The Message from Deep Space

This game is so nerdy and I love it! Keep a pen, paper, and calculator nearby to make the process smoother. Also keep a running list of any transmissions or definitions that you’re not 100% certain on, so you can revisit them later. And don't look at any more marketing material as you may spoil some things for the game!

Since reading Story Of Your Life (and watching Arrival) I've always been fascinated by communication starting from ground zero. While I love those and Project Hail Mary, I still felt like they gave a sense of starting from nothing, then did some hand waving, then the protagonist is fluent. But I always wanted the nitty gritty behind the hand waving. And this game gives me exactly what I want - you need to connect the dots from beginning to end, no hand waving (besides Bautista's computer wizardry). Every step of the way felt like a revelation that was earned, with very little filler in between. The gameplay wasn't perfect and I think it could have done with a few more QOL changes. But that's nothing compared to the immense satisfaction and joy that I got from the game. Highly recommend!

For such a niche genre, having < 40% of players complete even 25%+ of the game gives an indication to how much this game objectively overstays its welcome. At the same time, I'm keen to glaze games that scratch the unique puzzle game itch for me, and I did enjoy much of my time to this point. Still, I can't stand doing more of this. I find myself coming back for a few puzzles at a time, mostly out of morbid curiosity and ill-placed hope for a novel experience. But I can only stomach maybe 5 puzzles at a time now before I realize I was right the previous time I decided the game should be abandoned. There will be players out there for whom the game's hint-system isn't disappointingly too much or witholding-ly too little, but it wasn't for me. Other translation-centric games like Chants of Senaar and even Heaven's Vault give you more context both by volume and quality on which to found assumptions; I'm not sure the idea behind this game even works. But I hope my experience is an outlier here - I am happy to see that a lot of people are, if only by positive reviews and not game % completion, really enjoying the game. The game is interesting but the compelling parts seem to be behind me now, having traded in novelty and well-designed pacing for tedium and blind grasping for hypotheses. Until the game randomly decides to throw you a bone, at least. Or introduce a new STEM concept that it thought was neat, but then ground it into oblivion until even something you already understood seems unfathomable. How satisfying. Here's hoping I'm uniquely stupid!

Beautiful game. Feels like a combination of Outer Wilds and Project Hail Mary. The demo is great and got me hooked! Doubles Helixes Intertwined is such a banger.

I normally wait until I finish a game to review it, but it may be a while and in the meantime I wanted to get the word out about just how awesome this game is. If you've ever wondered how first radio contact with an alien intelligence, with which we seemingly have nothing in common, at least for the purposes of communication except the laws of nature and math (which I think is more of an invention than a natural law), might go, this is it. It's like a really great science fiction movie where you become one of the scientists on the team making first contact. I won't go into too much details at this point, but the game is brilliant. If you love language-and-meaning deciphering puzzles, and are comfortable with mathematical and scientific concepts at about first university college level, you will love this game. Some familiarity with computer programming doesn't hurt. Much of the mathematical and scientific and language stuff you need is covered with an in-game reference library, which is very good for brushing up on stuff you may have forgotten. I have completed 4 out of 12 acts, and it's taken me about 22 hours so far. So at this rate, I'll get 66 hours out of this game. I suppose I may update this review when I am done, but I doubt it will change the message I am trying to get across to you the reader of this review, which is that ... ... this is a very special and game and if anything I have said so far resonates with you, you must get this game, or at least try the demo.

This game makes me feel so dumb and smart at the same time

one of a kind genuinely exceptional in most aspects

Oh my god. This game was simply incredible, a real Chants of Senaar x Project Hail Mary. Be prepared to do a lot of math but the pay off is really good. (-245) and (-243)