David Wesst

Return from Grace was an unexpected surprise I found on a whim one night while exploring XBox Game Pass looking for a distraction from the week. This bitesized experience was a great alternative to a movie, and I hope to find more surprises like this one.

What I Didn't Like

Lack of Visual Variety

The game takes place primarily in a desolate planetary base, where you explore things to figure out what actually happened hundreds of years ago. As you explore, the look of the base is pretty interesting overall, but beyond the big set pieces when you discover them, there isn't a lot of variety.

It is certinaly not a dealbreaker, but something I noticed as I explored parts of the base (especially the apartments). Everything looks almost the same-- which might have been a design choice I realize. No spoilers here, but it makes sense why things would look similar. It just doesn't change the fact that it gets a repetative.

The same goes for the puzzles. Once you see them, they are all the same. Again, that makes sense for the design and the short form experience they built with Return to Grace, but it doesn't make me want to return to the world because even though there are unexplored narrative branches, there isn't anything else for me to see. Literally.

What I Liked

The Characters

As soon as you start the game, you are introduced to an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant that speaks to you through a communicator on your arm. This is the first of many AIs you will meet through your journey.The AIs are the only other characters you meet on this desolate base you are exploring, each one has their own personality and provide a new way to interact with the world as you explore it.

what I really enjoyed were the conversations between yourself and the AIs as they all have unique takes on your actions and will even argue with one another as their personalities conflict with each other. And the voice capture performances were great as well.

These characters gave the game a unique charm and made the emptiness of the world much less lonely. They also made the experience more engaging, asking various questions of you, or questioning your actions. Like a little temporary family coming together to hhelp, but never quite agreeing on how to go forward.

All in all, they made me laugh and kept me engaged.

The Simplicity

Although I would have liked more of a reason to return to the game, I am happy with the simplicity of the experience. This allowed me to play the whole game and feel like I completed it. I don't need to go back, and even if I do, I know its a bitesized experience that I could probably speed because everything is pretty straight forward.

The Pacing

For a 2-3 hour experience, there were very few times if any where I felt bored or lost. The game keeps the beats coming, little by little. They even offer moments where you can just skip ahead if you don't feel like you need more story. This pacing made for an engaging experience that kept my attention the entire time, without burning me out or depending too much on repetative gameplay mechanics to pad out the duration of the game.

The Conclusion

Return to Grace was a pleasant surprise through and through. I had no expectations going in, and left absolutely satisfied with the time I put into it.

These are the sorts experiences I hope I continue to find on XBox Game Pass. Even if I had heard about Return to Grace before this (which is totally possible) it is unlikely that I would have bought as I generally don't go for the visual novel / walking simulator type games.

But this is one that I really enjoyed, and I will be keeping an eye out for more games like Return to Grace moving forward for those days where I need a distraction that can keep my attention without having to "git gud" or learn a whole bunch of new mechanics just to get started.