Between Horizons Review (PC)

Recycling is a big issue on a spaceship that’s traveling through space to a habitable planet. People have PDAs to communicate and take down notes but a few specialized buildings, including a school, still use real paper. The idea is to recycle it all at the end of the week, making sure none of it is wasted, creating a closed loop that can be effective for years with minimal intervention.

But someone has written a note on a piece of pilfered paper, threatening the very system that keeps this generation ship stable. The captain wants to know who’s involved with this and Stella is on the case, although she hasn’t dealt with anything similar before. I move her across the spaceship, talking to people who might have handled paper, gathering clues, and gradually getting an idea about what’s happening.

The case is probably solvable, as long as I gather all the evidence and don’t make a significant logical mistake. But my dad, before finding himself crushed by a bulkhead, suggested something more sinister is afoot. And many of the people Stella talks to seem to be discontent and disconnected. They treat the mission to create a second home for humanity as too far in the future to fully commit to. Worse, they seem too self-interested to make sure that the starship and its crew remain able to fulfill it.

Between Horizons is developed by DigiTales Interactive and published by Assemble Entertainment. I played it using Steam on the PC and it is also coming to the Nintendo Switch, the PlayStation 5, and the Xbox Series X and S. The game uses a classic adventure game structure, with a focus on revealing and analyzing clues.

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Players are transported to a spaceship called The Zephyr, headed to a nearby star on a colonization mission. Protagonist Stella has never known Earth, being born on the ship and then educated and trained to become the new Chief of Security. The generational nature of this expedition means she will never see Eurus d, the destination, but has to contribute to the success of the effort during her lifetime.

Quickly, Stella finds herself at the core of a complicated situation, which involves unknown assailants, a cover-up, personal loss, and complicated questions about the needs of the many and what actions are justifiable. The narrative moves at a good pace, with a good cast of characters and some solid twists. Stella’s internal monologues are used to add context and create a strong connection between her and players.

Solid writing is a requirement for an adventure game and Between Horizons mostly delivers, although characters sometimes deploy relatively weird turns of phrase ([possibly developed as a result of their long-term quasi-isolation from the rest of humanity). All conversations can be reviewed using the game’s PDA if players want to scrutinize them for clues.

Mechanically, the experience deploys classic adventure genre ideas. Stella moves across the ship, using her suit’s scanning ability to identify points of interest and get details about them into her Personal Digital Assistant. The protagonist can also talk to characters, choosing from a range of questions and replies, and show them clues to comment on. As she identifies locations on Zephyr, she will be able to fast travel between rail stations to get to them faster (plenty of running is still required).

Our protagonist does get clear cases to investigate but she can set her own priorities. Make sure to always check the PDA to have a clear idea of what you can do but I tended to move through the ship, seeing what people have to say, going into rooms, and finding out more about the mission and how crew members feel about it.

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Initially, it is easy to notice discrepancies and lies and solve mysteries but as the narrative progresses, players have to pay attention and carefully consider evidence before making decisions that alter the narrative’s course. Between Horizons saves constantly but there’s no way to do that manually, meaning that all choices are final.

The developer’s choice raises stakes and makes it even more important to consider potential outcomes and the many pieces of information they have access to. Everything can be reviewed using the PDA but there are moments when scrolling through the evidence interface can become somewhat annoying. A system to limit what players can show to characters for comment would’ve been a good idea.

Players need to keep in mind that failing to solve a case will have consequences later in the story. But there’s no full failure state, which encourages multiple playthroughs and rewards players with interesting situations even if they aren’t perfect detectives. I found that simply accepting that choices are final made interactions and deductions more meaningful.

Between Horizons features good pixel art and some impressive ship sights, mixing 2D characters with some 3D areas (although movement freedom is limited). Sure, when the game moves in close as characters stand in small rooms and talk, the lack of detail becomes clear. But the Zephyr and its many inhabitants look good when Stella is sprinting through the bigger common areas, constantly pulsating her suit, looking for clues.

The game’s PDA is decently organized but can become overwhelming as players gather more and more clues. Stella’s actor does a good job with her internal monologues, which add to the atmosphere and give her character depth, but the title does not have full voice acting. The pulsing effect associated with scanning will be a constant companion (you can disable text sounds). I also like the soundtrack, which combines futuristic and martial elements with more emotional moments.

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The Good

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Conclusion