Cosmic Castaway

Interacting with other lifeforms for the first time would probably be one of the most important moments in human history, especially if the lifeforms in question happen to be intelligent as well. It might take a while to overcome the communication barrier, but it shouldn’t be impossible, especially if both species have access to advanced technology.

Cosmic Castaway is a point & click adventure game in which you play the role of a stranded astronaut trying to figure out where he is and how to survive. The game is played from a forced two-dimensional perspective, which means that you can only move left or right, but you can interact with objects that are in the background as well. Moreover, Unreal Engine 4 is used to render everything.

The game was designed for a jam, so you shouldn’t expect anything too complex in regards to story, or the gameplay. As such, you can walk around using the WASD keys and interact with certain items by clicking on them. In case you cannot pick them up and store them in your inventory, the game provides you with a hint about what you should be looking for.

Unfortunately, the puzzles are not as challenging as they need to be to create a few memories for the players. You can pretty much figure them out in a few seconds, especially if you have previous experience with the genre. To make matters worse, they also get repetitive after a while, even if the whole game is pretty short. Thankfully, you can take your mind off things by admiring the scenery and interacting with weird aliens.

In fact, the level design is the best part of the game, mainly because it truly feels like some sort of alien world, at least in some regards. The creatures somehow have the ability to communicate with you, as well as give you advice on what you should do. As for the graphics, UE4 does its job, although it’s obviously not used to its full potential.

Even if it lacks depth, Cosmic Castaway is quite capable of keeping you busy for a few minutes, at least if you do not mind the simplistic puzzles and the lack of a proper plot. It looks nice enough to get your imagination going.