Lifeless Moon Review

Lifeless Moon, developed by Stage 2 Studios and published by Serenity Forge, is a 3D platformer that places players in the boots of an Apollo-era astronaut stranded on the moon. As a spiritual successor to the well-received Lifeless Planet, this sci-fi adventure takes players on a mysterious journey, blending exploration, puzzle-solving, and narrative-driven gameplay. Inspired by classic science fiction, Lifeless Moon explores themes of isolation, discovery, and the unknown as you attempt to unravel the enigmatic forces behind a seemingly ordinary desert town… located on the lunar surface.

With its focus on atmospheric storytelling, surreal landscapes, and mind-bending anomalies, Lifeless Moon promises to capture players’ imaginations, echoing the eerie beauty and philosophical undertones of its predecessor. But does it succeed in delivering an engaging sci-fi experience worthy of its roots? Let’s explore the moon’s secrets and find out.

Setting and Story

The story of Lifeless Moon begins with an astronaut on a routine expedition to the moon, only to discover an impossibly familiar desert town mysteriously materialized on the lunar surface. This town, seemingly plucked straight from 1970s Earth, is unsettling and surreal, and it quickly becomes apparent that something far stranger is at play. As you explore this lunar anomaly, you’re confronted with the remnants of past experiments, bizarre phenomena, and unsettling clues that point to a much larger mystery.

The game’s narrative is heavily inspired by classic science fiction, tapping into themes of isolation, discovery, and the unknown forces beyond human understanding. Like its predecessor, Lifeless Planet, the story unfolds through environmental storytelling, logs, and scattered documents that players collect as they explore the moon’s desolate landscape. These records reveal the thoughts and experiences of the scientists who came before, offering insights into the mysterious events that unfolded here. Their failures, traumas, and successes slowly come into focus, creating a layered and eerie atmosphere.

The primary setting—an oddly familiar desert town—is full of paradoxes. You’ll find familiar objects from Earth in a place where they shouldn’t exist, creating a disorienting sense of déjà vu. The juxtaposition of the barren, alien lunar landscape and the seemingly mundane small-town environment adds to the game’s unsettling tone. As you progress deeper into the mystery, more of the moon’s secrets are revealed. Time flows unexpectedly, objects appear out of nowhere, and strange technologies hint at forces far beyond human understanding.

The story unfolds through exploration and puzzle-solving, with each discovery raising more questions. The nature of the anomalies, the connection between the town and the moon, and the experiments conducted by previous astronauts and scientists all drive the central mystery. Lifeless Moon excels at creating an atmosphere of suspense, where the line between reality and illusion is blurred, making players question their surroundings and the forces at play.

The story’s focus on the psychological effects of isolation and discovery makes it even more compelling. You’re not only exploring a mysterious moon base; you’re also reliving the experiences of those who came before you. The game dives into themes of regret, scientific hubris, and the emotional toll of being stranded in an unknown world. As the protagonist uncovers more about the experiments and the motivations behind them, they’re forced to confront their existential questions, which adds a thought-provoking layer to the narrative.

Lifeless Moon takes players on a mysterious journey that taps into the best of classic sci-fi storytelling. The eerie atmosphere, combined with the unsettling sense of isolation and the mysterious anomalies, creates a narrative that keeps players hooked as they piece together the strange events that unfolded on the moon. The game’s surreal setting and introspective themes make it not just a mystery to solve but also a meditation on the human experience in the face of the unknown.

Gameplay and Mechanics

Lifeless Moon is a blend of exploration, puzzle-solving, and light platforming that immerses players in its surreal, otherworldly environment. The gameplay is deliberately paced, encouraging players to take their time unravelling the moon’s mysteries and navigating through the unsettling anomalies scattered throughout the environment. Much like Lifeless Planet’s predecessor, the game is driven by curiosity and discovery, with mechanics complementing the mysterious and reflective narrative.

Exploration:

The core of Lifeless Moon‘s gameplay revolves around exploration. As the player, you’re tasked with navigating the moon’s surface and the strange desert town that appears to have been transplanted from Earth. Equipped with a jetpack, you have the freedom to traverse the lunar landscape with fluidity, using your jet-assisted jumps to reach higher ledges and distant platforms. The game encourages you to explore every corner of its environment to uncover clues, documents, and interactive objects that shed light on the larger mystery.

Exploration is non-linear, and the game often lets players uncover story beats and clues at their own pace. This fosters a sense of agency and personal discovery, where finding an obscure document or activating a strange piece of technology feels like a rewarding part of piecing together the game’s overarching puzzle.

Puzzle-Solving:

Puzzle-solving is another key aspect of Lifeless Moon‘s gameplay. The game presents a variety of environmental puzzles tied directly to the moon’s anomalies and strange technologies. These puzzles are often cerebral, requiring players to manipulate their environment, interact with ancient technology, or use strange objects to create pathways or solve challenges.

The puzzles are complex but tend to emphasize experimentation and logical thinking rather than brute force. Some puzzles involve activating or manipulating objects in specific sequences. In contrast, others are more abstract, requiring players to think outside the box as they deal with gravity shifts, teleportation, or time anomalies. The surreal nature of the environment and the mysterious forces at play often lead to puzzles that are not always immediately intuitive, adding to the game’s eerie, dreamlike quality.

One of the standout features of the puzzles is their seamless integration with the story. Each puzzle feels like a natural part of the environment, and solving them often leads to more profound revelations about the moon’s history and the experiments conducted there. Strange technologies are central to these puzzles, as players are often required to harness the forces that created the anomalies to progress.

Technology and Anomalies:

A unique aspect of Lifeless Moon is its focus on interacting with strange and unknown technologies. As players progress through the game, they’ll encounter remnants of past experiments and devices that challenge their understanding of space, time, and physics. These technologies often serve as puzzles and tools, allowing players to manipulate the environment unexpectedly.

For example, players may use devices that alter gravity, warp time, or create bridges out of thin air. These mechanics create exciting gameplay dynamics and tie into the larger mystery of the moon and the experiments there. The anomalies become part of the puzzle-solving process, and using them to your advantage is often crucial to progressing through the game’s more challenging sections.

Platforming and Movement:

While Lifeless Moon is not a traditional platformer, it does incorporate light platforming elements into its gameplay. The player’s jetpack allows for greater mobility, enabling you to leap between distant platforms, scale cliffs, and explore hard-to-reach areas. The platforming is generally forgiving, as the game prioritizes exploration and puzzle-solving over punishing mechanics, but the jetpack movement adds a layer of verticality to the environments.

The platforming mechanics are simple yet satisfying, complementing the slower-paced exploration without becoming overwhelming or overly complex. The game’s physics feel intuitive, and the jetpack adds to the sense of freedom as you move through the game’s surreal landscapes.

Document Collection and Narrative Progression:

In addition to exploration and puzzles, Lifeless Moon incorporates a system of document collection that helps drive the narrative forward. Scattered throughout the game’s environments are written records, notes, and other evidence left behind by scientists and astronauts from previous expeditions. These documents provide critical insights into the experiments conducted on the moon, the mental state of the crew, and the unfolding events that led to the anomalies you encounter.

Finding these documents advances the plot and deepens the player’s understanding of the world. Uncovering the backstory through scattered logs and personal journals adds to isolation and mystery as players slowly piece together what happened on this desolate, anomalous moon.

Survival and Psychological Elements:

While not a survival game in the traditional sense, Lifeless Moon does weave elements of psychological tension into the gameplay. The feeling of isolation, the alien environment, and the mounting revelations about the moon’s strange phenomena create an atmosphere of unease. There are no traditional enemies or combat mechanics, but the psychological weight of the unknown is a constant presence, keeping players on edge as they explore the lunar landscape.

The game’s pacing is deliberately slow, allowing players to feel the loneliness and desperation of being stranded on the moon with no apparent way home. This psychological tension builds throughout the game as the mysteries deepen, and players are forced to confront the physical challenges of the environment and the emotional and mental toll of the experience.

In summary, Lifeless Moon offers a rich blend of exploration, puzzle-solving, and light platforming, all set within a surreal and mysterious lunar landscape. The game’s focus on interacting with strange technologies and solving environmental puzzles creates a cerebral, thought-provoking experience that complements its eerie, narrative-driven world. The mechanics of exploration and discovery are seamlessly integrated into the story, making each step forward feel like a deeper dive into the unknown.

Graphics and Sound

Lifeless Moon excels at creating an eerie and immersive atmosphere through its striking visual design and haunting soundscapes. The combination of surreal environments, minimalist aesthetics, and subtle yet effective audio cues enhances the overall mood of isolation and mystery, drawing players deeper into the game’s strange world.

Graphics:

Visually, Lifeless Moon embraces a minimalist yet effective art style that focuses on creating a sense of alienation and otherworldliness. The environments are sparse and often desolate, with the lunar landscape featuring vast, empty stretches of rock and dust punctuated by strange, out-of-place structures like the familiar desert town from Earth. This stark contrast between the moon’s barren surface and the eerily familiar Earth-like environments creates a surreal, dreamlike quality that keeps players questioning their surroundings.

The game’s environments shift between grounded realism and surreal sci-fi abstraction, especially as you encounter anomalies that alter the landscape or warp the laws of physics. Buildings appear and disappear, objects materialize from nothing, and strange technology bends the moon’s environment to create both wonder and unease. How the game plays with scale and space—shifting between vast open areas and claustrophobic interiors—adds to the disorientation.

Lighting and shadows also play a significant role in creating mood. Subtle, ambient lighting enhances the feeling of isolation, with shadows stretching across the lunar surface or flickering mysteriously in man-made structures. The game’s lighting effects are often dynamic, changing as you interact with the environment or activate strange technologies, reinforcing the idea that the moon’s surface is not as stable or inert as it seems.

The visual design of the moon itself is intentionally sparse, reflecting its lifeless nature. Still, as you delve deeper into the game, more vibrant and strange elements emerge, breaking the monotony of the barren environment. These moments of visual contrast—such as glowing energy sources, ancient ruins, or alien flora—are visually striking and serve as narrative markers, signalling that you are uncovering more profound layers of the moon’s mystery.

Surreal Visuals and Anomalies:

One of the standout aspects of Lifeless Moon’s visual design is its portrayal of anomalies and their effects on the environment. These anomalies often manifest in strange ways, such as objects suddenly appearing from thin air, gravity shifting, or time flowing inconsistently. The visual effects accompanying these phenomena are surreal and mesmerizing, adding a layer of unreality to the game that makes every moment feel like a dream—or a nightmare.

As the story progresses and the anomalies become more frequent, the visuals shift from the familiar to the increasingly bizarre. You’ll witness impossible structures, cities that fold into themselves, and landscapes that defy logic. These visual elements not only serve to enhance the mystery but also create moments of awe and wonder as players explore the moon’s ever-changing environments.

Sound Design:

The sound design in Lifeless Moon is integral to creating the game’s haunting, immersive atmosphere. The game uses sound sparingly but effectively to heighten tension and reinforce the sense of isolation. Ambient sounds, such as the low hum of distant machinery, the crunch of footsteps on the moon’s surface, or the echo of your breathing inside your space helmet, ground the player in the lunar environment.

The lack of music or persistent background noise in many sections of the game amplifies the feeling of loneliness, allowing even the slightest sound—like a rustle of wind or the creak of a distant structure—to take on an unsettling weight. This deliberate use of silence and minimal sound helps create a foreboding atmosphere where players are constantly on edge, expecting something to happen at any moment.

When the game does introduce music or more noticeable sound effects, it’s usually during critical moments of discovery or when interacting with the moon’s strange technologies. When it appears, the music is often subtle and atmospheric, composed of low, droning tones or soft electronic pulses that complement the game’s sci-fi setting. These audio cues are usually tied to essential narrative beats, reinforcing the emotional weight of uncovering the moon’s secrets.

Music and Emotional Undercurrents:

The soundtrack of Lifeless Moon is sparse and atmospheric, designed to evoke a sense of wonder, dread, and introspection. The music swells at critical moments, such as during major revelations or when interacting with critical anomalies. Rather than overwhelming the player with a constant score, the music is used strategically, letting the ambient sounds of the environment take the forefront during exploration and puzzle-solving.

When the music does play, it enhances the emotional depth of the experience, often giving players a sense of awe or dread, depending on the situation. The minimalist electronic score fits the game’s overall aesthetic, blending seamlessly with the sci-fi setting while never overshadowing the visuals or narrative.

Voice Acting and Narrative Delivery:

In addition to environmental audio and music, Lifeless Moon features voice recordings and logs that help push the story forward. These audio logs, left behind by scientists and previous explorers, add layers to the narrative, providing context for the anomalies and experiments you encounter. The voice acting is delivered with an understated tone, reflecting the seriousness and often desperate nature of the characters who came before you. These recordings are an essential narrative tool, offering insight into the minds of those who witnessed the moon’s mysteries firsthand.

While sparse, the voice acting effectively conveys the situation’s psychological weight, giving players a glimpse into the trauma and curiosity that drove earlier expeditions.

Performance:

Lifeless Moon performs smoothly, with its minimalist graphics allowing for fluid gameplay and quick load times. Despite the occasional visually intense anomaly effects, the game maintains a stable frame rate, essential for ensuring an immersive experience in a game that relies so heavily on atmosphere. The smooth performance ensures that the surreal visual and audio design can be fully appreciated without interruption.

In conclusion, the graphics and sound of Lifeless Moon work together to create an atmospheric, eerie, and visually captivating experience. The minimalist art style, combined with the surreal anomalies and ambient sound design, reinforces the feeling of isolation and the mysteries surrounding the moon’s strange environment. The use of sound and visuals enhances the story’s emotional weight, drawing players into a world where the line between reality and illusion is constantly blurred.

Final Thoughts

Lifeless Moon offers a thought-provoking, atmospheric adventure that will resonate with fans of sci-fi and exploration-driven games. As a spiritual successor to Lifeless Planet, this 3D platformer maintains the mysterious and surreal tone that made its predecessor famous while expanding on the core themes of isolation, discovery, and the unknown. The blend of exploration, puzzle-solving, and narrative-driven gameplay creates a unique and engaging experience.

The game’s setting—a barren moon hiding inexplicable phenomena—instantly pulls players into its eerie world. The juxtaposition of familiar Earth-like environments on the lunar surface and the appearance of strange anomalies adds layers of intrigue and curiosity that compel players to uncover the truth behind the experiments and forces at play. The minimalistic yet visually captivating art style and the evocative sound design create a tense, immersive atmosphere that draws players deeper into the unfolding mystery.

Strengths:

• Atmospheric Exploration: The game excels at creating a rich, immersive environment that rewards curiosity. The lunar landscapes, combined with the surreal anomalies and familiar yet foreign structures, make exploration eerie and awe-inspiring.
• Cerebral Puzzle-Solving: Lifeless Moon offers a variety of puzzles that are challenging and seamlessly integrated into the environment and narrative. The interaction with strange technologies adds depth to the gameplay, requiring players to think critically and experiment with the anomalies around them.
• Narrative Depth: The game’s story is engaging, blending classic sci-fi tropes with personal introspection. The slow unravelling of the moon’s mysteries and logs and recordings from past explorers create a rich, layered narrative experience.
• Surreal Visuals and Sound Design: The minimalist art style and atmospheric sound design work in perfect harmony to create a sense of isolation, tension, and wonder. The visual representation of anomalies and dynamic soundscapes enhance the game’s overall mood and immersion.

Weaknesses:

• Pacing: The slow pacing of the game, while practical in building atmosphere, may not appeal to all players, especially those seeking faster-paced action or more immediate gratification.
• Limited Platforming Mechanics: While the platforming elements complement the exploration, they are not particularly complex or challenging, which may disappoint players looking for more intense or skill-based platforming gameplay.
• Lack of Enemy Interaction: Some players may consider the absence of traditional combat or enemy encounters a missed opportunity, especially given the game’s tense and mysterious atmosphere.

Lifeless Moon is a captivating journey for players who appreciate slow-burn mysteries, atmospheric exploration, and thoughtful puzzle-solving. The game’s eerie lunar setting and deep sci-fi narrative create an experience that lingers with players long after the credits roll. Lifeless Moon is a must-play for fans of classic science fiction and reflective storytelling.

We prepared this review with a digital copy of Lifeless Moon for the PS5 version provided by Evolve PR.