This review may contain vague spoilers. This game found its way into my collection when I was browsing for a more story-driven alternative to No Man's Sky. After landing on Gliese 6143c, I was treated with a tutorial-like set of objectives. With the help of these, I spent the first few days surviving as I tried to work out how to get underground. As I explored the depths, carvings appeared all over the place, which fondly brought me back to my experience of ThatGameCompany's Journey. Because of this link, I immediately decided that I was discovering the fate of an extinct civilisation. At this stage I couldn't work out what this had to do with phoning home. But there are always plot twists. After winding my way through the caves and underground structures, the game took on a darker theme. The player begins to empathise with a very human-like civilisation as it becomes apparent that they were helplessly manipulated by another race. At this point, the horror side of the game became alive - the dead begin to... acknowledge me. I felt the need to spend hours at a time playing, desperately wanting to know what happened to them as I wondered how mankind was going to survive - as my PDA, Wallis, kept reminding me. When the power was switched on, the game became a kind of toned-down Magrunner. I felt more and more manipulated by aliens that had a typical Lovecraft attitude to morality. The game went from mere survival to fascinating exploring to bland horror. I appreciated the beacons that helped me get through the game. They stopped me from giving up, although I still had to consult Youtube in order to get through a few puzzles. The ending screamed 'Series!', yet despite loose-ends and plot-holes on all three plotlines (mankind, you, and the aliens) I enjoyed the game and don't regret playing. A small-developer gem. SUMMARY Graphics: 8/10 Music: 7/10 Voice Acting: 9/10 Gameplay: 7/10 Immersion: 9/10 Storyline: 8/10 Family-Friendliness: 5/10 Overall: 53/70 - 76%
