14 DAY TRIAL // Three pressure-activated elevators, facing different potential gravity directions. One cube that always follows initial gravity. The objective is to open a door that opens up a way to reach a distant location. It took me around 20 minutes to figure out the relatively simple set of moves required to solve this early puzzle in Sky Beneath and I had fun doing it.
The title is created by Mindhaven Games and is currently offered on the PC via the Steam Early Access program. It takes elements from both platforming and puzzle-solving to create a new take on both, built around a core gravity manipulating mechanic.
The main character, Cassie, and her partner Annie have reverse engineered alien tech that allows someone to change the direction of the pull of gravity. In practice, this means players can walk on walls and ceilings. A new perspective on environments opens up, which players need to solve the puzzles the game throws at them.
The Early Access version is not very long right now but it does have some cool puzzle moments. It’s not enough to simply shift gravity around and walk around obstacles or to newly seen doors. The game actively challenges players to see its world in a new way.
The weakest part of the experience, at the moment, is the thin narrative, built around a race of disappeared aliens and the facilities that they left behind. Depth is needed here to keep gamers engaged with the mechanics. But I enjoyed what the title has to offer so far.
Sky Beneath looks like a modern Unreal Engine game. The world is interestingly built, with no regard for normal perspectives and orientations. The main character looks a little off, especially when interacting with some surfaces, but nothing that limits the impact of the solid gameplay. The voice work is solid, the little of it that’s in the game now, and the overall sound design seems equally good if not impressive.
Conclusion
The development team at Mindhaven Games needs to do two quite different things before delivering the full game. They need to add a much wider variety of puzzles and platforming challenges, preferably some that players cannot predict after mastering the core idea. And they need to offer an interesting narrative to keep players interested even when the gravity manipulating action becomes potentially frustrating.
