Software:Heaven's Vault

From HandWiki
Short description: 2019 adventure video game
Heaven's Vault
Developer(s)Inkle
Publisher(s)Inkle
Designer(s)Jon Ingold, Joseph Humfrey
Programmer(s)Joseph Humfrey
Artist(s)Laura Dilloway
Writer(s)Jon Ingold
Composer(s)Laurence Chapman
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
ReleasePlayStation 4, Windows
  • WW: April 16, 2019
Nintendo Switch
  • WW: January 28, 2021
Genre(s)Adventure game
Mode(s)Single-player

Heaven's Vault is an archaeological science-fiction adventure game released by Inkle for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4 on April 16, 2019, and for Nintendo Switch on January 28, 2021.

Gameplay

In Heaven's Vault, the player takes the role of an archaeologist called Aliya Elasra who has a robotic companion called Six.[1] The game follows the course of their adventure as they 'sail' between the moons of the Nebula searching for a missing roboticist called Janniqi Renba.[2]

The player has to decipher and learn the hieroglyphic language of the Ancients, a lost civilization.[3] This involves finding and collecting inscriptions from ancient artifacts, sites and ruins and translating and discussing texts with other characters.[4]

The developers say that over a thousand words written in Ancient, the game's fictional language, can be found and say that its pictorial glyphs are inspired by Ancient Egyptian and Chinese writing systems.[5]

The player can choose their own route through the story and around the Nebula as it employs a non-linear approach to narrative storytelling, allowing the player to make choices that impact the plot.[6]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
MetacriticPC: 76/100[7]
PS4: 71/100[8]
Review scores
PublicationScore
EurogamerRecommended[9]
Game Informer8/10[10]
GameSpot6/10[11]
PC Gamer (US)88/100[12]
PC WorldStarStarStarStarHalf star[13]

On its release, Heaven's Vault was met with "generally favourable" reviews from critics for Microsoft Windows, with an aggregate score of 76/100, and "mixed or average reviews" with an aggregate score of 71/100 for PlayStation 4 on Metacritic.[7][8]

Music

Laurence Chapman composed the soundtrack for the game. Chapman recruited Brookspeare Music for recording the strings. He also added subtle synth pads as a reminder that Heaven's Vault is a science fiction game.[14] Richard Brooker from Brookspeare Music also mixed the soundtrack.[15]

Accolades

Year Award Category Result Ref
2019 The Independent Game Developers' Association Awards Best Role-Playing Game Nominated [16]
2019 Golden Joystick Awards PC Game of the Year Nominated [17]
2020 Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards Best Writing in a Video Game Nominated [18]
New York Game Awards Off Broadway Award for Best Indie Game Nominated [19]
NAVGTR Awards Game, Special Class Nominated [20]
MCV/Develop Awards Gameplay Innovation of the Year Nominated [21]
Narrative Innovation of the Year Nominated
Independent Games Festival Awards Excellence in Narrative Won [22]
16th British Academy Games Awards British Game Nominated [23]

References

  1. ↑ Hoon Chan, Khee (April 16, 2019). "Heaven's Vault review: an archaeology video game actually about archaeology". Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/reviews/2019/4/16/18311381/heavens-vault-review-ps4-steam-inkle. Retrieved April 19, 2019. 
  2. ↑ Warr, Phillipa (April 16, 2019). "HEAVEN'S VAULT REVIEW". PC Gamer. https://www.pcgamer.com/heavens-vault-review/. Retrieved April 19, 2019. 
  3. ↑ O'Connor, James (April 16, 2019). "Heaven's Vault Review - Come Sail Away". Gamespot. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/heavens-vault-review-come-sail-away/1900-6417120/. Retrieved April 19, 2019. 
  4. ↑ Bell, Alice (April 16, 2019). "Wot I Think: Heaven's Vault". https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/04/16/hevaens-vault-review/. Retrieved April 19, 2019. 
  5. ↑ "'80 Days devs Inkle have opened Heaven's Vault' – Rock Paper Shotgun". Rock Paper Shotgun. 6 April 2019. https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/04/16/heavens-vault-released/. 
  6. ↑ Donlan, Christian (April 16, 2019). "Heaven's Vault review - a rich web of possibility". Eurogamer. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-04-16-heavens-vault-review-a-rich-web-of-possibility. Retrieved April 19, 2019. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Heaven's Vault for PC Reviews". https://www.metacritic.com/game/heavens-vault/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. Retrieved 2019-08-10. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Heaven's Vault for PlayStation 4 Reviews". https://www.metacritic.com/game/heavens-vault/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-4. Retrieved 2019-04-25. 
  9. ↑ Donlan, Christian (2019-04-16). "Heaven's Vault review - a rich web of possibility". https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-04-16-heavens-vault-review-a-rich-web-of-possibility. 
  10. ↑ Favis, Elise (2019-04-18). "Heaven's Vault Review – Unearthing Ancient Mysteries". Game Informer. https://www.gameinformer.com/review/heavens-vault/unearthing-ancient-mysteries. Retrieved 2019-08-10. 
  11. ↑ O'Connor, James (2019-04-16). "Heaven's Vault Review - Come Sail Away". https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/heavens-vault-review-come-sail-away/1900-6417120/. 
  12. ↑ Warr, Philippa (2019-04-16). "Heaven's Vault review". https://www.pcgamer.com/heavens-vault-review/. 
  13. ↑ Dingman, Hayden (2019-04-17). "Heaven's Vault review: In search of lost time". https://www.pcworld.com/article/3389976/heavens-vault-review.html. 
  14. ↑ "Laurence Chapman's Unique Music For An Unusual Journey In 'Heaven's Vault'" (in en). 2019-05-09. https://www.wshu.org/culture/2019-05-09/laurence-chapmans-unique-music-for-an-unusual-journey-in-heavens-vault. 
  15. ↑ "Heaven's Vault (2019) PlayStation 4 credits". https://www.mobygames.com/game/playstation-4/heavens-vault/credits. 
  16. ↑ "2019 Winners". 2019-11-07. https://tiga.org/awards/2019-winners. Retrieved 2020-01-08. 
  17. ↑ "Golden Joystick Awards 2019". Archived from the original on 2019-09-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20190928103127/https://www.gamesradar.com/goldenjoystickawards/#pc-game-of-the-year. Retrieved 2019-12-06. 
  18. ↑ "Writers' Guild Of Great Britain Awards Shortlist Announced". 2019-12-04. https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Writers-Guild-Of-Great-Britain-Awards-Shortlist-Announced-20191204. Retrieved 2019-12-06. 
  19. ↑ Sheehan, Gavin (2020-01-02). "The New York Game Awards Announces 2020 Nominees". https://www.bleedingcool.com/2020/01/02/the-new-york-game-awards-announces-2020-nominees/. Retrieved 2020-01-05. 
  20. ↑ "2019 Nominees". 2020-01-13. https://navgtr.org/2019-nominees/. Retrieved 2020-01-23. 
  21. ↑ Wallace, Chris (2020-02-14). "It's your last chance to vote for the MCV/DEVELOP Awards winners 2020". MCV/Develop. https://www.mcvuk.com/business-news/heres-the-shortlist-for-the-new-mcv-develop-awards-vote-online-now/. Retrieved 2020-05-26. 
  22. ↑ "A SHORT HIKE WINS THE SEUMAS MCNALLY GRAND PRIZE AT THE 22nd ANNUAL INDEPENDENT GAMES FESTIVAL AWARDS". GlobeNewswire (Press release). 2020-03-18. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  23. ↑ Stuart, Keith (2020-03-03). "Death Stranding and Control dominate Bafta games awards nominations". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/games/2020/mar/03/death-stranding-and-control-dominate-bafta-games-awards-nominations. Retrieved 2020-03-04. 



Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Heaven%27s_Vault&oldid=800126"