The Lightstep Chronicles video game was released on Steam for PC on August 1. Nowadays, video game developers are mainly turning to mobile devices and developing games that are fun, addicting and suitable for portable devices. But now, Eipix Entertainment brings us this rare choice in the genre, which is obviously a project of passion, developed with great ambition and care. It's still an indie game, but if you factor in that this is a text-based adventure for PC, you know you need something new.
Development and reception
This game was developed and published by Eipix Entertainment . It is their title “Fresh out the oven”, while they have been involved in the development of several titles, such as Farm Slam, Free The Witch, and text adventures like Lifeline Whiteout. Lightstep Chronicles is developed only for PC and is available on Steam for $ 9,99 . As the game was released just a few days ago on August 1, it's too early to rate any important reviews and comments, but the few reviews they've received are too positive.
The Story (contains spoilers)
An alien vessel is found at an SQU-112 military base on the planet Kepler 452b. A military team infiltrates it and finds something unexpected. The crew is attacked and disabled. The player, Captain Cain Phoenix, then wakes up to be greeted by a giant mechanical eye, who introduces himself as ALEPH and insists he's the one who saved you from someone named Malkuth. ALEPH is the artificial intelligence of the ship. Its name stands for Advanced Logic Unit, Empathy, Psychology and Heuristics. Then, your host imposes a "quid pro quo" game, you tell him things, then he tells you things ...
You are aboard the Amarok, a ship which, as ALEPH says, belonged to an emperor who had gathered knowledge and stored in the ship. Knowledge that was sought after by many civilizations, much more advanced than yours. This knowledge is now available to you, but you are being asked for your help in return. During the entire conversation, you are seated in a chair which enhances your senses and allows you to interact with the ship. Since this is a story-driven text adventure, we don't want to give too much away. Suffice it to say, you quickly learn who Malkuth is and your host, ALEPH, has his own issues despite his superior cutting edge technical artificial intelligence.
Gameplay (contains spoilers)
The entire gameplay is played as question-and-answer sequences, or similarly navigating the ship and its controls. But as the story gets interesting and more engaging, you feel like you're playing a sci-fi movie. As you progress you soon discover that there are several other hosts on the ship besides ALEPH and they all want to prepare you to see their side of the story and become their ally. Each has their own believable and persuasive story to tell you and each wants your help for a worthy cause, or at least one that has the greatest advantage at stake.
As you continue to talk to the AIs on the ship, you begin to realize that they are all one and the same AI who indeed has multiple personality disorder. And, like any true schizophrenic, each of her personalities absolutely believes what she says and that she is the one who is right. Now this makes your choices very important, as your ability to read, process and manage information is what will take you through this game. Lightstep Chronicles is quickly becoming a game of very difficult decision making and step forward as it seems. let the name come to him.
Visuals
Lightstep Chronicles is made up of some well done backgrounds and repeating animations. All you actually have is the interior, exterior, and maybe a few other scenes of the ships. So visual diversity is low, but the little scenes and animations you see are really smooth, beautiful, and expensive. It's a smart way to make a game look visually impressive, but at the same time on a budget which is crucial for an independent developer.
Verdict
Lightstep Chronicles video game will engage your mind and won't let you go until the end. If you start it, you will be forced to terminate it, that's how it is. Its engaging storyline is very organic, in a way, and will make you feel like you're one of the characters in a sci-fi novel, while its gameplay leaves enough room for your reasoning to be the primary mechanic as you go. use. Definitely worth it if you catch him on sale, but not worth his rewarding experience!
Atmosphere 10
Graphics 7
Gameplay 7
