Go Stargazing With Opus: The Day We Found Earth
Cosmos chillin'
If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: I do enjoy some good ol' rest and recuperation when the weekend rolls around, and my go-to games are the ones that allow me to switch off and relax in front of. Opus: The Day We Found Earth [official site] is a game about lighthearted space exploration and stargazing that fits this purview to a T.
A Greenlight graduate and mobile cellular telephone port, Opus: The Day We Found Earth is new to Steam and plants you in the metallic shoes of Emith - a robot who's in search of planet Earth alongside human spaceship cohabitants Makoto and Lisa. The human race gene pool is knackered, we're told, therefore tracking down native human beings will effectively set it right, and so begins your journey into the cosmos.
By following coordinates and discovering new stars and planets, you'll in turn uncover snippets of story and unlock previously powered-down areas of your space vessel, as you get ever-closer to locating Earth.
Opting for story mode lets you play a safer game in that you can't get lost while roving among the stars, however the game's normal setting adds a "pinch of challenge" by letting you tour the solar system at will. Doing so against the charming piano melodies and lovely swirling greens and blues and yellows the game boasts - all redone in HD for PC, incidentally - is a really pleasant experience.
Here's a quick peak at that in motion:
Foreign planets can be analysed and renamed, while descriptions inform you how close to Earth you may or may not be. "The atmosphere is very thick with irregular climate conditions," one analysis report came back. Sounds remarkably like Glasgow, actually. Temperature minus 21 degrees centigrade? Aye, sounds about right.
Opus: The Day We Found Earth is out now on Steam for Windows and Mac at the discounted launch price of £4.79/7,19€/$7.19.