The long development progress of The Forgotten City, spearheaded by lead developer and writer Nick Pearce, began from the beginning of Skyrim's release in 2011.

In the future, the developer plans to provide expansion through mods.

Multiple endings were both added and expanded from the original story.Įach character in the game has a strong background story and argument, complicating the decisions players make in the game. The plot was significantly altered from its original story in the mod with the setting of a Dwemer ruin being shifted towards that of ancient Rome as well as much as the script being updated and rewritten. The player is able to re-enter the portal they had entered from and restart the time loop if the Golden Rule is ever enacted, allowing them to keep both physical and mental objects such as important items and information.

The specific sins that are criteria for the Golden Rule to be enacted are not clear to any resident of the city, with numerous records of contradictions. These gold statues, depicting previous inhabitants and residents, can be heard by seemingly only the player whispering towards them. As the plot progresses and the player continues exploring it's elaborated that the city is under the conditional protection of the gods, where if anyone is to commit sin, all citizens of the city would be equally punished and turned into gold in a system referred to as the Golden Rule (originally Dwarves' Law). As the player explores said ruins, they are sent towards the era of the Roman Empire towards the now-restored city.

Karen asks them to look for her friend, Al Worth, who disappeared whilst investigating some nearby ruins. The game begins with the protagonist waking after being rescued from floating down the Tiber River by a woman named Karen. In both the full 2021 game and the 2015 mod, the story of The Forgotten City explores the existential relationship between humanity and its laws.

Forgotten city mod walkthrough