When one thinks of a sci-fi game, you’re forgiven for thinking of a grand adventure like Mass Effect or Starfield. Does your mind alternatively ponder Control or Detroit: Become Human, both of which showcase scientific advancement on a slightly smaller scale? Well, when I picture a great sci-fi title, I think of Alien: Isolation or the first two Dead Space games. Both present unnerving experiences venturing across sunless, sombre space stations, encountering Xenomoprhs, Necromorphs, or anything morph-like. In the vastness of space, what happens when you’re confined to claustrophobic corridors, all alone? Deliver Us the Moon – initially released in 2018 on Steam – breaks into this sub-genre and leaves a mark. While it lacks the petrifying alien enemies of similar titles, its atmosphere is superb, making every step intense.
Deliver Us the Moon presents a near future (the 2050s) where the Earth is in tatters. Fortunately, the Moon provides the energy required to save Earth, but contact has been lost with Moon inhabitants. As such, it falls upon the player to explore the space facilities around the Moon and discover what happened. Saving Earth is also pretty important, of course!
On this journey, you encounter a wide array of clues and recordings to paint a timeline of events leading to the loss of contact with allies on the Moon. Characters appear in recordings through holograms constructed by our ASE (your silent robot companion). These holograms are visually striking, appearing almost as heat signatures. This fits within sci-fi conventions well and is unique; we see some heartfelt moments through these recordings. Through character motivations, we’re also posed some moral questions. Should Earth experience a worldwide catastrophe, do we accept our fate, try to save the planet or direct our aspirations to a new home? Voice acting does occasionally falter to sound robotic, but most of the time, I could empathise with our characters.
Story elements create tension within Deliver Us the Moon, but let’s talk about how phenomenal the atmosphere really is! Sound and visual design combine seamlessly to create an atmosphere that, for most of the time, had me on edge. Most of Deliver Us the Moon takes place indoors, traversing gloomy corridors, emphasising that the player is alone. Luckily, you have your ASE companion, but they cannot speak, so you’re often left to your thoughts about what could be around the corner. Deliver Us the Moon lacks many enemies, but I still felt dread and tension when exploring.
Danger doesn’t come from enemies often; danger is encountered in the environment that encases the player. Being in outer space and traversing a damaged space station, there are chunks of the game where oxygen is a privilege. In these sections, a timer will appear, with sound design creating more and more dread as time runs low. It’s fantastic how sound design contributes so significantly to the high-stakes environment presented in these circumstances. On occasion, I had mere seconds remaining on the timer before replenishing oxygen or completing a task. I can assure you that I was on edge and panicky when these moments happened and relieved afterwards.
Sometimes, just simply exploring invoked dread. There were times when harmless sounds were all I could hear, then suddenly a louder mechanical sound would invade my ears. Maybe it was a closing door or clanging of metal on metal, or a noise I couldn’t even describe. These noises felt sudden, and due to their unexpected nature, they created suspense. I also found it intriguing how occasionally music played when exploring, because it made moments of silence evermore heart-pounding. Deliver Us the Moon is a prime example of simplicity in creating atmosphere, using simple sounds alongside gloomy visuals to hone in on thriller conventions.
Interestingly, Deliver Us the Moon has several methods to unnerve the player in line with the gameplay variety. I’m impressed with how much was crammed in within just a few hours! First-person and third-person sections both exist here. First-person is integrated to create claustrophobic-specific sections. Meanwhile, third-person was the common perspective, used particularly in adventuring and during puzzles. This is because of the sections being crafted with this design choice in careful consideration. Much of your playthrough is spent in third-person, ensuring that the experience of first-person feels entirely unique and interesting.
From heavily time-constrained linear set-pieces to rover exploration of Mars, to an array of puzzles, Deliver Us the Moon rarely – if ever – created a sense of tedium within me. What’s better is most of these gameplay formats stick the landing. Meanwhile, they also encapsulate the experience of being an astronaut: a multi-faceted role requiring countless skills. Your ASE is also utilised effectively in puzzles in enjoyable, albeit unoriginal, moments encouraging utilisation of the environment.
I’ve been highly complimentary of this playthrough, so much so that I almost forgot to mention how it plays on the Nintendo Switch. Unfortunately, this is where Deliver Us the Moon does have some minor hiccups. While understandable to some extent, being in space after all, movement does sometimes feel clunky. Again, in areas of this sci-fi title, it makes sense given the lack of gravity. However, the movement did sometimes feel stiff. Movement is likely the same across all platforms, but I hope other versions are more polished.
Focusing more on the technical aspects, frame rates dropped a fair number of times throughout Deliver Us the Moon, and I did encounter a couple of glitches. Unfortunately, there were moments where I had no choice but to close and reboot the game. It’s quick to reboot the game, luckily, but I would rather avoid these technical issues in the first. I’m sure an update will come along early into the port’s lifecycle to fix this, given the quality across the game and evident care.
Despite some minor shortcomings, I had a blast with Deliver Us the Moon. KeokeN Interactive have created a wonderful narrative told in its amazing atmosphere alongside varying gameplay, maintaining a freshness. This sci-fi thriller hybrid has plenty of positives to write about, making the playthrough alongside the write-up a pleasure. If you can grab Deliver Us the Moon for cheap, it’s well worth your time! Although, I would say in terms of hardware, it might be worth picking it up on another console, I see some of the minor technical issues to be more a fault of the Switch than the game itself.
Developer: KeokeN Interactive
Publishers: Wired Productions
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Google Stadia, Nintendo Switch
Release Date: 16th July 2024 (Switch)
Gaming Respawn’s copy of Deliver Us the Moon was provided by the publisher for Nintendo Switch.
