Demo programmed for NODE: The Last Favor of the Antarii

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Puzzle-platformer controlled through delayed turn-based timeline commands coming to PC later this year

If you like the thought of puzzle-platformers except for the action involved in the whole "platformer" part, or if you just want to try a different spin on a now-familiar formula, you may just find it in the nuclear-irradiated ruins of Lapsus Games' upcoming NODE: The Last Favor of the Antarii.

In 2034, satellite detection of a major radiation surge in the frozen wilds of Siberia revealed Toska, a hidden Soviet nuclear power plant representing a "brutalist relic of Cold War paranoia." Long since abandoned and now structurally decaying, there is real concern that the reactor might explode, resulting in a catastrophe far worse than Chernobyl. The initial Russian response team soon disappeared, and the intense radiation prevents drones from operating in the area. The only hope for insertion is a small prototype droid built for Mars and equipped with an autonomous AI, using old blueprints of the facility and responding to remote commands at intermittent signal reception points. It's up to the titular NODE to navigate the "radioactive maze teeming with secrets, strange technology, and the remnants of a forgotten experiment," with "global consequences hanging in the balance." The catch? The sentient AI isn't able to operate in real-time independently, so "only strategic foresight and curiosity will reveal the truth – and determine humanity’s fate.

At first glance, NODE looks like any other 2.5D side-scrolling puzzle-platformer, and indeed the first few minutes play out like one as the little mechanical protagonist speeds through the wintry Siberian wilderness, oblivious to the starkly beautiful elements around it. Once at the facility, however, direct control becomes impossible, so players will need to devise a tactical series of commands using the droid's "delayed navigation system." That means queuing up the necessary actions on a timeline displayed at the bottom of the screen, "plotting each jump, switch, and dodge to navigate treacherous checkpoints" before attempting to execute the sequence. Your moves are "logged by a mysterious AI known as PRIZMA – and your relationship with it will evolve based on your actions." Failure is inevitable but never permanent, so you're encouraged to "retry, refine, and perfect your strategy to overcome obstacles" in your path. Or even off the beaten path, as Toska proves to be a "maze of secrets, cosmic enigmas, and moral ambiguity" in a story weaving sci-fi with horror and "philosophical questions about free will, AI autonomy, and sacrifice."

While the full version of NODE: The Last Favor of the Antarii isn't due out until later this year, a playable demo on Steam is available now for Windows and Linux that lets you take your first programmed steps into the remains of a "lost era where government experiments and ancient knowledge converge." You'd better act fast, though, as the demo might disappear once Steam's Cerebral Puzzle Showcase comes to an end on June 5th.