Ephemeris of the Mind (Game Review) Return to Grace
Time to read: 2 min read
Game Cover
You're an explorer Adie... Are you here to meet a god or slay a beast?
Platform played on: PC
Review
Return to Grace is a retro sci-fi walking simulator that follows an explorer named Adie in the 30th century as she arrives on a remote planet in the hopes of finding Grace, an AI that used to guide humanity in the past. Adie, partnering with the various facets of Grace’s personality, works towards reviving Grace.
Speaking with Empathy, one of Grace's personalities
If you’re fed up with walking simulators at this point then Return to Grace will have all the problems, such as the slow pace of some parts of the game and the need to follow a linear path, sometimes requiring backtracking. Return to Grace does differ in some aspects to the typical walking sim, such as having the player make decisions and having various minigames and puzzles to break up the walking, but even these aspects don't really alter the slow pace of the game that much, especially on subsequent playthroughs (if one wants to get different endings). I really enjoyed the interactions between Adie and the various personalities of Grace, which often banter and serve as foils of one another. The voice acting is great but my favourite aspect of the game is the retro sci-fi aesthetics of the environments; if you’re a fan of science fiction from the mid-20th century, these settings will speak to you. There are also some philosophical themes surrounding faith and humanity's relationship with technology, but the philosophical musings mostly occur in passing.
Mid-century modern architecture
Conclusion
A well-made adventure game that's a bit slow at times.