We’re a few months in now and 2023 has quite simply continued on with the unusual delights that 2022 gave us, with the first few months of the year already seeing big AAA releases having already graced our console storefronts and the shelves of our favourite GAME stores. Take your eyes away from the obvious excitement that Dead Space or Hogwarts Legacy may bring and look further afield into the indie market and what you will spot is the recent arrival of KeokeN Interactive release Deliver Us Mars, the sequel to 2019 hit Deliver Us The Moon, a sort of ‘AA’ adventure if you will. With the sequel looking to provide the same level of quality here’s how it stacks up.
This sequel puts players into the shoes of young and promising astronomer and space cadet Kathy Johansen, the youngest Astronaut on earth and the same Kathy Johansen that we first heard of in recordings in the last game, only now you’re stepping into her shoes 10 years on from the events of Deliver Us The Moon. The premise sees players heading to Mars in a last-ditch effort to save those on Earth once more, with players needing to get their hands on the valuable stolen resource of Helium 3 that was taken off to Mars last time around, as it proves to be the last known source of energy that can get humanity out of this sticky situation that is its potential extinction. Of course, Kathy isn’t going to miss out on this opportunity and sneaks onboard the Zephyr with a last-ditch team of astronauts who head out on the recovery mission to not only save humanity but also to uncover more information about Outward, the group that originally stole the valued resource.
Whilst the game is a direct follow on to the last title, there is no need to have played Deliver Us The Moon to be able to enjoy this title thanks to an informative exhibit at the start of the game showcasing the events of the last title to ensure players are up to speed with just what’s been going on.
One thing that’s pressed on heavily throughout the game’s 9-hour story is the sentimental side of things, with the relationship between Kathy and her father playing a pivotal role in the narrative of the game. Although early on this comes across as a little cheesy, it does even out eventually and ensures there is a much personal and deeper character to Kathy than simply a budding astronaut going to space.
Away from the story and gameplay has been changed up somewhat in the sequel with a larger focus on traversal this time around, or more how you’ll be traversing rather, as Kathy utilizes a pair of pickaxes to climb all manner of surfaces, which brings a lot more excitement and verticality to exploring levels and environments which makes things a lot more exciting this time around. Sadly this excitement does feel halted thanks to the clunkiness of it all, with players required to set one axe into a surface, and then focus on the next one whilst giving enough time between each movement to ensure you don’t simply plummet to whatever lays below unnecessarily, and this can be rather frustrating when you just want to move through an area with some level of gusto behind you, but whilst it can be frustrating there are only a few areas in which it felt downright irritating. Of course, a patch could quite possibly smoothen things out later on but for now, there is a little clunkiness to push past.
Another change this time around is just how much more interactive the world is. Of course, puzzles were prevalent last time out so it was always expected we’d see them return, but this time around we see things go much deeper in terms of world involvement with puzzles requiring more thinking and more objects to interact with this time around. For example, to progress through one particular area I was required to point a beam of energy to power things, however, a few puzzles later and this same puzzle type was invigorated by the introduction of additional obstacles that would weaken the power of the beam, meaning a little extra thought had to be put into just where I was placing each item as to match the required power level required to progress. It’s not exactly a new method to puzzling in games, but it certainly had me engaged enough to think outside the box, which is a welcome surprise after all the handholding seen within many games recently.
The final aspect to puzzling comes from your robotic companion AYLA, who joins you throughout the game, with some occasions requiring you to manually control AYLA and guide it from time to time as to ensure puzzles are correctly aligned however whilst it certainly doesn’t take away from the experience and doesn’t add unnecessary time to puzzle solving, it simply just provides another unique way to solve puzzles throughout the game which is a positive for variety but not one that was entirely necessary.
Onto the visuals and Deliver Us Mars is a rather eye-catching adventure with some impressive visuals, to say the least. Whilst there are some technical hiccups when it comes to character models, and a certain stiffness to certain scenes every now and again, for the most part, Deliver Us Mars provides a quality experience, whilst environmental detail is just incredible, with multiple areas containing refined details that will have you wanting to pan the camera and just take in the view.
Conclusion
Overall, if you found yourself a fan of Deliver Us The Moon and wanted more, Deliver Us Mars will no doubt have you feeling thrilled. If you’ve yet to play that however then this is still a perfectly enjoyable title in its own right too, and whilst the opening hour can feel like it’s dragging a little, the story soon picks up and feels compelling enough to get you through to find out just what’s been going on. There are noticeable improvements here too and whilst there is still some stiffness and clunkiness to work around, Deliver Us Mars is a game well worth a look if you want something memorable.
This game was reviewed based on Xbox S|X review code, using an Xbox S|X console. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.
