I like to think that Robert Foster is my cursor and I’m moving him around the screen to click on things. When it came to the gameplay, I was worried that adding a whole new dimension would ruin that nostalgic feeling I was desperate to feel, but they’ve done such a good job. Every location has a nod or a wink to the original game, and while it’s not essential to have prior knowledge of the events of Beneath a Steel Sky, for those that do, noticing all the little in-jokes and easter eggs is very rewarding. The attention to detail is breathtaking, especially for those returning to this universe. From the ground level, high-class utopia, to the rusty catwalks of the lower-class skyline. They look much more detailed and realistic yet are immediately recognisable and familiar. The Watchmen co-creator has done an incredible job of bringing these characters, old and new, into the modern gaming era. This may have something to do with the return of legendary comic book artist Dave Gibbons as Art Director. Complete with smart use of colour that not only makes the game look gorgeous but also helps set the tone and feel of each scene. But I wasn’t expecting anything quite as lovely as the bright, cel-shaded art I was presented with.

It makes me feel old to say this, but it’s been 28 years since the original game came out, so I was expecting some graphical improvements. If you don’t like it, go back to your Fortnites or Minecrafts, and get off of my lawn, you whippersnappers. Some people will say it disrupts the flow of the game, or that the story stalls in the middle, but this is just the pace of 90s point and click games. These kinds of games were never designed to tell you what to do or hold your hand while you figure it out, instead, they challenge the player to think creatively. It’s exactly the kind of old-school challenge I wanted from the game and found it consistently comforting and rewarding. However, this is not meant as a criticism. You’ll end up trying every item you scrounge and steal on everyone and everything, in every combination until you figure out what you need to do to progress. Like the 90s adventure games that inspired and preceded it, solving a puzzle in Beyond a SteelSky it’s never as simple as putting a key in a lock. It also helps with the out-of-box thinking you’ll need to navigate its many puzzles. Dick, and the philosophical artificial intelligence ponderings of Asimov, Beyond a Steel Sky leans into its sci-fi setting and effectively use it to set the scene.

Mixing the barren desert planets of Philip K. The city he left in the capable hand of his trusted companion, Joey, is not the utopia it appears to be. An intro animation catches us up quickly and it’s not long before Robert must return to Union City in search of a kidnapped child. Set 10 years after its 1994 predecessor, Beyond a Steel Sky, returns us to the Gap and our hero, Robert Foster.

Beyond a steel sky switch review