop Culture Geek. You can reach her at saathee@saathee.com
