It is no secret that mods usually help the longevity of a video game. In most cases, mods enhance a game in terms of aesthetics and mechanics, such as adding a new layer of texture that wasn’t present in the vanilla version. However, there are also cases whenmods provide players with an entirely different experience, which is the case forThe Forgotten City, an award-winningSkyrimmod.
In just a few days, developer Modern Storyteller and publisher Dear Villagers are releasingThe Forgotten City,a standalone game based on the popularSkyrimmodthat focuses on having players make moral choices while solving a mystery. The game is being made on Unreal Engine, offering players a huge revamp of the original mod. With its release just around the corner, here’s everything players need to know about The Forgotten City.

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What is The Forgotten City?
As previously mentioned,The Forgotten Cityis a standalone game based on theSkyrimmod that won a Writer’s Guild award. The game has been in development for four years now and is also backed by the Australian government.In a preview with Game Rant, the developer highlighted the importance of recasting the mod in Ancient Rome. To stay true to the era, players will notice how NPCs emulate people’s attitudes from that time.
Additionally, the upcoming game’s time loop mechanic is designed to be more complex, and players will find how deeply interwoven it is inThe Forgotten City’ssetting. Apart from the time loop, the “Golden Rule” is prevalent throughout the city, which means that if any character commits a “sin,” everyone in the city will face death.

The Forgotten City Trailer and Changes From The Original Mod
In April,a new trailer forThe Forgotten Citydid not dig deep into details, it did provide players a hint on its story and what they can expect from the game. The trailer also highlighted the murder mystery focus ofThe Forgotten Citythat sees players embark on a non-linear journey filled with time travel and interacting with people from an era long gone.
People who played the originalSkyrimmod would know thatThe Forgotten Citytook place in an underground city withinthe world ofSkyrim. However, the upcoming standalone game takes the setting to an underground city beneath Ancient Rome. Instead of playing as aSkyrimcharacter, the standalone game lets players control a time traveler transported 2,000 years in the past.
In an interview with Game Rant, writer Nick Pearce sharedsome of the biggest changes inThe Forgotten City. Pearce recounted how the studio decided to level up everything they could, including the new setting, gameplay mechanics, voice acting, and soundtrack. However, Pearce mentioned that out of all the changes made for the game, his favorite is the new script, which was completely rewritten with twists, characters, puzzles, and multiple endings. Pearce said the script forThe Forgotten Cityis double the length of the original mod at 80,000+ words, allowing even those who have played the mod to be surprised with all the new content.
The Forgotten City Release Date and Platforms
AfterThe Forgotten City’sinitial announcement at The PC Gaming Show in 2018, it was planned to launch sometime in 2019. However, due to the studio wanting to expand the scope of the standalone game,The Forgotten Citywas eventually delayed to 2020, and was postponed again to summer 2021. Last month, Modern Storyteller and Dear Villagers finally announcedThe Forgotten City’srelease date, which falls on July 17, 2025.
The Forgotten Citywill be released on the PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, with a later release planned for Switch, allowing fans across multiple platforms to experience the game based on the award-winningSkyrimmod. Given the mod’s popularity, it is interesting to see howThe Forgotten Citywill turn out,especially given the legacy it has to live up to.
The Forgotten Citywill release Jul 03, 2025, on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and later in 2021 for Switch.
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