Beneath a Steel Sky Review The Cyberpunk Adventure That Australia Built

RIGHT, LET’S GET THIS ONE RIGHT FROM THE START. Tim thinks modern adventure games can’t understand how to make puzzles and whilst he’s right, he’s missing the point as to why the classics worked. Beneath a Steel Sky is not just another point-and-click adventure from the 1990s. Beneath a Steel Sky is the cyberpunk adventure that proved you could merge serious topics with accessible gameplay. Whilst developed in Australia in 1994 (Wikipedia), Beneath a Steel Sky stands out as one of the greatest representations of the genre and it is truly a crime that many people have never played it.

Revolution Software created something unique here. Working with comic book creator Dave Gibbons, Revolution created a cyberpunk world that not only looked and felt unsettlingly similar to the real world we live in but also spoke to real concerns regarding corporate control, the environmental collapse, and what happens when technology is used to serve those in power versus the people.

A Cyberpunk Game That Actually Cares About Cyberpunk

Whilst most “cyberpunk” games take the term far too seriously, cool shades, hacking minigame, et cetera, Beneath a Steel Sky is rooted in a fundamental understanding of what cyberpunk is all about. Namely, the structure of power and how technology exacerbates pre-existing inequalities. You play as Robert Foster, a wasteland survivor who finds himself in Union City when his helicopter crashes. Union City is a city run entirely by MINOS, an AI system intended to govern the city efficiently but clearly there’s something rotten going on in this city.

One of the reasons the premise works is how it flips your expectations upside down. Upon arrival, you assume you may have come to rescue someone or be recruited into the Union City organisation but you quickly realise you’re simply a prisoner within a system that views humans as mere resources to be governed. The city looks fantastic from the outside – towering skyscrapers and high-tech public transportation – but as you begin to investigate, you see the rot beneath the surface.

One of the key factors in making this game successful is how the game never spells things out for you from the beginning. You must use conversation clues, environmental details, and gradual revelations to build a picture of the world you are exploring. The security guards that you must avoid, aren’t simply nameless enemies. They are people caught up in the same system you are. The rebellion in this game aren’t automatically the good guys either. Almost everyone in this game is compromised in some way, making the moral landscape of this game much more interesting than most other adventure games.

The artwork of Dave Gibbons deserves special praise here. Beneath a Steel Sky’s artwork is not just a comic book licence slapped into a video game. It is artwork created for interactive storytelling. Each screen in the game has the look and feel of a comic book panel, but unlike comic books, each element in these panels is interactive and viewable at length.

In terms of animation, the character animations in this game are surprisingly smooth given the year of release, 1994. In addition to having fluid movement, the facial expressions of the characters also appear to represent emotions rather than simply moving mouth shapes.

The Puzzle Design of Steel Sky Works Because It Understands What Makes Puzzles Work

Let’s get real. Beneath a Steel Sky is one of the few adventure games from the 1990s that actually respect your intelligence and present puzzles that are not simply based upon reading the designers’ mind. When you have a problem to solve in Steel Sky, the solution generally fits within the world and story.

A great example of this is the early section of the game where you must bypass the security scanner. Rather than finding some wacky inventory combination that allows you to bypass the scanner, you simply observe how the system works, determine its limitations, and then find a method to exploit its limitations in a way that makes sense. The game respects the fact that you are playing a character who is supposed to be smart and capable.

Unlike many adventure games of the 1990s, the inventory system of Beneath a Steel Sky does not force you to carry around unnecessary items in hopes that they will eventually prove to be useful. Items are used for a specific purpose, and once they are no longer needed, they usually disappear from your inventory. This helps keep the interface clean and eliminates the frustration of attempting to use every item on every hotspot because your inventory is filled with useless junk.

There is no combat in the traditional sense in Beneath a Steel Sky, and that is as it should be. When violence does occur, it is dealt with using story beats and puzzles rather than action scenes. You are not a warrior; you are someone trying to survive in a system that is much bigger than you are.

The dialogue choices in the game are balanced well between allowing the player choice and ensuring that the characters act consistently with their personalities. Robert Foster is a distinct character with his own personality, and he is not simply a blank slate for the player to project their personality onto. However, you still have meaningful choices regarding how to approach conversations and challenges. Sometimes you must be diplomatic, sometimes you must be more direct, and the game often provides you with multiple routes to reach a single objective.

Joey: An AI Companion that Adds Meaningfully to the Gameplay Mechanics

One of the most creative elements of Steel Sky is Joey, the AI companion. Before you roll your eyes and complain about being saddled with an annoying AI sidekick or an unescapable escort mission, understand that Joey is a part of the game’s mechanics. Joey is not a simple AI sidekick, nor is he simply a tool for delivering exposition. He is a true component of the game.

Joey can occupy a variety of computer systems and robotic bodies across the city. He is not simply a gimmick. He is the primary means through which you gain access to new information, manipulate systems, and solve puzzles that would otherwise be unsolvable by a lone human. The development of Robert’s and Joey’s relationship is organic and built through the story, and their banter is genuine rather than forced.

One of the most interesting aspects of Joey is how he addresses the theme of artificial intelligence and consciousness without being overly preachy or obvious. Is Joey truly conscious or simply extremely advanced programming? The game leaves that to your interpretation and allows you to form your own opinion of Joey as you interact with him. By the end of the game, you will genuinely care about what happens to him, which is impressive considering that he is merely a collection of pixels and text.

It is worth noting that the technical implementation of Joey inhabiting different bodies and accessing different systems was extremely ambitious for 1994. Each of Joey’s incarnations has different abilities and limitations, which creates a natural puzzle-based scenario. When Joey is in the maintenance robot body, he can access certain areas, but cannot access and manipulate complex interfaces. When Joey is in the central computer system body, he can access vast amounts of information, but is severely limited in his ability to affect the physical world.

Good Voice Acting Can Make All the Difference

Many adventure games from the 1990s had voice acting that varied from acceptable to laughably poor. The voice acting in Beneath a Steel Sky is excellent. This makes a huge difference when you spend hours listening to dialogue. Robert Foster sounds like a real person, rather than someone simply reading lines off a script. The supporting cast bring personality to their respective roles without overplaying or resorting to cartoon voices.

The voice direction in the game knows when to be serious and when to allow for humour. As mentioned above, the game explores serious themes such as corporate domination and environmental collapse, but it is not constantly bleak. The humour arises naturally from the interactions between the characters and the absurdity of the situation, rather than through forced jokes or references to popular culture.

Another area where the voice acting is especially effective is in providing player feedback during the solving of puzzles. The vocal reactions of characters to your actions provide valuable feedback as to whether you are on the correct path. If someone sounds genuinely perplexed by your suggestion, you likely are headed down a dead-end. If someone sounds curious or concerned, you may be onto something.

Surprisingly, the voice compression in the game holds up exceptionally well. When playing the game via ScummVM, the dialogue remains clear and understandable, without the tinny, over-compressed quality that mars many games from the same era.

How to Play Steel Sky Today

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s move on to the practical stuff. Beneath a Steel Sky is available on GOG and runs flawlessly on modern hardware. Thanks to ScummVM, you can play the game on nearly every platform imaginable, including Windows, Mac, mobile devices, and even some gaming consoles.

Steel Sky is a roughly 8-12 hour experience (HowLongToBeat), depending on how thoroughly you choose to explore and how quickly you solve the puzzles. This is actually perfect pacing for an adventure game, long enough to become attached to the characters and world, but not so long that it overstays its welcome.

For any technical difficulties or optimisation-related issues, PCGamingWiki has extensive documentation, although you’re unlikely to run into any major problems thanks to the solid ScummVM implementation. Additionally, the game features subtitles as an option for players who prefer to read rather than listen to the voice acting.

Revolution Software is actively continuing to support the game, and they have a wealth of information regarding the game’s background and sequels, including Beyond a Steel Sky, which updates the concept for modern platforms whilst retaining the essence of the original.

Why Steel Sky Remains Relevant

Let’s be honest. Adventure games from the 1990s can be difficult to sell to modern audiences. Most of them have aged poorly, their puzzle design was questionable at the time, and their storytelling techniques pale in comparison to the methods used by modern games. Beneath a Steel Sky is different because it recognises the strengths of the adventure genre, creating immersive, believable worlds populated by interesting characters and allowing the player to explore them at their own pace.

As stated earlier, the cyberpunk setting in this game is not just a superficial aesthetic. It is a central part of how the game examines issues of control, freedom, and what it means to be human in a world where systems dominate more and more of our lives. The themes explored in this game seem more relevant now than they did in 1994, which is both a testament to the game’s foresight and somewhat disheartening as a commentary on the state of our society.

Ultimately, the game treats you as an intelligent player without being impenetrable. It presents a complete story with genuine emotional weight. It creates characters that you genuinely care about. And it does all of this whilst providing you with a challenging and fun puzzle game that rewards careful observation and logical thinking.

Most importantly, Beneath a Steel Sky shows that adventure games can address serious issues without being pretentious or losing their inherent playfulness. Steel Sky proves that the genre’s best examples are not only worth experiencing today for their historical significance, but because they are truly enjoyable games that offer experiences that you won’t find elsewhere.

If you have never played a classic adventure game before, Steel Sky is an excellent place to start. If you believe that the LucasArts brand represented the pinnacle of the genre, Steel Sky will demonstrate that other developers were producing equally entertaining games. And if you are unsure as to whether 30-year old games can still be engaging today, try Steel Sky and find out for yourself. The game is currently free in several places (Internet Archive), so you have no reason not to give it a fair shot.

David

David runs a pub in Bristol and has transformed his back room into a functional shrine to arcade cabinets and early home systems. By night he writes about arcade culture, MAME emulation ethics, and why certain games simply feel different on original hardware versus emulation. He brings a perspective that matters: he owns these machines, maintains them, and plays them regularly, rather than just holding memories of them. His technical knowledge of arcade hardware is matched only by his ability to explain why authenticity genuinely matters to the experience.