As part of Steam Next Fest, I had the pleasure of playing the demo of Life of Delta from developer, Airo Games. Whilst the demo was tantalisingly short, I know with certainty that this game has the potential to be a favourite.
Life of Delta is a point-and-click adventure game set in a post-apocalyptic world where humans are no more. The only survivors in this harsh environment are decaying service robots and humanoid lizards born from long nuclear fallout.
Unsurprisingly, the game follows the lead character, Delta, a small service bot searching for his lost friend. In the full game, his journey will take him across 25 hand-painted post-apocalyptic levels. He’ll solve over 50 engaging mini-games and puzzles, and meet various unique characters, each with their own story to tell.
“Life of Delta features beautifully drawn scenes and expert usage of lighting and colour”
As I scrolled through a sea of Steam Next Fest demos, the stunning graphics of Life of Delta immediately drew me in. I’m a sucker for post-apocalyptic settings at the best of times, but with such beautifully drawn scenes and expert usage of lighting and colour, how could I resist?
The artists and level designers at Airo Games have managed to create a beautiful yet treacherous-looking environment that begs you to explore. Additionally, I think the character designs (especially of Delta) are spectacular; Delta is so adorable and loveable, I just want to see him succeed!
“The story, while basic in premise, could end up having a lot to offer”
The Life of Delta demo sets the scene and the story premise for what looks to be a lovely game. You play as Delta, a small robot who is in search of his missing friend.
Partly, I feel like this story is somewhat bland, but I’m reticent to rate the game poorly because of this. The demo provides just the tiniest of snippets into what the Life of Delta gameplay will be like, but because it’s so short, not much of the narrative is actually seen. I think the story, while basic in premise, could end up having a lot to offer. In any case, engaging storyline or not, Delta is such an adorable character that honestly, I don’t think it will matter in the long run.
“It’s so rare to find unique and genuinely challenging puzzles in games these days, but Life of Delta really delivered”
My favourite part of Life of Delta was the mini-games and puzzles. I love puzzles, and so point-and-click adventures like this are a wonderful find for me. Unfortunately, in many cases, it’s difficult to find puzzles that actually present a difficulty; challenges are either repeating something featured in other games or they’re far too easy and not a challenge at all.
Life of Delta featured a truly unique and difficult puzzle from the get-go. The demo was so short that we only got to see the one mini-game, but it’s a good one. It took me a fair few attempts to figure out what was happening before getting to the solution. It’s rare to find unique and genuinely challenging puzzles these days, Life of Delta really delivered.
“The lack of hints available could lead some players to give up”
While I loved the complexity of the mini-game and puzzles, there is an aspect to them that concerns me. There are no in-game hints – at least, none that I could find.
Complex puzzles are a major selling point for me, but I worry that the lack of hints could lead some players to give up on the game after hitting metaphorical brick walls. After the game’s full release, I assume that there will be people out there who write or record walk-throughs, but I don’t think players should have to expect this to play a game. In my opinion, there should be some facility for in-game hints for those who get stuck on a puzzle.
“Life of Delta is a great little adventure, puzzle game”
In conclusion, I think that Life of Delta is a great little adventure puzzle game. I think it has real potential to be a wonderful experience, and I’ll definitely be checking it out when it releases.
Be sure to head on over to Life of Delta’s Steam store page to try the demo out for yourself. You can also wishlist it on Steam to be notified of any future updates.