Between Horizons to appear in late 2023

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Sci-fi pixel art detective tale from the creators of Lacuna unveiled for PC and consoles

Most adventure games come with a comforting safety net. Do something foolish or make a wrong choice and you can always back up and try again. Not so with Between Horizons, the upcoming new sci-fi detective tale from the creators of Lacuna, in which your actions determine the fates of multiple generations – with only one chance to get it right.

The game is set aboard the the hulking Zephyr, mankind's "first-generation ship en route to a distant, mysterious star" on a journey expected to take 130 years. Players control 24-year-old Stella, who has spent her entire life on the vessel and has recently inherited her father's position as the Chief of Security. Unfortunately for the passengers and crew, 33 years into the mission there is "trouble afoot aboard the Zephyr," and if you're not careful the ship meant to be your salvation could just prove to be "your final resting place (or perhaps a third more sinister thing)." It's up to you to "dive into the mystery and uncover the conspiracy that threatens to disrupt the Zephyr's social order and work to foil the mission."

As with DigiTales' previous game, Between Horizons is a 2.5D pixel art adventure, though this time the artwork is much more refined and the goal here is to merge "investigative-style gameplay with a branching sci-fi story in an ever-expanding Metroidvania-style environment." Players will need to thoroughly explore the ship's semi-open world to "get to know its inhabitants, and find clues that establish story connections until the full picture reveals itself — or not." With the freedom to form your own theories from the evidence, failure is "very much an option," as "submitting wrong solutions means the story will go on and players live with the consequences," leading to any number of possible endings. In your position of authority, you'll also need to weigh thought-provoking moral dilemmas and make "increasingly tough decisions" that impact the fates of not only the current inhabitants but future generations as well.

The release of Between Horizons is currently in development for PC (Steam, GOG) and PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch consoles, though it's not due to arrive until sometime in the fourth quarter of 2023.