intro

	In an attempt to shake this series up a bit I'm going to change the format somewhat. While I was mostly happy about my first entry (The invincible) I want to refrain from too much of my own commentary.

Going forward I will minimize my own descriptions of the games in favor of letting the developers' themselves describe the game and ending each highlight with my thoughts in a summarized fashion. I've never felt quite comfortable "grading" creative works, any "review" would be littered with subjective bias making it mostly pointless for readers unless their views align perfectly with your own.

In fact, this series isn't a collection of reviews at all and it was never meant to be. I don't do reviews, I highlight things I love.

preface

	"A daring space archaeologist has just unearthed the ancient resting place of a long lost A.I. god known as Grace. Adventure with various fractured A.I. personalities as you uncover the great mystery of why she was shut down all those years ago."

	"You play as space archaeologist Adie Ito, who has unearthed the ancient resting place of an A.I. god and onetime caretaker of the solar system known as Grace.
	
The only inhabitants of the site are fracture variations of the Grace AI. Each with their own quirky personalities and unknown motives.
	
Adie must choose which personalities to build relationships with as she seeks to uncover the secret of why Grace was shut down thousands of years ago."

key features

    Mystery narrative where player choice affects story branching, clue discovery, character relationships, and the game’s thought-provoking conclusion.
	
Experience a variety of interactions from harrowing balance beam crossings; to hacking ancient computer systems; to operating an unwieldy, flamethrowing jetpack.
	
Explore a wondrous 60’s inspired sci-fi setting.
	
Evening sized game that can be completed in one sitting and replayed for different experiences.

mechanics

	This is a walking sim, and a darn good one. There's no particularly puzzly aspects beyond a little mini-game where you rotate your wrist mounted computer to "hack" systems. This feature felt oddly out of place and was likely added since someone panicked about there being too few "game" elements.

You'll be guided through the exploration of the complex and, in fact, Grace herself with the story unfoulding in a predictable but satisfying manner. There's some minor side exploration to be done, but it mostly amounts to entering optional rooms or not.

tech

	Worked flawlessly from start to finish with wine-ge. Looks great. Sounds fantastic. Plays superbly.

my thoughts

	The game is not as visually stunning as other walking sims I've played recently but it has a slightly more stylized look that I really enjoyed. The audio is top notch, the voice actors in particular are perfectly suited for their personas.

Most of the interactions will come from talking to the different aspects, or personas, of Grace. Her personality spends most of the game broken down into archetypes, be it Control, Logic, etc. The interactions between these different aspects of her being is very funny at times with conflicts flaring up constantly.

You'll find audio logs from the previous inhabitants of the complex as you explore it, granting you a look into what happened to cause it to become deserted. And what just happened to Grace anyway? Why would she abandon humanity?	

The ending is satisfying and leaves you pondering if the currently in-vogue attitude of sheltering our children from reality is in fact leaving them defenseless, and their growth stunted. Thoroughly recommended.

links

	Return to grace
	Creative bytes studios
	Steam