Deliver Us the Moon is a third-person narrative adventure published by Wired Productions and developed by KeokeN Interactive. The game originally released in 2018 on PC and is coming soon to Xbox and Playstation. Humanity is dying. With natural resources dwindling, the only thing keeping the human race going was microwave energy transmissions from a base on the moon. And then one day, the transmissions stopped. Without that energy, humanity’s fate is sealed. Five years after the last transmission, a team has managed to cobble together a rocket to send an astronaut to the moon with the goal of getting the energy flowing again. Before it’s too late.
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During my hands-on demo with Deliver Us the Moon, I got to play through the opening sequence of the game. I was extremely impressed with the way the game establishes itself and the stakes at play. An ever-increasing portion of the earth is turning into a dust bowl. This degradation of the planet’s ecosystem has come to threaten your launch. The player must work to set the final steps of launch preparation before a huge sandstorm hits. During several moments, the player is forced outside to perform tasks like sealing off fuel lines and the like. While doing so, there is virtually no music present. Just the unrelenting sound of the wind and sand. It was an extremely isolating experience.
During this sequence there are a few light puzzles standing between you and your successful launch. These were just enough to establish that video game feeling. Thankfully, they weren’t enough to disrupt the narrative flow of the demo.
Once you have successfully prepped your ship and reached the safety of its cabin you must go through the process of launching it. This was without a doubt the most realistic shuttle launch I’ve ever played through. Switches must be flipped, brakes thrown, and boosters ignited. Doing all these steps really built up the gravitas of the moment.
Once the shuttle was airborne, I watched through small windows as the blue of the earth’s atmosphere gave way to the blackness of space. The game took its time during this transition. It didn’t draw on too long, but it was definitely allowed to truly sink in. Even though I have fought countless alien hordes across countless galaxies in my gaming career, this was the first time I truly felt as if I was going into space. It took my breath away.
The visual work was excellent during the Deliver Us the Moon demo. My character’s movements felt real and the slightly clumsy movements as I hustled through the base in my bulky spacesuit sold the fact that this wasn’t a story about some superheroic video game character – but about a person.
The only voice work heard was from a woman named Claire. She serves as your guide, informing you of the next step you need to take over your suit comms. The character’s voice is believable and well delivered. The pervasive silence I experienced between her transmissions made me appreciate her instructions more than I generally would’ve.
While this was a small slice of the 5-6 hour long offering that Deliver Us the Moon provides, it was certainly a strong first impression. If the story and puzzles deliver on the promise this demo gives, this could be another must-play narrative game for me.
Deliver Us the Moon is available now on PC. It’s also set to release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch later this year.
