Heaven’s Vault
Become a history detective in inkle’s archaeological adventure
There’s a gentle uncertainty running through the demo
Inkle’s sci-fi archaeology adventure, Heaven’s Vault, is one of the most promising detective games that I have played in recent years. Instead of a murder to solve, you’re playing as archaeologist Aliya Elasra, investigating sites of historical interest, and using inscriptions and relics to discover an ancient civilization. The demo build focuses on an overgrown ruin, hidden away on a lush moon. As well as artifacts to collect for further study, you will discover inscriptions which you can use to build a little library of translations for the ancient civilization’s hieroglyphic language.
When figuring out the language I was using a mix of context, guesswork and common sense at first. For example, I’d eliminate any of the translations which resulted in nonsense. Then I’d see whether any of the suggested combinations fit with the function of the object I’d found it on.
Later on, the interface lets you see similar hieroglyphics when translating a new word. It also drops your previous translations into spaces where the symbol recurs, letting you see if it still makes sense. Inkle says you won’t ever be entirely sure if your translations are correct, but the main character, Aliya, can become confident enough to add a translation to her dictionary.
The ink engine beautifully supports a fluid exploration of these clues, and allows them to feed back into Aliya’s understanding of a place. Translating a sign as ‘garden of the dead’ meant she viewed the ruin as a graveyard from then onward. Missing that translation out in a second playthrough made for a far less certain exploration of the space.
My demo was short, set in one area, so it’s hard to get a sense of how those uncertainties will build over a broader game, and how far you can stray from a specific interpretation of the ancient world. That said, I played it through several times and managed to have a different experience each time as a result of making slightly different choices.
infer-able skills
Navigating the space took a little getting used to, and I found it hard to select the object I wanted to interact with at times. But the team has continued working on the game, and I think that ironing out camera glitches will go a long way towards solving those navigational oddities.
Overall, I’d say it’s one of the games I’m most excited about for 2019. There’s a gentle uncertainty running through the demo, which I love. It’s about inference, rather than completing a tick list, and that harmonizes perfectly with the story. I mean, what sounds more fallible and uncertain than a tale of humans trying to figure out what other humans were up to?