Between Horizons – A Sci-Fi Detective Adventure Review Summary

Engaging, well-written story and characters: The game features a captivating and well-written story with memorable characters, plot twists, and multiple endings, creating an immersive and engaging narrative experience. The story explores interesting themes and keeps players invested throughout the game.

Unique and appealing art style: The game features a unique and appealing art style, combining pixel art with 3D environments to create a visually distinctive and immersive experience. The art style enhances the game's atmosphere and contributes positively to the overall aesthetic.

Pleasant and atmospheric soundtrack: The game features a pleasant and atmospheric soundtrack that complements the story's tone and enhances the overall experience. The music is well-done and fits the locations and moods of the events.

Enjoyable and easy to play: The game is enjoyable and easy to play, with comfortable controls and a smooth gameplay experience. The game is suitable for casual play, allowing players to enjoy the narrative at their own pace.

Well-designed and logical puzzles: The game offers well-designed and logical puzzles that require investigation, deduction, and critical thinking to solve. The puzzles are challenging but fair, providing a sense of satisfaction when solved and contributing positively to the gameplay experience.

Linear story, weak choices, rushed ending: The game's narrative suffers from a rushed and linear story, limited impactful choices, and a disappointing ending. Many reviewers felt their decisions had little consequence, leading to an unsatisfying conclusion. The game's short length and lack of replayability further compound these issues.

Poor UI, confusing evidence management: The game's UI and evidence management system are poorly designed, leading to player frustration. Reviewers cited issues such as a lack of sorting options, unclear evidence presentation, and difficulty finding relevant information. This makes solving cases more tedious and less intuitive.

Numerous bugs and glitches: The game suffers from various technical issues, including bugs, glitches, and camera problems. These issues disrupt the gameplay experience and can sometimes force players to restart the game. The presence of these bugs, even after a year of release, is a significant concern.

Excessive backtracking, tedious traversal: The game involves excessive backtracking and running around the ship to find specific characters or evidence. This tedious gameplay mechanic reduces immersion and makes the game feel drawn out. The ship's design and the lack of clear guidance contribute to this issue.

Underwhelming graphics and art: The game's graphics and art style are underwhelming, with limited animations and disproportionate character models. The world lacks interactivity, and the overall presentation feels uneven. This contributes to a less immersive and engaging experience.

Engaging detective gameplay and cases: The core gameplay revolves around detective work: investigating crime scenes, gathering evidence, interrogating suspects, and making deductions to solve cases. The game emphasizes logical thinking and provides a sense of accomplishment when cases are solved correctly. The cases are well-designed and engaging.

Irreversible case conclusions: Players must carefully consider all evidence before submitting a final conclusion for each case, as there is no option to revise or change the answer once submitted. This mechanic encourages thorough investigation and thoughtful decision-making. The game does not explicitly confirm when all possible actions for a task have been completed or provide the results, requiring the player to analyze information and evidence to draw conclusions.

Meaningful choices, no manual saves: The game features a single autosave file and no manual saving, meaning player choices have lasting consequences. The story is shaped by these decisions, leading to multiple endings and increased replayability. This also means that mistakes cannot be undone.

Play as security officer Stella: Players take on the role of Stella, the ship's security officer, who becomes a detective to solve crimes and uncover secrets. The pool of suspects grows, each with half-truths and hidden agendas, adding complexity to the investigations.

Gameplay similar to Lacuna: Reviewers noted the gameplay feels similar to Lacuna, with familiar mechanics and a 2D side-scrolling quest format. However, this game has an open world feel, unlike the more linear structure of Lacuna.

Solid performance, Steam Deck verified: The game generally exhibits solid performance, with multiple reviewers specifically noting smooth gameplay on the Steam Deck in both handheld and docked modes. Some reviewers reported no performance issues at all.

Minor technical issues exist: The game has some minor technical issues. These include a rare instance of freezing during a cutscene, as well as some small flaws and bugs like typos and imperfect menu navigation. Some of these issues have already been addressed.

Strongly recommended for genre fans: Many reviewers recommend the game, especially to fans of detective, sci-fi, and narrative-driven games. Some suggest it's best for those who enjoy the developer's previous title, Lacuna. The game is often praised for its engaging story, intriguing cases, and meaningful choices.

Consider price relative to content: Some reviewers suggest that the game might not be worth the full price due to its length or amount of content. They recommend waiting for a sale or considering the game's short length when making a purchase decision.

Simple detective work: The game is recommended as a visual novel+ for those wanting a short sci-fi story, but not for those expecting a challenging detective game with plot twists.

Not universally recommended: Some reviewers do not recommend the game due to issues like bugs, translation errors, a weak plot, or a feeling that it doesn't live up to its potential. Some reviewers suggest that the game is only worth buying on sale.

Compared to the game 'Lacuna': Several reviews compare this game to the developer's previous title, Lacuna. While some feel it's a worthy successor or even better, others find it inferior in terms of polish and gameplay. This comparison is a key factor in their recommendation.

Automatic saves, branched plot: The game uses an autosave system without manual saving or chapter select. The plot is branched, encouraging multiple playthroughs despite the lack of save control.

Hybrid 2.5D art style: The game features a hybrid 2.5D art style, combining pixelated character sprites with 3D environments. One reviewer suggests adding a film grain filter to improve the visual style.

Simplistic political expression: The game contains political content, but its expression is less mature than its predecessor, presenting a simplistic view of dictatorship versus democracy. The game facilitates democratic reforms without violence, but power remains with the original elite.

Ethics committee's role unclear: The game mentions an ethics committee, but the player never interacts with them, leaving their role and influence unclear. This lack of presence may detract from the game's world-building and narrative coherence.

Endings lack uniqueness: The game's endings feel too similar to each other, diminishing the impact of player choices. This suggests a need for more distinct and meaningful consequences based on player actions.