Before I Forget (video game)

Lore & Background

Players guide Sunita Appleby, a scientist with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, through her house. As she interacts with unfamiliar objects, some memories return. The game is played from a first-person perspective and includes puzzle-like elements, such as recalling where mementos have been left and guiding Appleby to the bathroom when she perceives her house as a shifting maze.

3-Fold Games consists of writer Chella Ramanan and programmer-artist Claire Morwood. Ramanan lives in Sweden, Morwood in Scotland. They met at a British game jam and conceived of Before I Forget there. Ramanan had been considering a story about memories and felt a video game was the best medium to explore them firsthand. The game jam's theme was borders, and they saw mental health and Alzheimer's disease as an interesting metaphorical take. Neither developer has personal experience with Alzheimer's disease; they always meant the game to be a character study. Feedback and an audience award at the game jam convinced them to continue.

A chance meeting with a healthcare worker led them to work with Gaming The Mind, a mental health charity, to design puzzles and internal dialogue more authentically. They also implemented suggestions from early playtesters. The game was designed to depict anxiety rather than horror. The palette was chosen to reflect this, and the division between greyscale and color visuals existed from the earliest versions. Humble Original picked up the game, providing financing for voice acting and PR. It was included in a Humble Choice bundle in June 2020 and released for Linux, macOS, and Windows on July 16, 2020. It was ported to Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on April 29, 2021.

Reader's Guide

Before I Forget received generally favorable reviews from critics, according to Metacritic. OpenCritic assessed that the game received strong approval, recommended by 100% of critics. Reviewers noted its existential themes, insight, and compassion. It was nominated for the British Academy Games Award for Game Beyond Entertainment in 2020. The game's significance lies in its authentic depiction of Alzheimer's disease, developed with input from a mental health charity and playtesters. It was praised for putting the protagonist's life at the forefront without letting the disease define her. Following the game's critical acclaim, Chella Ramanan co-founded POC in Play, an organization promoting diversity and inclusion in games, and contributed as a narrative designer on Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. The game remains a notable example of how video games can explore personal and medical experiences with sensitivity.

Did You Know?

• The game was originally conceived at a British game jam with the theme of borders.
• Neither developer had personal experience with Alzheimer's disease; they intended the game as a character study.
• 3-Fold Games worked with the mental health charity Gaming The Mind to design puzzles and internal dialogue.
• The game was nominated for the British Academy Games Award for Game Beyond Entertainment in 2020.

Gameplay & Design Philosophy

Before I Forget places players inside the first-person perspective of Sunita Appleby, a scientist navigating her own home while grappling with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Rather than presenting a traditional puzzle or action structure, the game invites players to interact with objects that have become unfamiliar, triggering fragments of memory to resurface. The house itself becomes a shifting, disorienting maze when Appleby's perception falters, and players must guide her to essential destinations like the bathroom. A core visual language runs throughout: a division between greyscale and color imagery that represents the tension between confusion and clarity, a design choice present from the earliest prototypes. The developers deliberately aimed for a tone of anxiety rather than horror, with both audio and visuals shifting to mirror the protagonist's current mental state. The color palette was carefully selected to reinforce this emotional register. The result is an intimate, sensory experience where the environment itself becomes a character, reflecting the inner turbulence of a mind slowly losing its grip on the familiar.

Development & Collaboration

Before I Forget was born at a British game jam themed around borders. Writer Chella Ramanan, based in Sweden, and programmer-artist Claire Morwood, based in Scotland, met there and saw Alzheimer's disease as a compelling metaphorical take on the prompt. Ramanan had long wanted to explore memory and believed video games were uniquely suited to the task. Neither developer had personal experience with the condition, and they always intended the project as a character study. Initial enthusiasm at the jam, including an audience award, convinced them to pursue further development. As interest grew, they became deeply concerned about accuracy. A chance encounter with a healthcare worker who corrected their understanding of the disease led them to partner with Gaming The Mind, a mental health charity, to refine the puzzle design and internal dialogue for authenticity. Early playtesters contributed personal anecdotes that shaped the final product. Financially, the project was a grind—Ramanan and Morwood worked on it in their spare time, and investors who expressed interest complained it was too short. They experimented with extending gameplay but rejected the results. Humble Original eventually provided the financing needed to add voice acting and public relations support.

Critical Reception & Awards

Critics responded to Before I Forget with near-universal praise. OpenCritic recorded a 100% recommendation rate, while Metacritic reflected generally favorable reviews. Reviewers consistently highlighted the game's emotional depth and its refusal to let the disease overshadow the woman at its center. Christian Donlan of Eurogamer described it as "filled with insight and generosity," noting that Appleby's life remains at the forefront rather than being defined by her condition. Simon Parkin in The Guardian called it "a memorable, affecting journey" that balances compassion with celebration. Hope Bellingham at GamesRadar shared that it sent her into "an existential spiral" about the nature of memory and perception. Harry Shepherd of PC Gamer selected it as his favorite game of 2020, praising it as "a mature, crucial experience" for understanding Alzheimer's. The following year, Henry Stockdale of Eurogamer named it his most memorable game of 2021, calling it "utterly heart-breaking, incredibly compassionate, and absolutely beautiful all at once." The game earned a nomination for the British Academy Games Award for Game Beyond Entertainment in 2020, and TechRadar included it in lists celebrating games from Black developers and games designed by women.

Legacy & Post-Game Impact

The critical success of Before I Forget opened new doors for its creators, particularly Chella Ramanan. Following the game's release, she co-founded POC in Play, an independent organization dedicated to advancing diversity and inclusion within the games industry. Her influence also reached into AAA development, where she contributed as a narrative designer on Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, developed by Massive Entertainment. The game itself became a touchstone for discussions about representation in interactive media, appearing on curated lists that spotlight work by Black developers and women-led design teams. For players with personal connections to dementia, the experience carried particular weight; Nintendo Life's Thomas Whitehead noted it could be emotionally difficult for those who had lost loved ones to the condition. The game's brief runtime—something investors had criticized—became part of its identity, a concentrated, intimate experience rather than a sprawling one. Released initially as a Humble Original on PC in July 2020 and expanded to Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Series X/S in April 2021, Before I Forget demonstrated that a two-person team working in their spare time could produce a work that resonated far beyond the indie scene, earning recognition at the highest levels of the industry.

Gallery