What Is It?
Between Horizons is a [b]story-driven detective game[/b] set aboard the [b]semi-open world[/b] of a [b]generation ship[/b] en route to another star. You assume the role of Stella, the ship's young Chief of Security, who is faced with multiple problems threatening to jeopardize the mission. You will have to make some [b]tough moral choices[/b] and [b]think hard[/b] to unravel the complex conspiracies on the ship if you want things to end well for Stella and the mission. That's right: Just like in Lacuna, the [b]story branches and ends based on your decisions and performance[/b] as an investigator. The gameplay will feel familiar to fans of our first title: direct platformer-style controls, non-repeating branching dialogs, automatic saving (no going back!), collecting clues, submitting solutions to cases. However, we made some major improvements to the formula! In the next few paragraphs, we'd like to provide insights into our thinking behind some aspects of Between Horizons. If you want more marketing speak instead (and of course add the game to your wishlist <3), just check out its [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1921980/Between_Horizons/]store page[/url]!Watch the Between Horizons Announcement Trailer on YouTube:
[previewyoutube=2SAiW86zDu4;full][/previewyoutube]Refined Detective Gameplay
At its very core, Between Horizons is a detective game. We learned a lot about investigation mechanics while working on Lacuna, and we kept around some of the things that worked well:- Cases are solved by filling in gaps in case sheets: you must complete sentences using names of people, places, and other clues you found.
- You can always drive the plot forward by submitting a case, even if your solution is wrong. If that happens, you may not know until later, when the consequences manifest themselves.
- Instead of alternating cutscenes with self-contained mini games, all the puzzles you solve are directly connected to what's happening in the story.
- You can submit the solution to a case at any point in time. You have to decide whether or not you know enough to crack it yet. This also makes it much easier to quickly replay content if you know the solution already.
- Any evidence you find (in the entire game!) can be assigned to any case (in the entire game!).
- Instead of being presented with a linear string of levels, you can freely move around parts of the ship to investigate. New areas unlock in a Metroidvania fashion as you progress through the story.
- You can present characters with evidence, and oftentimes you need to show someone the right clue to make them talk.
