"Heaven's Vault" Review

"Heaven's Vault: is one of those games that instantly entrances you, charming you with its flat pastel animation style and swaying your soul with an engrossing score.

The feel is a cross between the more methodical moments of "Prince of Persia," blended with a sense of slow traversal across a vacant plain in the manner of "Journey."

The changeup is your companion, Six, who mutters precocious, nagging comments that you can choose how to respond to via a dialogue tree.

The text is imprinted on the screen, with lines that trace back to the character speaking, granting the visuals a visual novel effect.

The presentation is half the winning battle in the dazzling and intellectually challenging creation from developer Inkle. The story is the other half.

You play as archaeologist Aliya, who is in on a desperate, lonely hunt for a skilled robotics inventor. You use your archaeological skills to decipher glyphs, traverse ruins and deduce the mysteries buried within a sprawling, interplanetary map.

As you sail to different sectors of the cosmos, you dig deeper into the tapestry, plunging into a twist-filled, winding story that delivers surprise after surprise.

A rich and thoughtful game with enchanting layers to sift through, break down and appreciate, "Heaven's Vault" is a rare slice of indie-dev heaven that you feel like savoring, appreciating and discussing with a friend. A dreamy pleasure, the game is a work of tremendous heart and artistic exuberance that's all too rare on the current game scene.

Publisher provided review code.