I must admit, I haven't been super interested to these story-driven "walking sim" games in the past few years. But this game just absolutely grabbed me. I was particularly intrigued by the so-called Atompunk aesthetics and the quality of writing shown by the trailers. Now, I'm glad to say that I'm very satisfied with it, as somebody who is not familiar at all with the source material.
For the most part, the game is very technically sound, which a lot of walking sims don't get to say. The art direction is just mesmerizing sometimes, lots of beautiful natural sceneries and retro-futuristic structures to take in (or to take pictures of. Pretty good photo mode!). The lighting in many of the environments are just spot on. The music/soundtrack doesn't stand out as much but it does its job of helping to set individual moods.
Gameplay is obviously basic, mostly involving simple exploration actions and dialogue choices. But it never got in the way, and there's barely any frustrating/uneccessary gameplay sections that usually would sour the experience on these kind of games. The minimalist UI and restrained handholding techniques achieved a good balance of giving you pointers for progression, but still maintain a high sense of immersion. I also liked the weighty-ness of the movement, it translates the feeling of being in a space suit well enough.
The story is definitely the best part. Its themes of facing insurmountable odds works out great, as the main two characters are constantly in a race to save as much of themselves (and others) as they can. The writing is solid, and the voice acting is great (especially for the main character, really loved her as a character overall). The pacing is pretty much spotless, I was scared of feeling too bored (I forgive it a bit, because you know, it's normal to feel at least a tiny bit bored exploring an empty planet by yourself) but it never got close to that point. Every new bit of story felt exciting, which are again helped by the writing and VO. Looking at the hidden trophies, there seems to be a decent amount of story branching as well. The ending I got is absolutely trippy, in a good way.
And that's it! This is a polished, well made story experience that successfully presents the most interesting parts of itself in a elegant manner. I know nothing about the novel, but this makes me want to read it, which I count as a success for the game.
For the most part, the game is very technically sound, which a lot of walking sims don't get to say. The art direction is just mesmerizing sometimes, lots of beautiful natural sceneries and retro-futuristic structures to take in (or to take pictures of. Pretty good photo mode!). The lighting in many of the environments are just spot on. The music/soundtrack doesn't stand out as much but it does its job of helping to set individual moods.
Gameplay is obviously basic, mostly involving simple exploration actions and dialogue choices. But it never got in the way, and there's barely any frustrating/uneccessary gameplay sections that usually would sour the experience on these kind of games. The minimalist UI and restrained handholding techniques achieved a good balance of giving you pointers for progression, but still maintain a high sense of immersion. I also liked the weighty-ness of the movement, it translates the feeling of being in a space suit well enough.
The story is definitely the best part. Its themes of facing insurmountable odds works out great, as the main two characters are constantly in a race to save as much of themselves (and others) as they can. The writing is solid, and the voice acting is great (especially for the main character, really loved her as a character overall). The pacing is pretty much spotless, I was scared of feeling too bored (I forgive it a bit, because you know, it's normal to feel at least a tiny bit bored exploring an empty planet by yourself) but it never got close to that point. Every new bit of story felt exciting, which are again helped by the writing and VO. Looking at the hidden trophies, there seems to be a decent amount of story branching as well. The ending I got is absolutely trippy, in a good way.
And that's it! This is a polished, well made story experience that successfully presents the most interesting parts of itself in a elegant manner. I know nothing about the novel, but this makes me want to read it, which I count as a success for the game.