Game review: Firmament (2023)

 

I gave money to the kickstarter for this new game from Cyan Worlds, the creators of Myst and more recently Obduction, a few yers back and if finally had it's release a little over a week ago. The game, as with Cyan's other games, has main graphics and features a single person journey (mostly- more on that in a minute) through various environments to uncover the story of why no one else is about. The specialize in a steam punk aesthetic and challenging puzzles that unlock the mysteries of the games and future little to no violence which I find welcome. 

This game like Obduction before it is also available in VR, something I am interesting in trying but can't imagine having the funds  to actually buy. So this is the flat screen Mac version and I am pretty happy with that truth be told. It took me abut 23 hours to play as I am not in a rush to "win" or anything like that.  The game follows Cyan's loner in a mystical place template with the exception of a "ghost" who give you plot points and waxes philosophic throughout. I was constantly looking for the "shut her up" button especially at the conclusion but to no avail. I did experience some bugs, I fell into a reservoir of acid because of some boundary error and the camera suddenly sank below the digital ground at one one point which was surreal. There was slight stuttering that was barely noticeable and during the first week they released 2 bug fixes so they were on the case right away to fix things. 

I recently replayed Obduction in reparation for the release of Firmament since it had been awhile since i played anything else. Obduction I will say is much larger more realized world which gives you a lotto tactile interaction with the environment. You can open draws and pick up objects and evert new area you explore is large and has hidden interesting things to find that are just there to fill out the world building and don't necessarily relate directly to game play. Firmament lacks much of this and is more about staying in the storyline. All interaction is though a device on your hand the shoots an electric cord into sockets that let you control things. The set pieces are amazing and lovely but I would have loved more extra areas to explore and discover. 

I have read some other reviews criticizing this game for being basically a Cyan game, not sure why they played it if that isn't something they like. Obduction did go in different directions in some ways with alien worlds and a more complex story but it was still you being alone in a mysterious place solving puzzles. It is what draws me personally to their games.

Cons:

• Less interaction than I expected.
• an annoying ghost companion you can not shut off
• not much exploration outside the direct needs of the story
• because of the limited interaction, puzzles are very similar in execution
• a never ending monologue at the conclusion

Pros:

• beautiful
• the puzzles are not nearly as frustrating as some were in Obduction which I had to stop playing at first because one section was just impossible and took me out of the game
• for a new release I found the play mostly smooth and Cyan has been quick to squash bugs
• a nice twist at the end and I oddly found there not being a "good" and "bad" choice endings made the game more satisfying. I guess that is spoiler of sorts but its common to for Myst games to have more than one ending so don't look for that this time.
• as a kickstarter person, the 30$ price and included game and exploration guide was really great. I will contribute to a next game if they go that route. 

* A remake of Riven, maybe one of the best exploration puzzle game s ever is in being done and after seeing how well Cyan updated Myst not that long ago I'm all in!