As I continue my trek through a mountain of Steam Next Fest demos, I feel compelled to let the world know about one that caught me by surprise this morning.
I sawAmbrosia Sky’strailer during one of many game showcases this past weekend and didn’t think too much of it, but now that I’ve played it, I think it’s one to keep an eye on for whenever it launches because it’s got a unique hook and some fun potential.
InAmbrosia Sky,players “take on the role of Dalia as she returns to her home in the outer rings of Saturn to investigate strange deaths and the alien contamination that caused them,” all from a first-person perspective as you use a chemical sprayer to clean up alien fungus that is growing throughout the space colonies.
“When we first started thinking aboutAmbrosia Sky,we were initially interested in how we could blend the ‘job sim’ style of gameplay, similar toPowerWash Simulator, with narrative-heavy exploration,” the game’s devs at Soft Rains said in ablog post. “This led us to consider different forms of cleaning in the world, which in turn led us to death cleaners and individuals who clean up after a person passes away. We then connected those acts of care with the rigorous standards of jobs in biohazard cleaning.”
The gameplay immediately evokes memories ofPowerWash Simulator, as you’re able to change up your spray type and nozzle to better suit the situation, all while getting upgrades to make the job easier as you take on clean-up missions throughout the campaign.
As you clean up the varying alien fungi, you can also harvest fruit from them to research and get different spray types like one that’s flammable, one that’s electric, and more to help you throughout the missions.
But there’s a bit more to it, too. The main character, Dalia, also has a grappling hook on her left hand that she can use to traverse bigger areas within the confines of these space buildings, but also use it to grab items from a distance and then throw them, too.
And another main mechanic in the game is to find the recently deceased among the fungal mayhem to help deliver last rites, which is a very sweet touch to the game that plays cozier than it may sound as a concept. This facet of the game reminds me greatly of the 2008 filmSunshine Cleaningabout a family’s business of cleaning up after crime scenes and grisly deaths, something that must be done with care.
If you’d like to check outAmbrosia Skyyourself, and I highly recommend you do so, you cantry out the demo during Steam Next Festright now.
