The Forest Quartet is a soothing puzzle adventure game about death and the afterlife, from indie developer Mads & Friends. Playing as the ghost of a lead singer in a mysterious forest, you’ll need to solve puzzles to help your jazz band grieve and rediscover their spark for music.

Despite the grim premise, The Forest Quartet has a touching and relaxing approach by focusing on the healing process. Somehow, the devs mustered a tone that feels more sincere than saccharine.

But its themes are also sophisticated enough that the dialogue should be more nuanced, or even absent altogether. There is some charming comic relief, but the writing is overt and the voice acting is a little underwhelming. Your progress directly results in Earthly decisions, and surely the game’s lush visuals could have sufficed.

The surreal forest that players traverse is filled with compelling machines, obstacles, and dark forces. There’s a genuine sense of intrigue, which gradually evolves in interesting ways. The art design for this game is stunning and creative, marking a very bright beginning for the burgeoning dev team.

The central puzzles are generally solved by simple exploration, encouraging you to enjoy the environments. They aren’t very challenging, so some players may feel disappointed. But they do successfully reinforce a calming mood, which was clearly intended.

Players have just a couple of abilities as the ghostly protagonist, but they are cleverly designed. Also, the fluidity of the basic movement is like butter. It would be very satisfying to simply float and fly around in this game regardless of the puzzles or story. You can also sing to heal the forest, which is more uplifting than corny.

Final Thoughts

Although The Forest Quartet wears its heart on its sleeve, the gameplay and visuals are exceptional. It captures the spirit of the sentimental jazz genre, conveys the afterlife in an engaging way, and encourages healing. The puzzles are rewarding, there are few if any bugs, and the story doesn’t overstay its welcome.

Score: 8/10