It feels as if games only ever get a sequel unless they’re breakout hits or multi-million smashes these days.

Getting one greenlit takes time, money, and effort. To the point where it feels like it’s a luxury afforded to the major AAA studios and rockstar indies.

I wouldn’t categorise Deliver Us The Moon as either of these things. It’s a game that was received well and sold lucratively. There was a community there and vested interest from the publisher, but it was certainly no guarantee we would ever see a followup.

So Deliver Us Mars comes as a wonderful surprise, then. A story that follows on from the Fortuna mission, ten years on, and puts you in the shoes of Katie, an adventurous young woman who has a deep connection to space through her family.

It’s also a game that really wants to stand apart and not stand in its sequel’s shadow with more character actions and animations, environment variety, presented in Unreal Engine, with an incredible, powerful soundtrack.

And these are not necessarily connected stories even though there are links that bind them. Katie’s adventure is very self-contained and follows through some really powerful, charged narrative plot points.

From the relationship with her father and family, to the legacy her family name brings and the impact that has on her other relationships.

Unquestionably, this is the game’s driving force and strongest suit. It moves seamlessly between cutscenes and unique sequences, one moment seeing you floating through space, fixing a thruster and in the next wandering a space station, scanning through history and looking for clues.

Puzzles break up the action quite a bit, and Katie will find she’s regularly cutting through beams with a laser, but also jumping between platforms, climbing up walls, and lining up beams. None of them are particularly taxing or challenging, and quite often the things you need to interact with are signposted, but they add to the experience.

Never is this more true than when you’re sending your craft up into space and go through a lengthy launch sequence that sees you press buttons in a certain order, raise levers and adjust position. It’s a great way to make the launch feel significant and your role within that important and it’s definitely one of the things the game does very well.

But mechanically there’s nothing here you haven’t seen before and in some cases, even done better by its predecessor. The original felt tighter, more interactive and realistic, almost like a simulator, whereas this often settles for going back to basics and keeping things simple. Which becomes irksome especially when you’re waiting so long between cutscenes.

The other main issue I had with the game is that it’s quite ropey visually. True, this is a big upgrade over the original and there are some landmarks and setpieces that are truly stunning.

But despite the new engine driving it, some character models looked quite rough, some backdrops were sparse and settled for limited textures. Noticeably especially in cutscenes and closeups, which was a real shame, especially when the voice acting really nailed some of the game’s best lines.

And I have to make a comment about the game’s climbing sections which often resulted in repeated, frustrating deaths because the game hadn’t signposted or prepared you properly. There were a few times when I slipped and fell because I mistimed the jump. Not overly frustrating by any means, and I’ve definitely faced worse, but it did break me out of the experience a bit because I wasn’t always sure I was doing the right thing. An issue the game does suffer from a bit throughout.

On the whole, though, this is a well-told story with a stunning soundtrack, well-acted characters, and a good overall pace and flow. Minor issues aside, it definitely comes recommended.

Verdict

Deliver Us Mars is a sequel that doesn’t quite hit all the highs of its predecessor and never really pushes the genre forward in any new ways. Mechnical gripes aside, though, it has a meaningful, memorable story with a good, relevant message, enjoyable dialogue and a beautiful soundtrack that all compliment each other very nicely.

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Pros

Deliver Us Mars is out now on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox 

Played on Xbox Series X

Code Kindly Provided by Frontier