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Heaven's Vault

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Heaven's Vault
Developer(s)Inkle
Publisher(s)Inkle
Designer(s)Jon Ingold, Joseph Humfrey
Programmer(s)Joseph Humfrey
Artist(s)Laura Dilloway
Writer(s)Jon Ingold
Composer(s)Laurence Chapman
EngineInk[1]
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
ReleasePlayStation 4, Windows
  • WW: April 16, 2019
Nintendo Switch
  • WW: January 28, 2021
Genre(s)Adventure game
Mode(s)Single-player

Heaven's Vault is an archaeological science-fiction adventure game released by Inkle for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4 on April 16, 2019, and for Nintendo Switch on January 28, 2021.

Gameplay

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In Heaven's Vault, the player takes the role of an archaeologist called Aliya Elasra who has a robotic companion called Six.[2] The game follows the course of their adventure as they 'sail' between the moons of the Nebula searching for a missing roboticist called Janniqi Renba.[3]

The player has to decipher and learn the hieroglyphic language of the Ancients, a lost civilization.[4] This involves finding and collecting inscriptions from ancient artifacts, sites and ruins and translating and discussing texts with other characters.[5]

The developers say that over a thousand words written in Ancient, the game's fictional language, can be found and say that its pictorial glyphs are inspired by Ancient Egyptian and Chinese writing systems.[6]

The player can choose their own route through the story and around the Nebula as it employs a non-linear approach to narrative storytelling, allowing the player to make choices that impact the plot.[7]

Reception

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On its release, Heaven's Vault was met with "generally favourable" reviews from critics for Microsoft Windows, with an aggregate score of 76/100, and "mixed or average reviews" with an aggregate score of 71/100 for PlayStation 4 on Metacritic.[8][9]

Music

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Laurence Chapman composed the soundtrack for the game. Chapman recruited Brookspeare Music for recording the strings. He also added subtle synth pads as a reminder that Heaven's Vault is a science fiction game.[15] Richard Brooker from Brookspeare Music also mixed the soundtrack.[16]

Novelisation

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In 2021, Inkle published two tie-in novels for the game, Heaven's Vault - I. The Loop and Heaven's Vault - II. The Vault.[17] Written by Jon Ingold, Heaven's Vault's writer, the books also follow the story of Aliya and Six, but feature a different plot to the game.

Accolades

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Year Award Category Result Ref
2019 The Independent Game Developers' Association Awards Best Role-Playing Game Nominated [18]
2019 Golden Joystick Awards PC Game of the Year Nominated [19]
2020 Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards Best Writing in a Video Game Nominated [20]
New York Game Awards Off Broadway Award for Best Indie Game Nominated [21]
NAVGTR Awards Game, Special Class Nominated [22]
MCV/Develop Awards Gameplay Innovation of the Year Nominated [23]
Narrative Innovation of the Year Nominated
Independent Games Festival Awards Excellence in Narrative Won [24]
16th British Academy Games Awards British Game Nominated [25]

References

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  1. ^ "Press kit - Heaven's Vault". Inkle. Retrieved 2025-02-03.
  2. ^ Hoon Chan, Khee (April 16, 2019). "Heaven's Vault review: an archaeology video game actually about archaeology". Polygon. Archived from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  3. ^ Warr, Phillipa (April 16, 2019). "HEAVEN'S VAULT REVIEW". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on April 19, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  4. ^ O'Connor, James (April 16, 2019). "Heaven's Vault Review - Come Sail Away". Gamespot. Archived from the original on April 19, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  5. ^ Bell, Alice (April 16, 2019). "Wot I Think: Heaven's Vault". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  6. ^ "'80 Days devs Inkle have opened Heaven's Vault' – Rock Paper Shotgun". Rock Paper Shotgun. 6 April 2019. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  7. ^ Donlan, Christian (April 16, 2019). "Heaven's Vault review - a rich web of possibility". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  8. ^ a b "Heaven's Vault for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2019-06-07. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  9. ^ a b "Heaven's Vault for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2019-06-19. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  10. ^ Donlan, Christian (2019-04-16). "Heaven's Vault review - a rich web of possibility". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 2019-10-14. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  11. ^ Favis, Elise (2019-04-18). "Heaven's Vault Review – Unearthing Ancient Mysteries". Game Informer. Archived from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  12. ^ O'Connor, James (2019-04-16). "Heaven's Vault Review - Come Sail Away". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2019-06-19. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  13. ^ Warr, Philippa (2019-04-16). "Heaven's Vault review". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 2019-08-10. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  14. ^ Dingman, Hayden (2019-04-17). "Heaven's Vault review: In search of lost time". PC World. Archived from the original on 2019-04-19. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  15. ^ "Laurence Chapman's Unique Music For An Unusual Journey In 'Heaven's Vault'". WSHU. 2019-05-09. Archived from the original on 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  16. ^ "Heaven's Vault (2019) PlayStation 4 credits". MobyGames. Archived from the original on 2022-06-01. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  17. ^ Director, Graham Smith Editorial; Smith, Graham (2021-11-18). "Heaven's Vault is now a two volume novel". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2025-01-24.
  18. ^ "2019 Winners". The Independent Game Developers' Association. 2019-11-07. Archived from the original on 2022-09-26. Retrieved 2020-01-08.
  19. ^ "Golden Joystick Awards 2019". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on 2019-09-28. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
  20. ^ "Writers' Guild Of Great Britain Awards Shortlist Announced". Broadway World. 2019-12-04. Archived from the original on 2019-12-06. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
  21. ^ Sheehan, Gavin (2020-01-02). "The New York Game Awards Announces 2020 Nominees". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on 2022-02-06. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  22. ^ "2019 Nominees". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. 2020-01-13. Archived from the original on 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
  23. ^ Wallace, Chris (2020-02-14). "It's your last chance to vote for the MCV/DEVELOP Awards winners 2020". MCV/Develop. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  24. ^ "A SHORT HIKE WINS THE SEUMAS MCNALLY GRAND PRIZE AT THE 22nd ANNUAL INDEPENDENT GAMES FESTIVAL AWARDS". GlobeNewswire (Press release). 2020-03-18. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  25. ^ Stuart, Keith (2020-03-03). "Death Stranding and Control dominate Bafta games awards nominations". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2022-04-03. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
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