Game news After a first video game rated 86/100, this studio returns with a new sci-fi title where you have no second chance
Between Horizons is the new game from the developers of the very good Lacuna which will appeal to fans of science fiction and investigations.
Published this week without much ceremony, Between Horizons the latest 2.5D science fiction adventure game from DigiTales Interactive who, three years earlier, released the very good Lacuna: a first experience of SF in a film noir style – which inherits the excellent average of 86/100 on Metacritic – which tasked us with helping Agent Neil Conrad make a series of difficult decisions during a sordid murder case. Still in a pixel art style, Between Horizons this time doubles its ambition: the player explores a huge spaceship called Zephyr, which houses a slew of progressively unlockable rooms, like a metroidvania. The choices are once again legion, and bad decisions can have serious consequences. So forget the illusion of free will that you frequently have the sensation of experiencing in most major narrative productions, Between Horizons develops its system of branches in a skillful and very concrete way by integrating it into a series of promising investigations .
The spaceship in which your heroine is sailing carries defenders of humanity, busy for several years now carrying out a vital mission: find an oasis far from a destroyed Earth that can no longer accommodate anyone. The game nevertheless addresses other themes, such as that of the personal freedom of the intermediate generations, designating those inhabitants born on the ship and who will not even live long enough to see the end of the journey, in 130 years. A very interesting condition to explore, especially since Jasmin Pfeiffer, co-founder of the studio, emphasized that it was a metaphor for young people who must “living with the decisions made by the previous generation”.
Between Horizons is a 2.5D science fiction detective adventure. 33 years after the start of the Zephyr’s journey, its mission is suddenly compromised. Can you find the culprit before it’s too late? Experience an exciting story in a semi-open world that evolves and ends based on your choices – Steam Sheet.
No second chance!
Between Horizons relies on a flexible evidence system that allows players to assign clues to cases, but also to confront the inhabitants of the ship about them. It’s not just a matter of chatting with a list of suspects to sort out fact from fiction, but of analyzing scenes and even taking part in a variety of puzzles. Also, if you submit the wrong solutions, the story will still continue, leaving you alone to face your regrets.
Uncompromising, the title is based on an automatic save system which prevents you from going back in any way. But that’s the beauty of the game. And if like me, you’re not particularly charmed by the game’s graphics, you could nevertheless quickly be seduced by its level of immersion. The story grabs you very quickly, and even gives you dubbed scenes from time to time. Be careful though, the French language is not available. Note that a demo is available and confronts you with your first case: a masked man thwarts the security of the ship for obscure reasons. Between Horizons is available for less than sixteen euros on the Steam platform. As for the studio’s first game, Lacuna, you can buy it for the modest sum of €3.19.