Return to Grace

Release Date: May 30, 2023

Adventure, FPP, science fiction, puzzle elements, indie games, Game Pass, singleplayer

6.8

OpenCritic

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A first-person perspective retro-futuristic adventure game, inspired by the 1960s and projects such as The Invincible. Return to Grace has us play a cosmic archeologist. The protagonist discovers an ancient, potentially dangerous AI imprisoned thousands of years ago.

Videos and Screens

[0:50] Return to Grace Return to Grace - Launch Trailer

6.8

OpenCritic Rating

Game is Recomended by 37% of Critics. There are 10 Critic Reviews.

OpenCritic

Rectify Gaming: 8.5 / 10

“Return to Grace” is not like other games. It takes you on a thrilling journey through space and ancient history. This game will spark your curiosity with its mysterious stories, impress you with its beautiful artwork, and completely captivate you with its exciting gameplay. As a highly respected space archaeologist, I invite all space fans to gear up and join this amazing galactic quest.

Full Review

XboxEra: 6.9 / 10 by Jesse Norris

Return to Grace is a short but sweet narrative adventure game. The puzzles are infrequent and never frustrating, while the storytelling and voice acting do an admirable job in telling this futuristic tale about the hopes and dreams of humanity. I think it’s well worth checking out on Game Pass.

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Gamerheadquarters: 6.7 / 10 by Jason Stettner

Return to Grace is a curious walking sim experience, one with a nice sense of mystery but alas a tad light in its overall execution.

Full Review

Return to Grace is an adventure game developed by Creative Bytes Studios. This is an indie developer from Canada. The studio previously created the Embers of Mirrim game and also co-created The Vale project.

Plot

Return to Grace takes us to a sci-fi universe inspired by retrofuturism straight from the 1960s. The main character of the game is Adie Ito, a space archaeologist. The protagonist discovered an ancient artificial intelligence known as Grace. It once protected the Solar System, and now struggles with a personality split.

Our protégé examines its resting place, trying to find out why the AI was imprisoned thousands of years ago. Additionally, Adie must decide which versions of Grace she will develop a closer relationship with. What path she will follow and how the story told in the game will end depends largely on our choices.

Mechanics

In Return to Grace we watch the action from a first-person perspective (FPP). While traversing retro-futuristic locations, we engage in conversations with various incarnations of Grace, gather valuable clues about AI and events that took place in the past, and also solve a variety of puzzles.

The puzzles involve hacking ancient computer systems and interacting with other elements of the environment. From time to time we have to use a jetpack, which spews flames (allowing us, for example, to access devices hidden behind ice).

The game was designed in such a way that it could be completed in a single evening. The fact that the story can unfold differently, depending on the decisions we make during the game, encourages us to start the adventure again.