Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
2062: humanity is on the brink of extinction. Having let the climate crisis run rampant, leaving the planet almost uninhabitable, the only chance for our species might be self-imposed exile from Earth, attempting to colonise a new world. The known candidates in the neighbourhood are ruled out – Mars too arid, Venus too toxic, Jupiter or Saturn’s moons too volatile. Hope, if it exists, lies with Persephone, a new ninth planet (sorry, Pluto) detected at the edge of the solar system: an ice world that might be viable for terraforming and capable of supporting life.
As Aphelion opens, two astronauts – Dr Ariane Montclair and Officer Thomas Cross – are rocketing toward Persephone as part of a European Space Agency mission to evaluate the planet. Strange electro-magnetic conditions force a crash landing, separating the pair and setting the stage for a beautifully bizarre slice of science fiction that blends its high concepts with an emotional, resonant, deeply human core… and a video game experience from about two console generations ago.
Aphelion developer Don’t Nod is best known for its narrative adventures, originating the Life is Strange series and continuing the trend with the likes of Twin Mirror and Lost Records: Bloom & Rage. While it’s dabbled in action – 2013’s Remember Me and 2018’s Vampyr, most notably – the studio has never truly felt at home in that space. It’s a pattern that continues here – Ariane’s sections are more physical, Thomas’ more cerebral, but both feel like awkward fits.
Thomas, near-fatally wounded in the crash and left with depleting oxygen reserves, is restricted to what are effectively environmental puzzles, darting between oxygen canisters as he investigates the remains of another human-led mission on Persephone, one that shouldn’t be there. There’s little consistency here, though – air tubes from the fixed-point canisters are meant to force desperate runs between them as Thomas risks asphyxiation, but these tethers vary wildly in length, removing most of this tension. Thomas’ injuries barely hold him back either, unless the plot mandates it – he’s fully capable of crawling through tight gaps or using a grappling hook to yank down obstacles, despite having been skewered.
Having escaped the crash unscathed, Ariane is instead cast as the action hero. She’s who you’ll spend the majority of the game with, exploring the vast wilderness of Persephone and trying to reunite with Thomas. She’s sort of a latter day Nathan Drake – but mainly because these sections feel like they’re pulled from an early Uncharted game. Ariane’s sections reduce the mesmerising landscape to almost entirely linear runs through gorgeously decorated corridors, clambering between clearly marked ledges and using her own grapple to swing over chasms. It’s all incredibly basic stuff – if you want a climbing game in 2026, Cairn is right there. There are a few attempts to mix things up, such as navigating clumsy stealth sections avoiding the Nemesis, a ferocious creature hunting the planet’s invaders, and the use of an EM scanner to follow hidden trails or manipulate anomalies in the planet’s energy fields, but both mechanics are paper thin.
The story is brilliantly penned, with Don’t Nod leaning into its narrative roots to deliver a mind-bending sci-fi tale […] that actually has something to say about the importance of life here on Earth
Yet despite these inherently dated systems, Aphelion proves oddly compelling. It’s breathtakingly beautiful, Persephone presented as a strange new world pulling at the edges of human imagination, all contrasted by the grounded, realistic, intricately detailed tech the protagonists use (courtesy of a development partnership with the actual ESA). Even though you’re given precious little chance to explore, this world feels suitably vast and awe-inspiring, with smart direction framing it as an untamed and truly alien landscape. It powerfully captures the imagination, and the mysteries at its core pull you through the trite gameplay.
The story is also brilliantly penned, with Don’t Nod leaning into its narrative roots to deliver a mind-bending sci-fi tale (with an edge of hard science thanks to that ESA collab) that actually has something to say about the importance of life here on Earth, yet remains rooted in the relationship between its dual protagonists. The voice acting is also superb, with Vanessa Dolmen and Eric Geynes injecting Ariane and Thomas with equal parts hope and desperation throughout, while composer Amine Bouhafa’s wonderful score masterfully plays with your emotions at every turn.
As a movie, Aphelion would be almost unassailable. Its scale, imagination, and presentation would utterly delight cinemagoers on the big screen. Unfortunately, it exists as a game, and it’s one lumbered with repetitive mechanics that felt dated back on the PS3, let alone the PS5. It’s still more than worth a look for fans of the genre – particularly those who love the likes of Interstellar, Gravity, or Project Hail Mary – but players hoping for an unknown world to explore on their own terms are likely to be disappointed.
