The Message from Deep Space

I haven't finished the game yet, but so far, it's one of my top games of all time. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I played the demo, and I've been recommending the full release to just about everyone I know. It's definitely confusing at times, but every time something just clicks with a frequency definition it makes it all worth it. I can't recommend it highly enough.

One of my favorite games in a very long time. The puzzles are interesting but the developer has put a lot of effort into making sure that advanced STEM knowledge isn't a barrier to enjoying this game.

A really nice way to spend an evening or twenty. It's really exciting to figure out exactly what the aliens are trying to say, and the characters make sure it never becomes too exhausting. Some of the later transmissions (at 500+) could use some refining - figuring out exactly how to phrase your responses can be hard - but the Discord is happy to give you hints, and hopefully some of the more confusing transmissions will be fixed.

Opinions on this game are almost certainly going to be polarised. If you enjoy the "translation" aspect of games such as Chants of Senaar and Poumosa, then this game is purely that. So if you don't enjoy those things then you will absolutely hate this game. And to be honest, even the start is rough. With nothing other than the text to go on - because there's no exploring environments or anything similar - the language has to literally be taught from first principles, starting with math equations (because numbers are always understandable) and going through chemistry and physics. There's a built in reference with all of the information you'll need, but it can still be rather heavy going to start with. However, if you can get through that, the reward is genuinely fantastic. There's a series of incredibly well-written messages describing how an alien species might interact with humans for the first time. The aliens themselves and their world are interesting in multiple ways. While I didn't have the big emotional reactions that some players did, I was still struck by certain messages. At that point, the experience becomes absolutely unique; it's just that you have to get through rather a lot to get there. There's a few minor quality of life issues such as some discomfort about how the interface works, but they aren't dealbreakers for the underlying material. If you are someone who likes this sort of thing, then this is the sort of thing you REALLY like. If you aren't, you'll probably give up before getting to the best bits. That's probably the safest thing to say.

really fun math/science puzzles, and the characters also keep me engaged enough to wonder about them. Currently at the start of act 5, each new act is focused on something new (basic math, chemistry, graphing, etc) ALSO ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ THE MUSIC??? I have genuinely never heard of a puzzle game with an ost this great in the past.

First contact with extant life from another world, & it's the aliens sending us their math homework. All jokes aside, I love this game. The characters seem simple on the surface, but their little conversations, in-jokes and quirks really make you connect with them. I can't believe that within the span of a couple hours they had me go from jeering at Dr. Akers to genuinely empathizing and rooting for him. I also wanna shout out the OST, the music is actually really nice to vibe to while puzzling over a new transmission. I'm definitely relying on walkthroughs to make progress, but the atmosphere and story are enough to make it still an enjoyable puzzle game

The game starts off a bit slow; the beginning felt to me as mostly refreshing math/physics/chemistry knowledge from high-school and establishing some basic communication primitives. If that was all there was to it, I would have probably thought it was a good game, but not enough to recommend it. However, at some point this game changes [spoiler]probably when they send their first self-portrait[/spoiler]: It becomes much less of a quiz, and more of a very rewarding search for common understanding and meaning. I believe life longs for life, and this game reminds me of it almost on every transmission past a certain point. In puzzle/deduction games I usually end up disabling all hints and stuff. But this game has such amazing dialogue that I didn't mind if it occasionally recommended solutions: I really just wanted to know what Dr. Bautista, Dr. Akers, Dr. Collins, and Dr. Doppler had to say! The developer crafted a unique voice for each character, to the point I find myself in internal arguments with these characters while reading their different suggestions. Sometimes I appreciate Dr. Bautista's programmer-style focused on reducing verbosity, but other terms require the added nuance Dr. Collins' captures with each of her suggestions. And Dr. Akers? He is a really good astronomer. Personally, I would like it if the game UI were a bit more feature rich: I miss the ability to pin certain pages so as to have multiple open simultaneously or having a central note pad with links between notes, words, and transmissions. But these are minor grievances that can be addressed by just pulling out a notebook IRL. I am not done with this game, I estimate I am roughly around the halfway point ([spoiler]transmission 514 [/spoiler]). But I already wanted to share my thoughts on this wonderful game. I will update this review once I finish with the game with my final impressions. In the meantime, I strongly recommend it.