So I might be heading back into the vaults but I recently decided to check out so previously commercial games that are now free to play. After some searching I found reference to the ScummVM (Script Creation Utility for Manic Mansion Virtual Machine) project. This engine provides a basis for several Point and Click style games, particularly those popular on the Amiga 600 home computer. As a big Amiga fan I decided to give it a go and see if some of my favourite games from my youth still hold the same appeal now as they did back then. So I wondered over to the ScummVM website and to my delight found that Beneath a Steel Sky was now available freely to download and play. So download I did and whilst playing thought it would be fun to write a review at the same time.
Beneath a Steel Sky is a classic 'Point and Click' adventure game. Basically you click where you want the character to go and he goes there. The gameplay revolves around puzzle solving and conversations with in-game characters. For example, early on in the game you find a cleaning robot shell and you are carrying around the personality circuit board of your best buddy Joey. So you combine the two and as if by magic, your best buddy in the whole world is brought back to life, complete with an attitude!
The story behind Beneath a Steel Sky is quite shadowed and unclear, all part of the atmosphere of the game. The main character, Rob Foster, lives in The Gap; an area of vast desert that is between major cities. The majority of city dwelling folk fear The Gap because of a government instilled belief in the existence of mutants and viruses running rife. As Foster knows though, this is just a ruse to keep citizens trapped in the city. One day his home is invaded by security forces from the city and he is taken prisoner. Whilst being escorted into the city the helicopter he is on suffers technical difficulties and goes down. By some luck Foster is the only survivor and goes on the run. This is where we join him in game. By method of exploration, interaction with citizens and some luck, it's up to you to lead Foster to safety and some answers.
The graphics for BSS are dated by today's standards. Everything does appear very pixelated although it is clear enough to see what objects are and to distinguish them from the background. Having said that everything has a 16-bit edge about it; the levels are actually scarily dark and moody. When moving to the outside you do get a feel of how far up above the ground you are, and when inside the backgrounds are decidedly cold and metallic. At the end of the day the gameplay of the game is so involving and gripping that you can overlook the graphics quality.
And this is where the game shines. It is a perfect example of how to make a point and click adventure game. The puzzles are clever and challenging, but never too impossible to solve. Everything that you need to have some interaction with is highlighted when you hover the mouse over it. You can get Foster to describe the object, all you have to do is work out exactly how to interact with it. Talking to other characters involves a selection of possible conversation choices. Some are a requirement of the game and will be available until you choose them; others will only be available as a response to the person you are talking to. These responses can have different consequences on the outcome of the conversation. In one section of the game you are talking to an engineer who is disinterested in what is going on around him. If you introduce yourself as a health and safety officer he opens up and talks to you about how old and creaky the machinery is and how he hates his boss. Introduce yourself as a security guard you don't get these details.
All conversation in the game is text based, as are most point and click adventures. Your choices for conversation appear at the top of the screen and you just choose which line of conversation you want to introduce. Fortunately to make it easy to follow the conversation, each characters spoken text appears above their head in a comic book style. More modern games have often introduced different colours for different people but this can sometimes be confusing when colours are hard to distinguish. But having the text stay above the characters head makes it easy to follow what is happening. For this reason there is now spoken sound, but the background music is suitably dark and sounds effects don't feel out of place.
One of the best things about the game is your robot friend Joey. He has a unique personality and is constantly taking digs at Foster, especially about his cleaning robot body. Joey fires off one-liners constantly throughout the game and at times had me laughing out loud because of his attitude. He also stirs things up with other characters in the game which is entertaining. He provides some comic relief when the tension of the game becomes too much or when a puzzle just has you stumped.
Beneath a Steel Sky is an addictive and puzzling game that even now holds its own. The graphics aren't ever going to impress those who are used to 1080p but the game more than makes up for it in style and gameplay. This is well worth a play if you are a fan of the original Amiga game or any point and click adventures (such as Monkey Island, or Flight of the Amazon Queen - also available for free download). It's even worth giving a go if you've only ever played modern games as the appeal is still strong. And as the game is available to download and play for free, you're not going to lose anything by giving it a go. It's got to be worth a try on that basis alone!
You can download the ScummVM and the game (as well as others currently available) from ScummVM.
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