DELIVER US MARS

A pair of pickaxes raises the stakes in this expanded sequel

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Gravity may be low on Mars, but a long fall still hurts. So, as we stare across a deep quarry and realise we need to get to the other side, a careful climb down is the only sensible option. Our astronaut is at least equipped for the job, packing a pair of lightweight pickaxes. We smash them into a patch of soft rock, holding both triggers to keep them embedded, then descend tentatively, releasing the right-hand axe, stretching down, digging it in again, then repeating the routine with the left. The control system is instantly logical, yet demands method and concentration. Release the triggers together at any time, and you drop, perhaps with a chance to replant both axes while plummeting, but don’t bank on it.

Those familiar with Keoken Interactive’s Deliver Us The Moon may be surprised to hear about such dextrous demands in this follow-up on the red planet. But this is a considerably more expansive game than the original, in a way that seems to befit the change in location. “We had ambitions to make it longer,” narrative director