During gamescom I had the opportunity to try out a playable version of Deliver us Mars. Direct continuation of Deliver us the moonthe studio’s first game KeokeN, the game aims to be more ambitious in almost everything it offers. bet successful?
Same only better
If you have played Deliver us the moon, you won’t look out of place with this suite. We are certainly embodying a new character, and this time on Mars. But the similarities to the studio’s previous title are numerous. You are actually searching for your father and on the side you must reconnect the system so that life on earth can continue. When I told you that you’re not in completely uncharted territory!
However, the game is much more ambitious on all levels. Without saying too much, we can expect “more”. More biomes, not only with Mars, but also with space stations, Earth… and other surprises. More narration, with 450 pages of script. More game mechanics, like adding ice picks or environmental puzzles. However, the game remains a linear adventure sustained by its narrative.
Revamped and expanded gameplay
It’s also important to talk about gameplay. The first game was intentionally slow as lunar gravity makes it difficult to type sprints. And it should be the same on Mars, only worse. But the developers preferred to focus on accessibility and the video game side this time, at the expense of realism. Is it a bad thing? I personally would rather say no. The movements are smoother, which allows for more varied game scenes. Especially since it’s a game with an advertised lifespan of around fifteen hours. Or almost three times the original. Maintaining a very realistic aspect on this point could have been very frustrating over time.
But that’s not the only change on the travel side. The addition of 2 ice axes for climbing is another aspect well highlighted in this demo. And their use is quite original. In climbing mode, you no longer control the character directly, but rather his ice axes. Press the left trigger to drive the left pickaxe, the right trigger to drive the right pickaxe. And the corresponding sticks therefore make it possible to steer them. The movements here are relatively slow, but that adds a good dose of excitement… In addition to some slightly crazy attempts like jumping onto a wall to place your ice axes just before you hit the ground. Interesting gameplay that works well. My only concern at this level is more related to the quantity of these phases. Very present in the demo, we could be close to overdosing if this is the case throughout the game.
You’re not changing a formula that works
Otherwise, we find everything that was the attraction of the first game: puzzles, solitary explorations, stories about holograms … The full game should also offer new features. We could actually see vehicle driving, zero gravity passages, or even what appeared to be scenes with other characters (other than flashbacks) in the trailers. The studio also confirmed to us on-site a few other surprises for players to face… but I won’t reveal more. After not being able to test (or even see) them, what’s the point of spoiling you, huh? None of us agree, but mostly it’s a confirmation that this trip to Mars will be devilishly more ambitious and promising.
Let’s just go back to the main puzzle that was suggested during my session. It consists of restoring power to a station. For this we have to play with fixed generators, from which a beam of a certain power is projected. It is then up to us to play between the different bars, placing a mobile tool to reduce their power in the right place and redirecting the flow to the generator. Nothing too complex, but not entirely trivial either. A fun puzzle in short, and it’s already very good! Again, we’re promised more progressive complexity throughout the adventure.
Bet successful!
To top it off, the game is beautiful. So we’re certainly not on an AAA, but animations in motion capture and environments are successful and believable. What’s more, with its cheap price tag of $29.99, the game doesn’t pretend to do so. And even if that doesn’t really mean much at the moment, I didn’t notice any bugs and the demo ran completely smoothly on the suggested PC.
In short, a reassuring presentation for Deliver us Mars who strives to build on the strengths of his elder. And all this with greater ambition on almost all fronts at the same time. To be confirmed on release but if you liked it Deliver us the moon, the lights are green so his suite is the same! I leave you the trailer shown during this gamescom and remind you that unless modified, the game will be released on February 2nd.
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