Release Date: May 30, 2023
A first-person perspective retro-futuristic adventure game, inspired by the 1960s and projects such as The Invincible. Return to Grace has us play a cosmic archeologist. The protagonist discovers an ancient, potentially dangerous AI imprisoned thousands of years ago.
Return to Grace is an adventure game developed by Creative Bytes Studios. This is an indie developer from Canada. The studio previously created the The Vale project.
Return to Grace takes us to a sci-fi universe inspired by retrofuturism straight from the 1960s. The main character of the game is Adie Ito, a space archaeologist. The protagonist discovered an ancient artificial intelligence known as Grace. It once protected the Solar System, and now struggles with a personality split.
Our protégé examines its resting place, trying to find out why the AI was imprisoned thousands of years ago. Additionally, Adie must decide which versions of Grace she will develop a closer relationship with. What path she will follow and how the story told in the game will end depends largely on our choices.
In Return to Grace we watch the action from a first-person perspective (FPP). While traversing retro-futuristic locations, we engage in conversations with various incarnations of Grace, gather valuable clues about AI and events that took place in the past, and also solve a variety of puzzles.
The puzzles involve hacking ancient computer systems and interacting with other elements of the environment. From time to time we have to use a jetpack, which spews flames (allowing us, for example, to access devices hidden behind ice).
The game was designed in such a way that it could be completed in a single evening. The fact that the story can unfold differently, depending on the decisions we make during the game, encourages us to start the adventure again.
Platforms:
PC Windows May 30, 2023
PlayStation 4 January 16, 2024
Xbox One February 20, 2024
PlayStation 5 January 16, 2024
Xbox Series X/S February 20, 2024
Developer: Creative Bytes Studios
Publisher: Creative Bytes Studios
Age restrictions: 12+
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System Requirements for Return to Grace Video Game:
PC / Windows
Minimum System Requirements:
Intel Core i5, 4 GB RAM, graphic card 4 GB GeForce GTX 960 or better, 6 GB HDD, Windows 10 64-bit.
Recommanded System Requirements:
Intel Core i7, 8 GB RAM, graphic card 6 GB Geforce GTX 1060 or better, 6 GB HDD, Windows 10 64-bit.
Game Ratings for Return to Grace Video Game.
Digital Chumps: 7 / 10 by Michael Bateman
Return to Grace from developer: Creative Bytes Studios is a short and sweet once-through experience. It has nice dialogue but is more for viewing than interactive gameplay. As a game tagged to be known as a “Walking Simulator” I believe this is the pinnacle of the genre. With its beautiful local, interesting in-game history, and clever dialogue Return to Grace is a great pick for a narrative-driven game to play all in one go.
GameGrin: 8 / 10 by Artura Dawn
Short and concise, Return to Grace tells a great story with a thought-provoking ending I quite enjoyed.
VGChartz: 5.5 / 10 by Evan Norris
As a commentary on artificial intelligence, and as a science-fiction mystery tale, Return to Grace is a thought-provoking experiment. The questions it asks are compelling, the virtual characters it introduces are endearing, and the retro-futuristic world it proposes is rich in potential. As a first-person adventure game, however, it's less successful, due to perfunctory puzzles, undemanding gameplay, and a short running time.