I honestly can't give enough praise to this game series. There are very few games I have played that have caused a legitimate emotional reaction out of me. Why? Most games don't take the time to develop characters or make them understandable. Geneforge does. From stumbling through the first game to coming to sympathize with the Shapers and the struggles they face to genuinely caring for Alwan, this series was not only one of the first games I played as a child, but a game series I still come back to as an adult.

Now, I'll try to do something that other reviewers probably didn't do (And you can bet your happy butt I won't be reading every other review to fact check this claim) to sell you on this game: Describe why my cold, dead heart was moved by this game. More specifically, Alwan.

FIRST, let's set the stage, shall we: In the 1990s, everything was about shooters and platformers. They were the hot new thing, and I wanted nothing to do with them. I liked puzzles, reading and only owned a massive Macintosh computer (That's an apple, for you younger types). There wasn't a lot of choice for Mac users, but I was lucky enough to stumble onto a shareware demo of Geneforge 1. (Again, for you younger types, Shareware was a demo that was actually the entire game. You would simply purchase the game if the demo part of it was to your liking. This was back when game companies weren't pure evil). As a child, the world awed me with its creativity and uniqueness. I barely understood the more adult themes of the conflict of freedom vs order, but I loved making little monsters, naming them and getting really upset when a bigger monster killed my new friend. I somehow (I honestly have no idea how I managed to do it to this day) managed to complete the first game as a kid. I'm not calling the series a paragon of difficulty or anything, but I didn't complete quests as a kid. I went out of my way to avoid talking to anyone, actually. As a kid, I just attacked anything that moved. If it killed me, I would let it live until I ran into it the next time I saw it. Think of it as an ill-informed murder run. Despite that, the game left such an impact on me that I would spend the next 10 years of my life thinking about it. Where did all the people go? What happened to the little monsters I made? Turns out, there was an entire series of games that I would discover much later.

Now, coming back to the game series with the eyes of an adult, this is what happened: Without going into too many spoiler-y details, the first game sets the stage for the conflict that is central to the Geneforge series. While each game can be ended in any number of ways, the sequels always assume that the player chose the most neutral path AND that each sequel has a new protagonist. So, by the third game, I encountered Alwan and Greta. Both are special NPCs that chit-chat with you (if you have them in your party) about their dreams and views on the current conflict. I kept them both around for a while, seeing as it made the game easier for the playstyle I had chosen, but came to agree more strongly with Alwan as the game went on. Abandoning Greta, I stuck with Alwan and completed the game in the most Shaper-aligned way possible. Satisfied, I moved on to the next game. This is where Alwan and the player's emotions can really begin to align. Not only was the Shaper-ending of the third game now only wishful thinking, both Alwan and your new player character struggle against frustration and setbacks as the game works against both of you. The cycle repeats, and I chose the most shaper-aligned ending possible. This time, it was MUCH harder to accomplish. The game very clearly wants you to be neutral or ally with Greta. So, slightly less satisfied, I moved onto the last game.

Warning: This next part has HEAVY spoilers. I can't explain my emotional response without them.

I didn't even know if Alwan would survive the brutal battle of the last game, so I expected him to be dead. I spent the first half of the game annoyed with my only shaper ally at that time. He was unbearable to my now-shaped (hah!) views on the conflict. But, if I wanted to stay true to the values that me and Alwan fought for, I needed to bite my tongue and do what my ally wanted. I felt abused and lied to, treated like a puppet to dance to vaguely-shaper-like ideals that were only in the interest of some greedy bastard. Around the halfway mark, this "ally" of mine mentions Alwan. Without a moment of hesitation, I threw aside the side quests and tasks I had left and literally ran my way through the zones to reach him. I created entire armies of cannon fodder so I could skip combat. I did not want to wait any longer. I finally reach him, and I felt something akin to anger and empathy. Alwan, after all we had been through together, was on permanent life support. Strung up like a puppet with metal wiring and magic so that he could even speak. Whereas I felt like an emotional puppet for the first part of the game, Alwan had become a physical one. While his shaper ideals and views remained untainted, he could never fight with me on the battlefield ever again. He couldn't even leave this room again. It was crushing to see, and the dialogue really drove home how much he's sacrificed, and continuing to sacrifice, for his ideals and his beliefs. Despite the danger it posed to my own character, I immediately pledged to help him. I had social obligations the following day. I cancelled all of them, something I had never done before. I always drew a line between my social life and my gaming life. But this was for Alwan. I spent the next 20 hours plowing through the campaign with the zealous fervor of a crusader. This was no longer about right or wrong. This was getting revenge for Alwan. By the time the credits started to roll, I felt that indescribable feeling of "The Void" that washes over you after you complete a life-altering experience. I just sat back in my chair and stared blankly at the screen, trying to process the emotions. This was something I knew I could never re-capture in another play through. That first high as I experienced the story and characters of a world that was perfect for what I needed it to be at the time. The blind journey with no prior knowledge or experience of the story's conclusion.

You can call me dramatic if you want, but this was my genuine experience. I did not add style or flair to this story. Alwan and his journey genuinely affected me. It taught me how powerful the image of someone who will stop at nothing to achieve what they believe is just and right can be. Geneforge is, without a question in my mind, a complete masterclass of game story and character design. Some may dislike the graphics and game engine, but the story inside is more than worth it. This is my favorite game of all time, and nothing has matched up to it in my heart.

tl;dr : 5 stars. 10/10. Game of the Year. Every Year.
Buy it. Play this game series.