Midnight Saturn Review – Planetary Detective Work

Philip K Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? – or more accurately, Ridley Scott’s loose film adaptation Blade Runner – has a huge legacy in science fiction media. The neon backdrops, paranoia around human identity, and the corrupt control of massive corporations continue to fascinate us even whilst our own world increasingly seems to mimic these predictions. It’s a widely accepted reading that Scott took Dick’s sci-fi ideas and successfully married them to a film noir detective story to create his masterpiece, and it is this combination that Midnight Saturn draws on.

Developers Cosmic Void have made a name for themselves in the point and click adventure community, especially with their previous horror title, Devil’s Hideout. Their low-fi, retro pixel artstyle and focus on logical puzzle structure and narrative is a breath of fresh air in a genre that can sometimes descend into frantically trying every possible combination of items and locations in the hope of stumbling upon a solution. Throughout the couple of hours I spent with Midnight Saturn there were no real brick walls to batter my head against – instead what I got was a well paced and enjoyable slice of pulp science fiction.

You play as Simms, a grizzled private eye who is well used to getting his hands dirty in search of both the truth and a paycheck. While the world of Midnight Saturn is filled with references to interplanetary travel and colonies in far flung worlds, it feels rooted in a grimy American city, much as Deckard’s work in Blade Runner did. You do interact with elements that do not come from this world but everything takes place in a way that is grounded and logical. All dialogue is voiced effectively too, with good performances that make each character stand out as individuals.

The pixel graphics here are perfect for the genre, clearly offering a nod to classic Lucasarts and Sierra titles, but there is also an interesting focus on a very purple palette that gives everything a feeling of unease. Backdrops are detailed but avoid the overly busy excesses of some point and click games so that interactive items are easy to spot without pixel hunting (and there is a show hotspots button if you need as well). The end result is a game that pushes you through its narrative rather than deliberately frustrating you. This is also evident through the relatively focused number of locations available and each one is removed from the map once you have exhausted all the puzzles and dialogue relating to it.

Simms is a likeable protagonist and clearly a hit with the ladies, as almost every female character seems to want to date him. This is a nice nod to the conventions of the detective genre, where femme fatales and dependable and plucky women abound, and one that also feeds into the development of the well told mystery story. This story revolves around the murder of a seedy lawyer who is renowned for finding ways to get criminals off the hook. As Simms investigates, however, he uncovers a conspiracy that could have far reaching ramifications and a pressing deadline of the titular midnight.

Gameplay here is very much in the traditional vein of point and click adventures. Navigate the screens, talk to everybody, and find objects to solve puzzles. Midnight Saturn also adds several environmental or logical puzzles that mix things up from the conventions of finding and combining items from your inventory, with one actually requiring careful positioning on the screen to avoid Simms being spotted. These were well pitched and fun to solve without being overly taxing.

In keeping with Lucasarts finest titles, there are no hard fail conditions in Midnight Saturn. Simms will gently berate the player for trying illogical or absurd solutions, and the focused locations ensure that there isn’t the scope for aimless wandering. It very much feels like a distillation of the enjoyable gameplay mechanics of the genre without the wrinkles and warts that can appear. It would make for a perfect first game for newcomers to the genre as well as those who like their adventure games to balance the puzzles with the narrative.