Forest Grove, developed by Miga Games and published by Blowfish Studios, is a futuristic crime mystery investigation game, where you use advanced technology to recreate a scene and look for clues. Think Star Trek holodeck, which creates an entire multistorey house that you can walk through, interact with objects, and even recreate moments in time.

I have played a few games similar in theme to this, and I was excited about this one. For the moment, it is only the demo, but it is set to be released in the first quarter of 2023, and I urge people to check out the game trailer.

You are a special forensic investigator given a case where a young girl has gone missing. Her mother died a few years back from a rare disease, and her father remarried before recently dying from what is being called suicide. Zooey, the heiress of her father’s billion-dollar tech business, was last seen by her stepmother, who said she put her to bed and then went to bed herself, and in the morning, she was gone. Forest Grove police have called you in to help find out what happened, and you’ll search for clues, reveal truths, and uncover the secret agendas of those closest to Zooey.

Now, being a demo, I didn’t spend a lot of time with the game; only a couple of hours before I had reached as far as I could. The controls are easy to use but they do currently feel a little laggy. Nothing too concerning, just a little clunky, and it’ll probably be fixed before release.

The puzzles and evidence collecting are cool, and I still am impressed with the use of holographic recreations as the basis of the investigative aspect of the game. This allows for unrealistic things to be incorporated into the mystery-solving process, like being able to pick up sounds and conversations, and recreate moments of people’s interactions from days prior.

As a demo, you don’t get the full use of the evidence board that helps connect moments and even links evidence with the person who last touched it. I already have my suspicions, but I am not even halfway through the investigation yet, but I am itching to continue.

I won’t make full judgments about the visual and sound side yet. It is not a graphical masterpiece, nor would I expect it to be, but it does well. The level of detail in everything is amazing. The character models are good, but not great, and they sometimes remind me of Claymation, where some parts are a little exaggerated and cartoonish.

The music and background sounds are there, but for the moment, do not add to or take away from the experience. There were no stand-out moments that had me feeling like I was recreating a stressful or suspenseful moment in time; it is still early in the investigation, though.

So far I am loving this game and can not wait for its release. Whether I review the full game or not, I will be getting it so I can finish my investigation – I am now completely invested in it. Again, I urge you to check out the game trailer yourself. If you get the chance to play the demo, do it, or you can watch my play through on my twitch VOD and YouTube.

Written by: Adam Brasher