A video game with heart, Before I Forget teaches us about the joys of life – especially relevant today

Gamers play as Sunita, a woman with early onset dementia, as she navigates through her home and recalls moments from her past

The developers, Chella Ramanan and Claire Morwood, wanted to tell a story that feels like a character study, one that uses a tragedy to celebrate life

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Before I Forget, a moving video game that follows a woman with early onset dementia in her home, is a love letter to living life to the best of one’s abilities. Photo: 3-Fold Games

Published: 7:45pm, 24 Jul 2020Updated: 7:58pm, 25 Jul 2020

Before I Forget is the reminder I didn’t know I needed.

While there is the terror of an illness at its core, the game is primarily a love letter to living life to the best of one’s abilities, of finding a place for career and relationships and of even mastering the art of forgiveness – toward others but most especially ourselves.

It also delivers a message for these stressful times: be kind to yourself.

Before I Forget resonates beyond any attempt to capture an illness (in this case Alzheimer’s). While the game never lets us forget the heartbreak that is living through dementia, this is ultimately a game about remembering the joys of life.

Before I Forget is set in the home shared by Dylan and Sunita. Photo: 3-Fold Games

We play as Sunita (voiced by Anjali Kunapaneni), a woman with early onset dementia. The story unfolds as a mystery, encouraging both Sunita and the player to pause and reflect on one’s life. There are brief moments in which the game disorients us, reflecting Sunita’s inability to know the way around her own home.

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