Odyssey: The Next Generation Science Game

Developed by a small, independent studio called The Young Socrates, Odyssey: The Next Generation Science Game is a logical adventure game featuring many educational values. The game is available on PC, and its creation was possible thanks to a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.

Plot

In Odyssey: The Next Generation Science Game, a player follows a story of a 13-year old girl named Kai, who along with her parents and brother, were stranded on one of the Caribbean islands – all because of pirates who saw a chance in the archeological excavation led by Kai’s father to lay their hands on legendary treasures. The thieves have been bothering the family by destroying their boat and radio, and now they are gone for a while giving Kai and her closest ones several days to voluntarily hand in all the precious findings.

In an attempt to slow down the pirates’ return, and also due to the fact that within a month students taught by Kai’s father were to come to the Island, the girl and her family rolled up their sleeves to set up numerous obstacles that might hinder the advancing pirates, while at the same time pose little, if any, challenge to the young scientists. Passing each obstacle requires one to solve more or less complex logical puzzles regarding such fields as astronomy, physics, and mathematics.

A player assumes the role of a daredevil, who, after listening to a radio transmission broadcasted by the brilliant girl, decides to set out to rescue the stranded family.

Mechanics

Players observe the action from the first person perspective (FPP). The gameplay builds on exploration and solving the aforementioned puzzles. Consecutive episodes are filled with those puzzles, making a player prove not only his basic knowledge of physics, mathematics, and astronomy but also his familiarity of over two thousand years of history of these fields of study. During his adventure, one is bound to come across the concept of Flat Earth, the Ptolemaic geocentric model, the Copernican heliocentric model, and eventually learn about the thesis preached by Galileo and Aristotle, as well as the Newtonian Laws of Physics.

Another original element implemented in the game is the unusual prompt system – whenever a player encounters a puzzle, he can investigate Kai’s journal with dedicated pages for each riddle; this way, one gets to learn simultaneously with the main protagonist. In following entries in the journal, the young girl enclosed the course of events that occurred to her family during their stay on a Caribbean island, as well as some conclusions that she arrived at after long discussions with her father and brother on the subject of the results of experiments they conducted in the past.

Technical aspects

Odyssey: The Next Generation Science Game stands out in terms of its decent 3D visuals. Many players are bound to appreciate the picturesque landscapes, rich vegetation, and realistic water animations.

Last updated on July 15, 2017