Deliver Us The Moon: the Moon is a harsh mistress [Backlog]

In fact, this game found its way into my library immediately after its release on PC in October 2019. I don’t even remember what stopped me from checking it out right away, but as is often the case, Deliver Us The Moon, along with dozens of other games for a long time the term remained for me only an icon in the list of games. The announcement of the sequel Deliver Us Mars reminded me of the game, as well as the release of Max Kidruk’s fantastic novel New Dark Ages – Colony ( good book, I recommend). So I did play Deliver Us The Moon and I want to recommend this game to all sci-fi fans.

Deliver Us The Moon is really pure science fiction, and without any Hollywoodism (well, except a little Gravity). No aliens, global conspiracies, crazy AI, zombies and space monsters. Only people who make wrong decisions, who look at some things differently, who have their own agendas and priorities. It’s a game about the fact that no matter how advanced the technology around you is, almost everything depends on emotions and what’s going on in the other person’s head.

According to the plot of the game, in 2059, you, as the last male astronaut or female astronaut (the name and gender of the hero/heroine of the game will remain unknown) of the World Space Agency (WSA), must go to the Moon to find out what caused the Great Blackout of 2054.(how ironic is that), and why the Earth doesn’t get power from the Moon’s helium-3 reactors.

The thing is that things on Earth are really bad. Climate change is killing the planet, constant dust storms and storms are driving humanity into the abyss, and only a powerful flow of cheap energy from the Moon gave hope to buy some time and find a solution to climate problems. And then Blackout happened.

As in many other games of this type, you will follow in the footsteps of your predecessors and get answers to questions little by little. Diaries, audio recordings, holograms – the authors of Deliver Us The Moon did not invent anything new. But the story sticks and you really want to know what happened to Sarah Baker, who tried to find out the reasons for the accident five years ago. And, of course, to understand what exactly happened on the Moon a few hours before and after the Blackout. What was it, a mistake, a disaster or someone’s ill will?

As we said, Deliver Us The Moon is science fiction, so almost all the laws of physics are at work here. Sound does not travel in a vacuum; the force of gravity on the Moon is much less than on Earth; the flag left on the regolith fades under the solar wind. But, of course, there are some conventions in terms of gameplay. The main one is the very limited supply of oxygen in the spacesuit. It’s really limited – there are only enough balloons for 2 minutes and 30 seconds. It is clear that this is done in order to put constant pressure on the player, forcing him to look for additional balloons and make mistakes by looking around. Thank God, action episodes are always replaced by episodes of calm exploration of premises.

Actually, action-episodes in which you will have to work quickly, react to QTE-events and even sometimes jump on platforms (yes, it’s still action/adventure) here are of moderate difficulty. I had to replay several episodes just because I got disoriented in zero gravity. Although not, the QTEs here are sometimes disgusting. Watch out for the monorail!

As for adventure-episodes and puzzles, they are in 95% of cases spatial puzzles in which you have to find a way to get to the next room, compartment or to the next outpost. In fact, everything is very logical, the AI tells you what to look for and it does not cause any problems, even if you hate quests.

Deliver Us The Moon uses Unreal Engine 4, which some consider too sterile. Well, this sterility goes well with space station interiors and lunar landscapes. And these landscapes are really mesmerizing.

If we talk about the technologies in Deliver Us The Moon, then they also look quite realistic, of course, within the limits of science fiction. Lunar rovers, monorail, microwave energy transmitters, space elevator, personal assistant drones with AI, helium-3 reactors. This is all that can be implemented, if not right now, then during the next 20-40 years.

What else? Despite the real drama in the finale, during the game the authors joke very well, especially with the help of the environment. Don’t be lazy, look for the Apollo landing site near the Copernicus Station, it’s really quite funny.

As always, I almost forgot. Pay attention to the soundtrack, it is really very cool here.

Deliver Us The Moon is a small game. It can be completed in 4 hours. I spent 6 hours because I was distracted by exploring the surroundings and observing the scenery. But it’s better to play now, because Deliver Us Mars, which will continue the story of the first game, is coming out on February 2nd, 2023. I’m looking forward to the PC release, or the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S versions coming out in summer 2022. I’m even jealous of those who are still playing Deliver Us The Moon, you’re in for an interesting journey .

P.S. There is a scene after the credits.