Beneath A Steel Sky Overview
Beneath a Steel Sky is a point-and-click adventure set in a near-future Australia. The player controls Robert Foster, who must navigate the controlled environment of Union City after being taken from his desert home. His robotic companion's personality core, named Joey, becomes a key tool for this task.
Interaction with the world is handled through a context-sensitive cursor for examining objects and conversing with characters. Solving environmental puzzles involves collecting items, combining them, and applying them to specific points in the scenes. Dialogue choices can reveal new information and alternative approaches to problems, while some scenes contain potential failure states, making observation and planning a fair expectation for the player.
A sense of a functioning city is created through non-player characters who follow independent schedules. This dynamic element can create opportunities, such as bypassing guards or overhearing conversations, by timing the player's actions accordingly. Progression often depends on acquiring access through passes, codes, or by interfacing with computer terminals to manipulate systems.
Joey's core can be installed into various robotic shells found in the city, each granting different capabilities to overcome obstacles like secured doors or machinery. The player explores diverse locations, from industrial areas and maintenance tunnels to corporate offices, each presenting distinct logic-based challenges.
A remastered version of the game adapts the interface for touch controls, featuring tap-to-move and a streamlined inventory system. This version also includes highlighted interactive areas, an integrated hint system, remastered audio, and new animated sequences.
