Alone in the universe with the puzzle adventure game Still There

Science fiction and emotions converge to create Still There. This is the story of a lone astronaut in space and he has to solve challenging puzzles.

Still There from developer GhostShark, published by Iceberg Interactive, the game is the melancholy story of Karl Hamba, a father who has to run the spaceship Benta alone to escape the hauntings of his past. On the surface, Still There is a puzzle game where you have to rummage around on the Bento ship to complete all the daily tasks assigned. At the same time, games also affect people’s lives in a sad but profound way.

At the beginning of the game, you may be overwhelmed by the vast space in the Bento ship. This is a puzzle adventure game so players need to grope and learn the game. Bento is equipped with a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom with the presence of the Tuatara gecko – the only living creature on the ship besides you, and finally Karl’s work area.

The game has a lot of complex puzzles. It doesn’t necessarily require you to be smart or think deeply, just need the player to memorize and pay attention.

As shown above, this dashboard can be overwhelming. It has dozens of buttons, levers, and switches that the player can interact with. Even the book that guides them is quite confusing, it feels like solving math problems. But players need to rely on it to know how to overcome many difficult puzzles. Plus, if there’s a puzzle, Still There has an “easy” mode so you can skip puzzles that are too complicated for you – but then what’s the fun in puzzle games!

While puzzles play a big part in the game, you’ll also discover more about Karl’s past. Karl has written his own book for you to read, and also has a diary and email. The only person Karl often talks to is Gorky, so diaries and emails are a creative way to build a story. Gorky is Bento’s AI computer. It helps you in daily tasks.

The game creates a feeling of loneliness and sadness with music: slow melancholy piano pieces, it is the right music for players to reflect on, as well as for Karl to remember the past.

If you are a fan of highly technical simulation games, then Still There is quite suitable for you. In addition, players will also know touching stories about people. Karl is a well-invested character, you will slowly discover his past.

Still There is a puzzle adventure game that is somewhat complicated, but developed in a new direction. The game takes about 5 hours to complete, and is completely worthy of being one of the indie games you should play in 2019.