There’s something strangely peaceful and even comforting about gloomy settings that we can’t seem to properly articulate. The combination of a rainy day and a hot cup of tea or coffee, or a small wooden cabin in a dark, vast forest, supplemented only by the crackling of a modest fireplace. The game we’re here to talk about today, published by Bedtime Digital Games and developed by Mads & Friends (a studio composed literally of the family and friends of the founder, Mads) takes this little theme and applies it to a story about music.
The Forest Quartet is heavily story-driven. In the game, you follow the story of a ‘gone, but forgotten, lead singer’, meandering as a spirit through various acts, each one representing members of her dormant band, all leading up to a climactic farewell concert!
The game has three acts, with each representing one band member (Kirk, JB, and Sebastian). Kirk’s arc has you investigating a strange fungus slowly spreading and decaying the vibrant green nature that Kirk had once derived musical inspiration from. JB’s is set in a forest plunged into seemingly eternal darkness, where you must find the literal light to ward off the creatures swarming their house, figuratively shining the light on his once-fizzled musical spark. Finally, Sebastian’s act depicts a violent volcanic eruption causing mass fires and destruction. This is only rectifiable by the refurbishment of a system of water pipes deep underground to quell the volcano’s eruptions.
The jazz score throughout the game will be as personal and resonant as you could possibly get for this sort of game – it’s about music after all! It does seem like there’s a lot of thoughtful imagery involved in The Forest Quartet, so if you’re willing to keep your cognition stimulated and are interested in playing, it’ll be made available for the PS4, PS5, and PC (via Steam), just around the corner on December 8.
