Retro sci-fi mystery Stranded on Steam

Written by Pascal Tekaia — May 24, 2014 at 21:10

If you were stranded on alien planet with just one adventure game to play, which would you choose? You might want to pick Curve Studios’ Stranded, as the newly-released retro indie adventure might just help you survive.

Stranded casts players in the role of an astronaut who awakens to find himself alone on the “sun-blasted wasteland of an alien planet,” his ship apparently wrecked while he was in cryostasis. Around him, as “shards of platinum-iridium alloy puncture the shimmering alien sand, the wind passes quietly over dead hydrocolliders.” With no immediate way home and time running out, it’s up to players to guide the astronaut in his exploration of this strange landscape.

Presented in an early ‘90s pixel art style, the game is a deliberate throwback to all things retro adventure gaming. Stranded is a point-and-click adventure, and its design stresses a slow, exploratory approach over quick reflexes or large action set-pieces. Rather than following a trail of storypoint breadcrumbs, players are allowed to uncover the mysteries of this planet on their own terms.

Stranded is now available for PC on Steam and the developer’s website.