Between Horizons
- September 19, 2024
- DigiTales Interactive
Get on Steam
Get on Xbox Games Store"Between Horizons" is a 2.5D pixel art adventure game set aboard the Zephyr, humanity's first generation ship. As Stella, the Chief of Security, you must investigate a conspiracy that threatens the ship's mission and social order. With a branching narrative and semi-open world, this game offers increased player agency in the investigation process and challenges players to make tough decisions that will question their moral compass.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
Steam Deck
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- Engaging storyline with moral dilemmas and a unique sci-fi setting that enhances the detective experience.
- Well-designed puzzles that require logical deduction and exploration, making players feel like true detectives.
- High-quality pixel art and sound design that contribute to an immersive atmosphere.
- Clunky inventory and evidence management system that can be frustrating and disorganized.
- Lack of character development and emotional depth, making it hard to connect with side characters.
- No manual save option or chapter select, which can lead to frustration if players make incorrect choices.
- story232 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The story of "Between Horizons" is a captivating sci-fi mystery set aboard a generational spaceship, where players assume the role of the chief of security, navigating a web of conspiracies and moral dilemmas. Reviewers praise its engaging narrative, well-developed characters, and the integration of player choices that influence the unfolding plot, although some express a desire for deeper character development and a more polished gameplay experience. Overall, the game is recommended for its intriguing storyline and immersive atmosphere, appealing to fans of narrative-driven detective games.
“The premise of Between Horizons ticks all the right boxes for me: a science fiction story on a spaceship, a non-action detective and mystery story, believable characters with individual motivations, and a game progression that rewards exploration, thoroughness, and making sensible choices.”
“It especially shines in the story department, telling a compelling and gripping story over the course of 5 to 7 hours for your first playthrough.”
“Truly a fantastic detective game with a great story that can be uncovered.”
“Story-wise, I felt it was a bit rushed, didn't go deep enough, and kept throwing in too many characters that had no or little time to actually be of any importance.”
“Overall though, the story writing was solid. I hope the devs cook up another one but take some notes from Shadows of Doubt - a freeform evidence handler and allow the user to assign their own cases to drop evidence into and draw their own conclusions.”
“It's certainly hitting story beats, but ends up feeling like more of a character motivation checkbox exercise.”
- gameplay54 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay is centered around detective work, combining investigation and deduction mechanics that allow players to gather information and solve cases. While some players appreciate the engaging detective elements and the logical progression of the story, others criticize the user interface and certain mechanics, such as the object highlighting system, as unpolished and frustrating. Overall, the game is recommended for its gameplay and world-building, though opinions on the story and its execution vary.
“Despite considering myself not a great detective by any means, I managed to get all the solutions right on my first playthrough and achieved an ending that felt logical for my character, satisfying for the story, and overall realistic in the context of the game's universe.”
“Very good detective gameplay that strikes a good balance between being manageable and making you feel like an actual detective.”
“Good plot, to-the-point writing, gameplay doesn't waste your time and it is up to you to come to the (right) conclusions, so it's a game that takes the player seriously.”
“However, the gameplay and user interface do not cut it for me.”
“If you are looking for classic point-and-click with gathering and combining objects, I can tell you: it's not included in this game. Look no further if this mechanic is vital for you.”
“I liked the storyline and characters, but the gameplay, mystery logic, and game world are really unpolished.”
- graphics46 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 37 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their beautiful pixelated style and unique 2.5D art direction, which enhance the overall atmosphere and storytelling. However, some users noted minor technical issues, such as a clunky interface and an uneven graphics style that could benefit from more consistency between character and environment designs. Overall, the visuals are considered a strong point, contributing positively to the game's retro feel and engaging experience.
“The pixel graphics are nicely animated and serve the atmosphere well.”
“It's a really unique 2.5D art style I haven't seen much before, and the art direction is just fantastic; everything feels so personable and alive.”
“The art style is lovely; the story is interesting; the characters have depth.”
“However, there are minor technical quirks, like a somewhat clunky interface and a graphics style that feels uneven (characters deserve more pixels, the environment could do with less, so that it feels more akin to pixel art adventure games instead of Octopath Traveler -- but maybe that's just me, as I do not like the mixed style much).”
“Let's talk about the graphics.”
“Overall, story, setting, visuals, music, voice acting and well-designed puzzles combine to make a really engaging sci-fi thriller.”
- music36 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it repetitive and forgettable, while others appreciate its fitting tone and ability to enhance the atmosphere. The soundtrack is noted for capturing the sci-fi and mystery elements effectively, though it tends to sound similar across different stages. Overall, while the music may not stand out for everyone, it complements the engaging story and visuals well.
“The music does a great job of capturing both the sci-fi and mystery moods of the game, and provides a good ambience while usually not being too attention-grabbing.”
“A great little game - love the art style, the story is interesting and the soundtrack will be on repeat now that I've finished it.”
“Overall, story, setting, visuals, music, voice acting and well-designed puzzles combine to make a really engaging sci-fi thriller.”
“The music is fine, but entirely forgettable.”
“The biggest issues I have is probably the music feeling very samey and looping over and over again, and not having more options for chapter selection to try out the different endings/choices.”
“The music was repetitive and traversal was janky, but overall bearable.”
- atmosphere19 mentions
- 68 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its gripping story and immersive pixel art, creating a captivating sci-fi world that enhances the overall experience. Reviewers highlight the effective blend of art, sound, and character development, contributing to a top-notch atmosphere that supports engaging gameplay and replayability. The animation quality and soundtrack further elevate the game's ambiance, making it a standout in the point-and-click adventure genre.
“Digitales creates these fantastically atmospheric pixel sci-fi worlds that are an absolute pleasure to play in.”
“Great atmosphere, enjoyable characters, challenging cases to solve, and multiple endings for story satisfaction and replayability.”
“Overall atmosphere is top-notch.”
- emotional8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Overall, players feel that the emotional depth of the game is lacking, particularly in the development of key characters and their relationships with the protagonist. While some moments evoke genuine emotion, many reviewers express a sense of detachment from the story and its outcomes, attributing this to the protagonist's limited emotional expression and the rapid pacing of events. Improvements in character development and emotional engagement are suggested for future titles.
“Some moments in the game made me emotional and there were great aha!”
“I wish some of the more important characters would've been fleshed out more, also the protagonist's relationship with them to give them more emotional depth and meaning - this is definitely a point that could be improved in the developer's next game.”
“The character you play as comes across as emotionally stunted, given how little time they get to express anything - at the end of the intro, it was almost comedic how quickly things went from 'a chase' to 'guy stuck in door' to 'oh we're at a funeral' to 'oh we're in bed again'.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and often pointless, as the travel system does not significantly reduce travel time and can disrupt gameplay with frequent tutorial interruptions. The need to navigate the ship to locate characters and solve puzzles adds to the frustration, with some puzzles being overly simplistic or confusing. Overall, the grinding detracts from the experience rather than enhancing it.
“It reduces the time, but not by much, so feels pointless: either the player wants to travel on foot to discover new things or they want to go somewhere specific, in which case a 'move to room' travel system would have been far less tedious.”
“Tedious in places having to run around every part of the ship to try to find specific characters to talk to; the puzzles are either too easy or annoyingly unclear about what you are supposed to do.”
“You are constantly interrupted with tutorial pop-ups, grinding things to a halt.”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The stability of the game has received mixed reviews; while some players report a smooth experience with no bugs or visual glitches, others have encountered significant issues, particularly with branching dialogue and UI glitches. Overall, many recommend waiting for patches to address these bugs before diving in fully.
“I will say, it's quite buggy, with a lot of branching dialogue issues at the moment (a few days after release), so I might wait a couple of weeks for things to get ironed out, but the concept and puzzle system of the game are well done, and it is graphically beautiful.”
“The choices feel real (note: but see below for the UI glitches).”
“The choices feel real (note: but see below for the UI glitches).”
- character development4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that while the main characters are well-developed, many side characters lack depth due to the game's primary focus on the mystery narrative. Additionally, the fast pacing of the introduction detracts from opportunities for character development, suggesting that more slice-of-life elements could have enhanced this aspect.
“The intro's pacing is too fast; I think having some slice of life elements after the funeral would have helped with character development.”
“In a longer game, I would have liked to see more character development from a lot of the side characters, but the game's focus is clearly more on the mystery rather than the characters.”
“In a longer game, I would have liked to see more character development from a lot of the side characters, but the game's focus is clearly more on the mystery rather than the characters.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game offers a reasonable level of replayability due to the variety of choices available, though it may not reach the depth of options and consequences found in titles like Baldur's Gate 3.
“There are a lot of different choices one can make, meaning there is a reasonable amount of replayability, even if it's not on the level of Baldur's Gate 3 when it comes to choices and consequences.”
“There are a lot of different choices one can take, meaning there is a reasonable amount of replayability, even if it's not Baldur's Gate 3 when it comes to choices and consequences.”
