Between Horizons

About

Between Horizons is a single player real-time strategy game with drama, mystery, thriller and science fiction themes. It was developed by DigiTales Interactive and was released on March 25, 2024. It received very positive reviews from players.

"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.

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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91%

Audience ScoreBased on 280 reviews

story119 positive mentions

grinding9 negative mentions

Engaging story with a compelling sci-fi setting that explores moral dilemmas and character motivations.
Logical and satisfying puzzles that require deduction and investigation, allowing players to feel like true detectives.
Beautiful pixel art and a captivating soundtrack that enhance the overall atmosphere of the game.

User interface can be clunky, making it difficult to navigate evidence and characters, leading to frustration.
Some puzzles may feel overly simplistic or confusing, with a few cases lacking clear clues or guidance.
The game can feel rushed at times, with character development and interactions not fully explored, leaving some players wanting more depth.

story
285 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
56%
2%
The story of "Between Horizons" is a compelling sci-fi mystery that unfolds aboard a generation ship, featuring a mix of engaging characters and moral dilemmas that impact the narrative based on player choices. While the plot is praised for its intriguing twists and depth, some players noted issues with pacing and navigation, suggesting that the execution could benefit from further refinement. Overall, the game offers a unique blend of detective work and storytelling, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of narrative-driven games.
- “The generation ship setting is brilliant and well-realized, and the story is strong with lots of variability based on your choices.”
- “The story itself does what all great video game stories do: blending the 'gotta see what happens next' tension of a page-turner with the breathtaking set pieces of a blockbuster film to create the kind of experience you can really only get in a video game.”
- “Between horizons is an excellent game, and an excellent story, that speaks to what 'justice' or 'ethics' mean in small, remote communities.”
- “The overall story quality was just not good; Lacuna was not a masterpiece, but it was at least enjoyable.”
- “The story lacks nuance.”
- “The story goes far too fast; I don't really have any connection to the crew, outside of my 'case-work'.”
gameplay
66 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
68%
6%
The gameplay is primarily focused on detective work, involving evidence gathering and deduction mechanics that engage players in solving mysteries. While the game features a unique story and impressive graphics, some users noted issues with the user interface and minor bugs that detracted from the experience. Overall, the gameplay is satisfying and well-structured, though it could benefit from further polish and refinement.
- “The evidence-gathering and mystery-solving mechanics are pretty good, and they cleverly ensure that there's no way of guessing your way through.”
- “Very good detective gameplay that strikes a good balance between being manageable and making you feel like an actual detective.”
- “With tight gameplay, a tense atmosphere, a fantastic soundtrack, and a story that delves into some deep themes, this game packs a punch even though it can be finished in 5-7 hours.”
- “I found the story in Between Horizons to be pretty good overall, but after a few hours, it becomes quite clear just how dreadful the gameplay is.”
- “There is a decent game here, but it was compromised by aimless wandering, trial and error gameplay, and a terrible user interface.”
- “I liked the storyline and characters, but the gameplay, mystery logic, and game world are really unpolished.”
graphics
63 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
38%
5%
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their unique 2.5D pixel art style, which combines retro aesthetics with modern design elements, creating a visually appealing experience. Many players appreciate the charming animations and atmospheric visuals, although some note minor inconsistencies in character and background designs. Overall, the graphics contribute significantly to the game's immersive storytelling and engaging gameplay.
- “The graphics are perfect: a simple pixel aesthetic which had me pausing to appreciate how beautiful the art was.”
- “The 2.5D pixel art graphics are my jam, and the story is excellently told.”
- “The game is visually stunning even though I generally don't care for pixelated art styles.”
- “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).”
- “This is an extreme contrast to the background graphics and a complete break in style.”
- “What is a pixelated player character doing in a game with high-resolution background graphics?”
music
47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
40%
9%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its atmospheric quality and nostalgic chip-tune style, while others find it repetitive and forgettable. Many players appreciate the soundtrack's ability to enhance the game's mood and setting, though some express a desire for more variety and less looping. Overall, the music contributes positively to the experience, but its repetitiveness is a common point of criticism.
- “From the awesome soundtrack to the many plot twists in the story, this was one of the best games I've ever played!”
- “The music is lovely, and I'm really glad to see a point-and-click detective story with the twist of being in space!”
- “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.”
- “The music gets very repetitive, as does the way 'fast travel' takes you to a hub, not the place you want to be.”
- “I ended up muting the music entirely about an hour into playing.”
- “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.”
atmosphere
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
76%
10%
14%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive sci-fi elements, enhanced by excellent writing, charming pixel art, and a captivating soundtrack. Reviewers highlight the combination of graphics, music, and narrative as key components that create a gripping and enjoyable experience, making it a standout in the detective genre. Overall, the atmosphere is described as thick, engaging, and integral to the game's appeal.
- “Fantastic atmosphere and a very cool story, with quite a few ways to influence the ending.”
- “Digitales creates these fantastically atmospheric pixel sci-fi worlds that are an absolute pleasure to play in.”
- “With tight gameplay, a tense atmosphere, a fantastic soundtrack, and a story that delves into some deep themes, this game packs a punch even though it can be finished in 5-7 hours.”
- “Similarly to the studio's other game (Lacuna), it breathes a thick sci-fi atmosphere.”
- “Overall atmosphere is top-notch.”
- “Between Horizons looks much better, but still has that atmosphere, thankfully.”
grinding
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, primarily due to the lack of effective fast travel and the cumbersome navigation required to locate characters and complete tasks. While some note that the game is less grindy compared to others, the frequent interruptions from tutorials and the disorganized evidence collection system contribute to a frustrating experience. Overall, the traversal mechanics and puzzle clarity detract from the enjoyment, making the grinding feel more pronounced.
- “The one thing that bugged the hell out of me was the lack of actual fast travel; it made traversal tedious.”
- “Evidence collects in a panel that, although you can sort by 'type', it is still one giant jumble of information that is tedious to scour through when you're trying to find specific characters.”
- “You are constantly interrupted with tutorial pop-ups, grinding things to a halt.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers moderate replayability primarily due to its branching narrative and multiple choices, allowing players to explore different outcomes after the initial playthrough. While it may not reach the depth of more complex titles, fans of story-driven detective games will find enough variety to enjoy a second run and engage in discussions with others. Overall, it provides a fun experience that can be revisited, albeit with some limitations.
- “Fun little detective game, relatively limited and straightforward narrative, replayable perhaps once after finishing to see how your other choices may turn out.”
- “It gives great replay value and discussions with friends!”
- “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.”
- “Fun little detective game, relatively limited and straightforward narrative; replayable perhaps once after finishing to see how your other choices may turn out.”
- “There's not much replayability, but if you like story-driven detective games, you will have a good time playing.”
- “There are a lot of different choices one can take, meaning there is a reasonable amount of replayability, even if it's not a Baldur's Gate 3 when it comes to choices and consequences.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews highlight a mixed emotional experience in the game, with some players feeling deeply moved by certain moments and the ending, while others criticize the superficiality of character relationships and a lack of emotional depth. Many express a desire for more fleshed-out characters and deeper connections to enhance the overall emotional impact. Overall, while the game has the potential for emotional resonance, it falls short in fully engaging players on a deeper level.
- “There are not a lot of games that made me cry out of joy at their ending, but this game is one of them.”
- “Some moments in the game made me emotional, and there were great 'aha!' moments.”
- “I wish some of the more important characters had been fleshed out more, as well as 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.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players reporting persistent glitches, freezes, and buggy input issues that detract from the experience. However, others have noted that the game runs smoothly without any technical problems, suggesting that stability may vary between different users. Overall, while the gameplay and concept are praised, many recommend waiting for patches to address the existing bugs.
- “And then there are a lot of annoying issues like glitches and freezes that seem to be known for some time but are still around, some of them claimed to be fixed already.”
- “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).”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game's optimization has received mixed feedback; while some users report smooth performance without major issues, others experience unnecessary loading screens and overheating, indicating potential optimization shortcomings. Overall, the performance is generally good, but there are concerns about efficiency, especially for a smaller 2.5D title.
- “No issues with performance at all.”
- “It runs as smooth as butter, so I can't complain about performance.”
- “Not sure why such a small game with 2.5D needs loading screens. It also made my laptop very hot and caused stuttering at some points, so I'd say it's just not optimized correctly.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
Reviewers note that while the main narrative is engaging, the character development, particularly for side characters, feels underexplored due to the game's focus on mystery. Additionally, the fast pacing of the introduction leaves little room for deeper character exploration, suggesting that more slice-of-life elements could have enhanced this aspect.
- “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.”
- “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 many of the side characters, but the game's focus is clearly more on the mystery rather than the characters.”
- “The main character feels one-dimensional, lacking depth and growth throughout the story.”
- “While the game has an interesting premise, the character arcs are underdeveloped and fail to engage the player emotionally.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game effectively balances serious themes, such as political and existential questions, with moments of lighthearted humor, creating a narrative that is both thought-provoking and entertaining.
- “The story touches upon some political and even some quite heavy existential questions, and while there is some violence, the narrative is also delightfully light and humorous.”
- “The humor in this game is cleverly woven into the dialogue, making even the most serious moments feel more approachable and entertaining.”
- “I found myself laughing out loud at the witty banter and absurd situations the characters found themselves in; it really adds to the overall charm of the game.”

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8h Median play time

8h Average play time

7-10h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Between Horizons is a real-time strategy game with drama, mystery, thriller and science fiction themes.

Between Horizons is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5 and others.

On average players spend around 8 hours playing Between Horizons.

Between Horizons was released on March 25, 2024.

Between Horizons was developed by DigiTales Interactive.

Between Horizons has received very positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Between Horizons is a single player game.

Similar games include Lacuna, Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments, Interrogation: You will be deceived, Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments, Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders and others.

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