A Dutch game, we don’t see that as often as we would like, reason enough to pay attention to it. Especially when it comes to a subject that we follow closely: space. Studio KeokeN previously made the game Deliver Us the Moon and now comes with a successor Deliver Us Mars.
Deliver Us
In Deliver Us Mars you don’t have to fight with all the Martians or build bases and control hordes of aliens from there, and that is actually the strength of this game. It’s clearly developed mainly based on the story, rather than counting on one gameplay mechanic and repeating it over and over. We will definitely give that to KeokeN, because that makes this game a very cool space walk.
In addition, we appreciate that you experience this adventure through the eyes of a woman. We may have come a long way, there are still not many games that only choose a female lead and that is the case in Deliver Us Mars. You play as Kathy, the daughter of an acquaintance from Deliver Us the Moon. A la Star Wars, Kathy receives a vague message from her father, after which she starts looking for him. Gradually in the game you discover more and more exactly what happened.
Journey of discovery on the red planet
You can discover this by going on a journey of discovery on the red planet yourself. You have some tools with you to help you search, such as a pickaxe to climb on walls. Use it a lot, because Mars is a very versatile planet in that respect, also in this game. Your energy beams are also important. You use it to open doors, provided you solve the puzzle correctly. There is also some platforming in this game, but as an accomplished Mariophile that is unfortunately not a very well worked out part of the gameplay. It felt a bit like the platforming moments in the old LEGO games: slightly awkward.
It doesn’t help that the game is quite buggy. It falters from all sides and although you can sometimes forgive a game (and we would like that with the otherwise charming Deliver Us Mars), it sometimes actually affects the gameplay itself. Just imagine that you are hanging on such a wall and the screen thinks: refresh hard. It doesn’t always work well. Too bad, because without those problems this would have been a blast of a game. It is therefore to be hoped that KeokeN can smooth out these wrinkles.
More in his Mars
In the images in this article and in the game’s trailer, it looks like a picture and we would have liked to see that be the case throughout the game, but where it stands out visually, it disappoints technically enough to affect those visuals. Especially in a game in which discovering another planet is central, that is a miss. Fortunately, the story still comes across and the puzzling too: there is indeed a cool game. He only had so much more in his Mars without those bugs.
The message this game conveys is a very interesting one: is it wise for humanity to colonize the planet Mars? Now this in itself is quite a difficult planet to live on due to its large temperature differences and different day-night cycle, but if you play Deliver Us Mars you will notice that there is more to take into account. And the great thing is: you don’t learn that by reading something, but you also experience that in a certain way by playing this game. If you want to give this game a chance, keep this review in mind: sometimes it is a technical challenge in a less fun way, but in the end it is certainly not a game to ignore. This game has a lot to offer and it certainly shows that, albeit through the cracks.
