Destination Ares Demo

Although everyone imagines the spaceships of the future with huge crowds controlling every system, the truth is probably closer to what 2001: A Space Odyssey pictured. Hence, a single AI should be able to manage everything if it’s programmed right, and by that time the AI technology should be quite advanced.

Destination Ares is a survival game that puts a lot of responsibility on your shoulders, given the fact that you are responsible for multiple lives. The main idea is that you are an AI with complete control over the spaceship’s systems, including the Oxygen supply, the toilet, the engines and so on. Thus, whenever a crisis arises, it is your duty to solve it and notify the crew.

Thankfully, there’s a tutorial to get you started with the gameplay mechanics, and it goes in-depth about everything. Thus, you cannot directly repair most of the systems when they need maintenance or they are damaged, but you can alert the men and tell them whether it’s urgent or not. On the other hand, you do have the power to instantly switch off any of the systems on board.

Other times you are forced to choose between two solutions to the same problem, although one of them is usually a lot more complicated than the other. In order to settle it, you have to complete a quick mini-game, which is a lot like Minesweeper, except that you move around and try to find the exit before the timer runs out. It’s quite the neat little mini-game, and it’s especially successful at keeping boredom at bay.

Not much can be said about the graphics, except that they are very simple, almost symbolic. However, the pixel artwork is pretty decent, at least if you do not mind not being able to discern one person from another. There’s also quite the lengthy soundtrack to keep you company, and it’s also dynamic, meaning that it changes depending on what happens in the game.

In the end, Destination Ares is quite the brilliant experiment, and it could become a hit with the crowds if it’s polished some more. It also requires some balancing and better artwork, but the concept is definitely engaging and promising.