Return to Grace from Creative Bytes Studios is the type of game that you really have to play in one sitting to fully appreciate. With a premise that hypes up the discovery of a great A.I God known as Grace, there’s a lot to expect from this title.
Does Return to Grace deliver on its seemingly niche A.I hype factor and does the game warrant a playthrough? The answer to this is quite clear and I’ll tell you why shortly.
Saving Grace
Players in Return to Grace will take on the role of an archaeologist known as Adie Ito. Adie discovers an ancient site where an A.I God has been shut down. Players will have to choose which personalities to build relationships with while you try to unearth the real mystery as to why Grace shut down thousands of years ago.
Set on Ganymede in 3820 AD, Adie attempts to discover more about Grace, the mysterious A.I that led humanity into a golden age of peace and exploration across the solar system. It all feels very reminiscent of Destiny’s story in some ways with an all-powerful artificial intelligence leading mankind towards the future.
However, as with all things science fiction based, things are never as simple as they may seem. Grace was abruptly shut down and disappeared a thousand years ago. This triggered a new dark age and numerous technological innovations were lost to the annals of time.
Return to Grace falls into the “Walking Simulator” category of video games because of its narrative-driven gameplay that focuses on the environment and world-building. The game features a colourful cast of characters which will briskly help you along your path towards figuring out the mystery behind Grace’s disappearance. Return to Grace really leans heavily into the storytelling and its really quite gripping stuff. You will want to press on and figure out the mystery and that’s a great selling point for the game to have. Adie’s taken a risk travelling to Ganymede and you’ll become emotionally invested in this tale quite quickly because of the setting.
Split Personality?
Adie will soon awaken three core aspects of Grace’s identity on Ganymede. These being “Logic”, “Control” and “Empathy”. These components are old backups of Grace but have little information to share with you regarding Grace’s ultimate shutdown. Interacting with these three aspects though is great because they each have different personalities and it really shines through in the game as they help guide you towards the inevitable conclusion of the game.
Return to Grace is a rather short 3 hour long story-driven game but don’t let its short lengthy fool you. This is a game that has a lot of enjoyable content and the storytelling as well as the environments are beautifully crafted. Return to Grace also features a layer of consequences. Certain actions and decisions that you take will influence how the game plays out and alters the ending somewhat. Different players will therefore have different endings based on their decisions. This also enhances the game’s longevity somewhat since you can try to play it differently in a second playthrough.
Where Return to Grace falters lies in the fact that some of the game’s puzzles and mechanics are rather lacklustre. Players can easily breeze through the entire game with no real challenge. This can become a bit repetitive but given the game’s short length, it doesn’t overstay its welcome and concludes in a satisfying manner based on your decisions.
Graphically Return to Grace is fantastic and the overall aesthetic of the game is dripping with some retro-futuristic vibes. If you’re a fan of this kind of art style and theme, you’ll love this game. The voice acting in the game is also superb with all the characters being remarkably well voiced. Kudos must be given to the voice team for doing a believable job here and really helping to nail the story points in the game.
Final Verdict
Overall Return to Grace is a solid narrative-based game. Yes, the gameplay can be a tad repetitive but the storytelling makes it worthwhile and Return to Grace gets a solid recommendation from me. Especially if you’ve enjoyed games like Firewatch, Tacoma and What Remains of Edith Finch. Return to Grace plays it safe and delivers on a formula that’s been well-established in its genre.
Return to Grace Trailer
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