12 Yrs♥✓#
Beneath a Steel Sky
https://www.gog.com/game/beneath_a_steel_sky
Here we can discuss our playthroughs of the first HLTB Game of the Month, Beneath a Steel Sky.
Robert Foster is an innocent outsider stranded in a vast city where oppressed civilians live and work in soaring tower blocks... while the corrupt, covetous and rich lie underground, shielded from all pollution. Alone, save for a robot circuit board, Foster must fight for survival... and discover the sinister truth behind his abduction...
Paranoid population. Psychotic criminals. Power hungry corporation. Big Brother government. Haves and have nots.
In the not so impossible future. In the melting pot of Union City. All man's social problems are coming to a boil. Under the claustrophobic lid of a steel sky.
From the pit of the industrial level to the belly of commercial sector, to the spheres where the rich and powerful play. It's Man against Man. Man against Machine. Man against Time. In an urban hell only you can liberate... Maybe.
https://www.gog.com/game/beneath_a_steel_sky
Here we can discuss our playthroughs of the first HLTB Game of the Month, Beneath a Steel Sky.
12 Yrs♥$✓#
If anyone's wondering, it's been freeware for a while. You can get it on the ScummVM website.
I remember liking it, but I thought the voice acting was really bad. Most old adventure games had bad voice acting though.
It's been a while since I played it so I don't remember a whole lot about it
I remember liking it, but I thought the voice acting was really bad. Most old adventure games had bad voice acting though.
It's been a while since I played it so I don't remember a whole lot about it
11 Yrs✓#
donn16
11 Yrs✓#
Unfortunately, games like this are big pain for me. I can't enjoy point 'n' clicks. No matter how many times i've tried. It's always a pain to play these games. Probably i'm missing a lot of fun and a lot of great stories but that's just me. I've played for about an hour and maybe this game is good but it was still pain to play and i want to play with games not fight with them.
Link to the game on GOG, as metnioned earlier it is absolutely free: https://www.gog.com/game/beneath_a_steel_sky
I've not really tried a game of this genre and age so it will be very interesting to give it a go! I'll hopefully have a few hours in it by the end of the month
I've not really tried a game of this genre and age so it will be very interesting to give it a go! I'll hopefully have a few hours in it by the end of the month
13 Yrs♥F✓#
Great idea for a thread! I haven't played Beneath a Steel Sky and most likely won't but I'm looking forward to participating in future months. I've tried to play a few old adventure games but I usually lose interest pretty quickly.
11 Yrs✓#
BenInSweden
11 Yrs✓#
I played this on my iPhone a few years back. I really enjoyed the Broken Sword series (yet to play 5 though), and a friend recommended this one to me since it was from the same people.
Whilst it is a good game, it was hard for me not to compare it to the Broken Sword series. If I remember correctly there were some part of the game that weren't really obvious how to proceed, and trying random combinations of unlikely thing were the answer to proceed.
Whilst it is a good game, it was hard for me not to compare it to the Broken Sword series. If I remember correctly there were some part of the game that weren't really obvious how to proceed, and trying random combinations of unlikely thing were the answer to proceed.
I haven't played many point and click adventures and the ones that I have played have generally been quite awful so I went into this with an open mind.
Having played it over the last few days and making it to the end I have to say I did enjoy it. Firstly for a 21 year old game the art style has allowed it to age very well aesthetically. Also the story was pretty good throughout and although it was primarily a serious story, the comedy in parts throughout the game kept it flowing and enjoyable. The puzzles were enjoyable enough although some were a little frustrating along with some of the movement.
In the end though I thought this era of gaming would pass me by so I am pleasantly surprised it hooked me and kept me playing until the end! It still has flaws but this is probably because it is very old now.
How did other people find the story as this was the main selling factor of the game for me?
Having played it over the last few days and making it to the end I have to say I did enjoy it. Firstly for a 21 year old game the art style has allowed it to age very well aesthetically. Also the story was pretty good throughout and although it was primarily a serious story, the comedy in parts throughout the game kept it flowing and enjoyable. The puzzles were enjoyable enough although some were a little frustrating along with some of the movement.
In the end though I thought this era of gaming would pass me by so I am pleasantly surprised it hooked me and kept me playing until the end! It still has flaws but this is probably because it is very old now.
How did other people find the story as this was the main selling factor of the game for me?
11 Yrs✓#
So far I've only played a bit but I've come to the realization that I suck at point n' clicks. This is the first time I've ever really played one and oh boy is it rough going, I even got stuck on the first screen for a bit. Again I've only played a small amount but so far the story is alright and the setting is cool but I'm not really laughing at any of the humor, except that Foster was named after a beer coupon that was great. I'm worried my enjoyment of the game will be diminished because of my inexperience with the genre but I guess there always has to be that first rough patch that I'll have to power thru.
12 Yrs♥$✓#
Before reading I'm assuming most people reading this thread will have played the game so I won't use spoiler tags, if this is a bad assumption let me know and I'll spoiler tag the post up.
I just completed this game in 7h 39m, so I'll go over what I thought of it since it's fresh in my memory. I played it across 5 sessions ~1.5 hours long which is like my typical gaming session length so with that metric alone I can say I enjoyed the game to some degree. I've rated it at 70% because, as much as I liked it, I think it has some pretty big design flaws, especially for an adventure game. And for confessions sake I'll admit I looked at hints at 4 points during the game, 1. to slide down the elevator in the recycling plant, 2. to use the id card on the lock, 3. to wait after using the jukebox and 4. to find the tongs in the lab
As mentioned I generally liked the game, I loved the presentation. The artstyle, the animation, the voice work, the futuristic, dystopian setting it's my kind of thing. The characters were interesting which is always very important for an adventure game and the comedy, while not amazing did get a few chuckles out of me.
But the problems of the game become apparent quite near the start.
Firstly, characters capable of wandering around, especially in small spaces like the recycling plant is an utter pain, constantly blocking paths, or having Joey sloooowly follow you between areas, or waiting for the Transporter or Lamb to do their things just adds undue tedium to the game. I actually had the game soft lock at one point while wandering around, I clicked on Lamb by accident and while Foster and Lamb were heading towards the locations they have to in order to have a conversation, they walked into each other and just stood there doing nothing, I never got control back, which usually happens.
Secondly, the games logic, which is of the utmost importance to an adventure game, because how logical the game is determines how well the game flows together and as a result how enjoyable it is to play for the first time, and in this game the flow is just staggered and not very fun at times. A few things compound this as well, the art style itself can severely mask items that you pick up / use, along side a general problem of conveying information to the player.
A few examples of these: I was stuck in the starting area for longer than I should because I assumed you could not use the elevator. Standing on the elevator triggered the alarm, and it was presumed that guards were in the floors below, also sliding down the elevator pole doesn't seem like a logical choice to make, especially when there are multiple other factors at play, like a lazer lathe, an ever working press (both objects that see zero use in the entire game) and an alarm panel with a keyhole, the game sets it up to look like you should be able to open the alarm box, disable it then use the elevator normally.
The "putty", I literally couldn't believe what I was looking at when I quite literally accidentally found the "putty" after wandering around lost for about 15 - 20 minutes. It didn't even look like an object, looked like nothing more than a couple of pixels of color fading almost completely into the background.
The "old time cylindrical lock". I interacted with this multiple times, the description suggests that this is a non electrical device, you know a tumbler lock that either requires a key or a lockpick. The descriptions upon interacting with the lock suggest it'd be easier to break the door down, so consider my confusion when the same Id card used for nearly everything else in the game, something that almost exclusively is used in places called "slots" is used to open the "lock".
The jukebox, Interacting with it multiple times has the machine talk to you and after a few conversations it just stops. You can choose from three songs but doing so produces no immediate result. Even after talking to everyone in the bar you are presented with nearly no useful information. The solution that you have to wait until the bar owner gets up because he apparently dislikes a specific song, that's logical yes, but the lack of any information about it bothered me, the lack of any immediate response just makes it seem like no one cares what you pick, especially if you pick another song first.
And there's a handful too many instant kill situations with no warning. Like a hole in the wall, oh there's a monster inside that kills you, gg. You walked into a room? android snaps your neck. The one that bothered me the most was entering the area with the unstable roof, the controls inexplicably switch from a point and click interaction to movement via arrow keys, the only point in the game this occurs I believe.
These things just kill the flow of the game, along side making small moves of progress and having it near instantly removed. For example, towards the end of the game, placing Joey into the android body, you've just gained this new able bodied companion and he instantly gets stuck to the door. You tie the cable to the pipe....but you can't climb down it. You climb down the pipe, you can't jump to the rope. You place the virus in the computer, Rob quips "I wonder how that affected the tissue" but there's no way to determine the status of the tissue, then after you do throw the tissue into the orifice, you can now apparently jump to the cable. There's just a general inconsistency or lack of meaningful information dispensed to the player, and perhaps too much on meaningless decoration.
All that said, the game logic is mostly decent, When I wasn't confused over a specific interaction or lost because I didn't spot an object I had no problem knocking out most obstacles. And when the game flows well the story shines. It was interestingly layered, and the turns it took from dystopian manhunt to an almost lovecraftian man-machine horror, it was somewhat unexpected and awesome for it. And I loved the whole Linc-Space thing, even though it was very rarely used it was an interesting abstract interlude.
Anyways, I've rambled incoherently enough, I hope I've made enough sense.
I just completed this game in 7h 39m, so I'll go over what I thought of it since it's fresh in my memory. I played it across 5 sessions ~1.5 hours long which is like my typical gaming session length so with that metric alone I can say I enjoyed the game to some degree. I've rated it at 70% because, as much as I liked it, I think it has some pretty big design flaws, especially for an adventure game. And for confessions sake I'll admit I looked at hints at 4 points during the game, 1. to slide down the elevator in the recycling plant, 2. to use the id card on the lock, 3. to wait after using the jukebox and 4. to find the tongs in the lab
As mentioned I generally liked the game, I loved the presentation. The artstyle, the animation, the voice work, the futuristic, dystopian setting it's my kind of thing. The characters were interesting which is always very important for an adventure game and the comedy, while not amazing did get a few chuckles out of me.
But the problems of the game become apparent quite near the start.
Firstly, characters capable of wandering around, especially in small spaces like the recycling plant is an utter pain, constantly blocking paths, or having Joey sloooowly follow you between areas, or waiting for the Transporter or Lamb to do their things just adds undue tedium to the game. I actually had the game soft lock at one point while wandering around, I clicked on Lamb by accident and while Foster and Lamb were heading towards the locations they have to in order to have a conversation, they walked into each other and just stood there doing nothing, I never got control back, which usually happens.
Secondly, the games logic, which is of the utmost importance to an adventure game, because how logical the game is determines how well the game flows together and as a result how enjoyable it is to play for the first time, and in this game the flow is just staggered and not very fun at times. A few things compound this as well, the art style itself can severely mask items that you pick up / use, along side a general problem of conveying information to the player.
A few examples of these: I was stuck in the starting area for longer than I should because I assumed you could not use the elevator. Standing on the elevator triggered the alarm, and it was presumed that guards were in the floors below, also sliding down the elevator pole doesn't seem like a logical choice to make, especially when there are multiple other factors at play, like a lazer lathe, an ever working press (both objects that see zero use in the entire game) and an alarm panel with a keyhole, the game sets it up to look like you should be able to open the alarm box, disable it then use the elevator normally.
The "putty", I literally couldn't believe what I was looking at when I quite literally accidentally found the "putty" after wandering around lost for about 15 - 20 minutes. It didn't even look like an object, looked like nothing more than a couple of pixels of color fading almost completely into the background.
The "old time cylindrical lock". I interacted with this multiple times, the description suggests that this is a non electrical device, you know a tumbler lock that either requires a key or a lockpick. The descriptions upon interacting with the lock suggest it'd be easier to break the door down, so consider my confusion when the same Id card used for nearly everything else in the game, something that almost exclusively is used in places called "slots" is used to open the "lock".
The jukebox, Interacting with it multiple times has the machine talk to you and after a few conversations it just stops. You can choose from three songs but doing so produces no immediate result. Even after talking to everyone in the bar you are presented with nearly no useful information. The solution that you have to wait until the bar owner gets up because he apparently dislikes a specific song, that's logical yes, but the lack of any information about it bothered me, the lack of any immediate response just makes it seem like no one cares what you pick, especially if you pick another song first.
And there's a handful too many instant kill situations with no warning. Like a hole in the wall, oh there's a monster inside that kills you, gg. You walked into a room? android snaps your neck. The one that bothered me the most was entering the area with the unstable roof, the controls inexplicably switch from a point and click interaction to movement via arrow keys, the only point in the game this occurs I believe.
These things just kill the flow of the game, along side making small moves of progress and having it near instantly removed. For example, towards the end of the game, placing Joey into the android body, you've just gained this new able bodied companion and he instantly gets stuck to the door. You tie the cable to the pipe....but you can't climb down it. You climb down the pipe, you can't jump to the rope. You place the virus in the computer, Rob quips "I wonder how that affected the tissue" but there's no way to determine the status of the tissue, then after you do throw the tissue into the orifice, you can now apparently jump to the cable. There's just a general inconsistency or lack of meaningful information dispensed to the player, and perhaps too much on meaningless decoration.
All that said, the game logic is mostly decent, When I wasn't confused over a specific interaction or lost because I didn't spot an object I had no problem knocking out most obstacles. And when the game flows well the story shines. It was interestingly layered, and the turns it took from dystopian manhunt to an almost lovecraftian man-machine horror, it was somewhat unexpected and awesome for it. And I loved the whole Linc-Space thing, even though it was very rarely used it was an interesting abstract interlude.
Anyways, I've rambled incoherently enough, I hope I've made enough sense.
10 Yrs♥✓#
PROBABLY GONNA BE SPOILERS AHEAD
I clocked the game in somewhere between 5 and 6 hours, and I gave it an 8/10. I like point-n'-click games, and this is (overall) a very good one.
First, a word on the version I played, the iOS Remastered port; this suffered from frequent crashes on my iPod Touch (latest model), which would have angered me more if it resulted in the loss of game progress, which it never did. The controls are excellent (though not on par with the more recent Broken Sword iOS Remasters), and though the remaster adds very little beyond a nice animated intro and outro (the latter I will come to later), I'm happy I played it in this way.
As others have mentioned, the game's presentation and setting are its greatest strengths: the incredible sprites and art direction create a believable world, and it is a testament to them that they still hold up in 2015. The voice acting is also great, and the dialogue is quite funny at times. The game is at its best when you can see the world come to life, with characters interacting with each other and the distinct world they inhabit. A personal highlight for me is the trial scene towards the end of the game. I guessed at the game's twist long before it arrived, but I still enjoyed the game's story.
Where its age shows is in its mechanical foibles. The character pathfinding is clunky and slow by today's standards, and I got stuck on at least two puzzles because Joey took his merry time getting to the room, and I didn't realise he formed part of the solution. It also causes a few problems where backtracking and moving between levels. The logic behind the puzzles can also be confusing at times. Although I solved most of the puzzles on my own, I leaned quite heavily on the Remastered version's hint system at times for my own sanity. But the majority of the puzzles (including the the puzzle upon first encountering LINC's 'vein' in the subway, and the aforementioned LINC-space puzzles) were satisfying, and struck a good balance between presenting a challenge, and not being overly obtuse.
The aspect of the game that I really want to talk about, is the game's thematic elements. It draws on Orwellian (LINC status) and Asimovian (the relationship between Foster and Joey/'Ken') elements, along with a whole host of others, to create its own unique message and story around the mantra 'Be vigilant'. The story is clever in that it doesn't seek to fill every gap, or tie up every loose end; for example, the exact goings-on in the cathedral during Mr Piermont's funeral are never explored, nor is the troop of dormant androids that you find there. Of particular interest to me is the extra post-credits scene in the Remaster, which concludes with the statement "In a world where all are free, the price of liberty is enslavement. Be Vigilant.. I still haven't quite got my head around what that's supposed to mean, but it's worth saying that this phrase has occupied my mind incessantly since.
There is a clear parallel to be drawn between the thought police of Orwell's 1984 and LINC's control within Union City, in the way that the people are effectively prisoners in a totalitarian state. But its most interesting moral question comes in the game's final act, when Foster asks his father whether it is he, rather than LINC, who is the real monster. The subject of human fallibility in contrast to the calculated nature of computers has been covered before (The Matrix and Terminator both spring to mind, as well as the book Hybrid, which I'd highly recommend), but this differs in that it presents the player with the question, without trying to give them an explicit answer. I love stories which make my think, and this definitely does that.
On balance, the game itself is only good, and not nearly as accomplished as the Broken Sword series. I played through the first two late last year (The Shadow of the Templars on DS, and The Smoking Mirror on iOS) and it is unfortunate that my experience with those games probably impacted on my opinion of this. But Beneath a Steel Sky's story is far better than those games, and up there with the best I've ever experienced in terms of theme and presentation. There has been plenty of talk over a sequel recently, and I really hope that comes to fruition.
I'd really like to hear what everyone else thought of the story. Do you agree/disagree with me. Did you see or think of anything that I didn't?
I clocked the game in somewhere between 5 and 6 hours, and I gave it an 8/10. I like point-n'-click games, and this is (overall) a very good one.
First, a word on the version I played, the iOS Remastered port; this suffered from frequent crashes on my iPod Touch (latest model), which would have angered me more if it resulted in the loss of game progress, which it never did. The controls are excellent (though not on par with the more recent Broken Sword iOS Remasters), and though the remaster adds very little beyond a nice animated intro and outro (the latter I will come to later), I'm happy I played it in this way.
As others have mentioned, the game's presentation and setting are its greatest strengths: the incredible sprites and art direction create a believable world, and it is a testament to them that they still hold up in 2015. The voice acting is also great, and the dialogue is quite funny at times. The game is at its best when you can see the world come to life, with characters interacting with each other and the distinct world they inhabit. A personal highlight for me is the trial scene towards the end of the game. I guessed at the game's twist long before it arrived, but I still enjoyed the game's story.
Where its age shows is in its mechanical foibles. The character pathfinding is clunky and slow by today's standards, and I got stuck on at least two puzzles because Joey took his merry time getting to the room, and I didn't realise he formed part of the solution. It also causes a few problems where backtracking and moving between levels. The logic behind the puzzles can also be confusing at times. Although I solved most of the puzzles on my own, I leaned quite heavily on the Remastered version's hint system at times for my own sanity. But the majority of the puzzles (including the the puzzle upon first encountering LINC's 'vein' in the subway, and the aforementioned LINC-space puzzles) were satisfying, and struck a good balance between presenting a challenge, and not being overly obtuse.
The aspect of the game that I really want to talk about, is the game's thematic elements. It draws on Orwellian (LINC status) and Asimovian (the relationship between Foster and Joey/'Ken') elements, along with a whole host of others, to create its own unique message and story around the mantra 'Be vigilant'. The story is clever in that it doesn't seek to fill every gap, or tie up every loose end; for example, the exact goings-on in the cathedral during Mr Piermont's funeral are never explored, nor is the troop of dormant androids that you find there. Of particular interest to me is the extra post-credits scene in the Remaster, which concludes with the statement "In a world where all are free, the price of liberty is enslavement. Be Vigilant.. I still haven't quite got my head around what that's supposed to mean, but it's worth saying that this phrase has occupied my mind incessantly since.
There is a clear parallel to be drawn between the thought police of Orwell's 1984 and LINC's control within Union City, in the way that the people are effectively prisoners in a totalitarian state. But its most interesting moral question comes in the game's final act, when Foster asks his father whether it is he, rather than LINC, who is the real monster. The subject of human fallibility in contrast to the calculated nature of computers has been covered before (The Matrix and Terminator both spring to mind, as well as the book Hybrid, which I'd highly recommend), but this differs in that it presents the player with the question, without trying to give them an explicit answer. I love stories which make my think, and this definitely does that.
On balance, the game itself is only good, and not nearly as accomplished as the Broken Sword series. I played through the first two late last year (The Shadow of the Templars on DS, and The Smoking Mirror on iOS) and it is unfortunate that my experience with those games probably impacted on my opinion of this. But Beneath a Steel Sky's story is far better than those games, and up there with the best I've ever experienced in terms of theme and presentation. There has been plenty of talk over a sequel recently, and I really hope that comes to fruition.
I'd really like to hear what everyone else thought of the story. Do you agree/disagree with me. Did you see or think of anything that I didn't?
9 Yrs✓#
I liked the game overall but found it a bit unexceptional. It aged really well. Luckily the deaths weren't totally unexpected and there weren't any ridiculous puzzles, although I admit to checking the walkthrough 3 times (To find the putty, use a card on the lock and how to use the fingerprint glass).
The story while having interesting ideas wasn't fully developed. Maybe there just wasn't enough of it. It felt short and around 2/3 of it were used on a progressively more normal looking city. I enjoyed the writing and the amusing tone of the conversations. The bursts of gore created a nice contrast with the levity of the rest of it.
For those who liked Beneath a Steel Sky, I'd recommend playing Primordia. They have similar tones and ideas.
The story while having interesting ideas wasn't fully developed. Maybe there just wasn't enough of it. It felt short and around 2/3 of it were used on a progressively more normal looking city. I enjoyed the writing and the amusing tone of the conversations. The bursts of gore created a nice contrast with the levity of the rest of it.
For those who liked Beneath a Steel Sky, I'd recommend playing Primordia. They have similar tones and ideas.
10 Yrs♥✓#
knalb
10 Yrs♥✓#
Right I hope I don't annoy anyone with this but I thought I'd go through my backlog and play through the game of the months which I have in my backlog and play through. So starting with the first game of the month is BaSS.
I unfortunately didn't really like it. Point and click games aren't really my thing and I didn't like the tonal shifts within the game. Joey was also not very fast and at times there was some annoying waiting around. I'm sure other people can enjoy this but this game wasn't for me.
Highlights:
The LINC space sections were good.
I unfortunately didn't really like it. Point and click games aren't really my thing and I didn't like the tonal shifts within the game. Joey was also not very fast and at times there was some annoying waiting around. I'm sure other people can enjoy this but this game wasn't for me.
Highlights:
The LINC space sections were good.