Beyond the Sky drawing closer on horizon

Written by Jack Allin — May 21, 2017 at 11:23

Reaching for the moon may be a noble ambition, but doing so literally may be fraught with peril, as we'll find out when indie two-person Italian developer Iperurania Arts releases its dark fantasy adventure Beyond the Sky later this year.

Beyond the Sky stars a young woman named Selene, who lives in a tower and dreams of reaching the moon. One night, however, she is tricked by a wolf and suddenly "finds herself lost in a dark wood." From this point on, making her way through the forest becomes as much a journey of self-discovery as it is a means of escape, as "with the help of the inhabitants of the forest she’ll learn to explore the surrounding world in a different way, to perceive beyond appearances and to face her fears." In doing so, players will be confronted by such thought-provoking themes as "the sense of life and death, loneliness, sadness, uncertainty, power, war" and more.

A hand-drawn, third-person point-and-click adventure that promises an "experimental mix of game and literature," Beyond the Sky will forsake traditional inventory gathering in favour of a variety of fully-integrated "hard puzzles that will challenge your mind, puzzles that are not mere obstacles but actual narrative elements." Progress is achieved not merely by how you are able to affect your environment, but through your expanding perception of it, as "at the beginning Selene can interact with the surrounding world in a limited way, but during the game she’ll become more self-confident and she’ll learn to look beyond appearances and interact with the world in a deeper way."

The final release of Beyond the Sky on Windows and Mac isn't due until late 2017, but there's no need to wait to check it out for yourself, as a playable alpha demo of the game is already available for download. The demo is also available though the game's Greenlight page, where it is currently seeking public support for release on Steam upon completion.