Beyond a Steel Sky is essentially a standalone release, according to Revolution Software CEO, Charles Cecil. Since its predecessor, Beneath a Steel Sky, released way back when in 1994, the developer is hesitant to call the new release a sequel.
Cecil cited immense differences in tech as the main reason they’re not banking more heavily on Beneath a Steel Sky’s pedigree, and it’s a rather sensible argument, all things considered.
“Okay, so I don’t even want to call this a sequel, because I’m going to assume that nobody who plays this game has ever played Beneath a Steel Sky,” said Cecil. “This is within the same universe, but the gameplay is so completely different. The original was a 320x200 point-and-click - this is much more ambitious. This is a full 3D world, but very much based on the idea of core adventure puzzles built on top of pillars.”
Keeping this in mind, those who’ve played the original can freely consider Beyond a sequel to Beneath, though it does seem that the developer is well-aware of the fact that this isn’t the case with most of their audience. That’s why Beyond will certainly be a great starting point for newbies as well.
“What we want is games that are ultimately logical, which means that the player should be able to work them out,” said Cecil. That’s a healthy take on classic adventure gaming, we feel. Let us see what comes of it.
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