Say what you will about Epic, but the weekly free games are a real treasure trove of curiosities. I tend to pick up at least one offering a month, and in almost every case, they are a 4-8 hour stroll through an idea that is right on the edge of execution. There are moments of pure brilliance and a risk taken, but it’s missing something key to really make it stand out. Deliver Us Mars is perhaps the best example of this.

This is a hard sci-fi adventure game, which certainly checks boxes for me. There’s no combat, no decisions, no real way to “fail” the exploration part. It’s on the edge of an interactive novel where a concept is explored, one exploring the failures of humanity and the implications of hope. The broad sci-fi stuff, in truth.

Importantly, the game has a prior game (Deliver us the Moon) which sets up a fair chunk of context for the characters at play, though not necessarily required. Essentially, the Earth is encountering human-brought disaster, they are using the moon to generate power, and the colony on the moon (smart-folks) essentially gives up on humanity’s faults and decides to pick up shop and rebuild on Mars. In Deliver us Mars, you play a character trying to reach Mars, as her father was part of that group. Throughout, you learn that the evils of humanity exist at all levels, and how people with the best of intentions can fall to their own hubris and fears.

I won’t spoil the game, as it’s a fun page turner to get through, with some interesting pieces to discover. It’s not a terribly original story, but it’s still a good one. Getting though it..

The game part is where this gets less challenging. The puzzle portions are simple enough where they grow in complexity until the end, with the same set of tools. The platforming portion is less fun, as you’re stuck with two ice picks to climb walls, with very loose controls. With one small exception, these pieces are extremely minor and more of an annoyance. The real kicker is the graphics. The scenery is quite good, the environment, and the concepts art. The issue is the ragdoll physics and in particular the hair of the characters. It’s pure uncanny valley, which distracts a lot from the rather well-written and well-acted performances.

Overall, the journey here was satisfying and I am well aware I never would have even bothered if this wasn’t available on the Epic store in the first place. It’s an unfortunate space where games like this would not get the attention they are due as they are grasping at a really great idea and on the edge of really pulling off the execution. I have no idea how the Epic store curates these items, but I’m quite thankful that it is finding those rough cuts for the world to experience.