What do I personally love about Steel Sky? Warning: my answers will contain some spoilers. I could resolve this issue by using spoiler tags, but I don't want to get accused of censorship by those "saboteurs" from the Hobart Corporation, so here it is unadulterated. 

There are several small but nevertheless meaningful elements of branching actions peppered throughout the first third of the game that I admire. The example that stands out greatest to me is Robert Foster assuming a false job title in order to feign having legitimate clearance to locations. If the player does the expected action of just simply talking to Anita, he will have the choice of either being a safety inspector or a security guard.

How about a slightly hidden, unique and all-round fancier job title? It seems we're in luck, because if Foster races straight past Anita with the brisk pace and determination of Gilbert Lamb hearing it's lunch break, then a new dialogue sequence gets unlocked. You can fake being a safety inspector yet again   but immediately after putting your foot in your mouth, you now have the new option to ask her on a date for the correct terminology of your phoney profession. Behold, we are now an auditor!

Sometimes I even just love stuff that is obviously an oversight in the development process (I'll get to this in a bit), take for instance Robert stealing those sweet dark shades of a recently deceased security professional. Reich might have been on the wrong side of history, but the man clearly took protecting his ocular vision earnestly.

 

Robert, whom despite being an Australian and living in the desert has gleefully abandoned any notion of sun exposure safety, and takes umbrage at the mere suggestion that a full-sized leather outfit is inappropriate for this kind of weather, suddenly has decided that a pair of bloodstained sunglasses is just too hard to resist. Good to see the Aussie mantra of "Slip-Slop-Slap" is being kept alive in this dystopian future.

Normally foreman Potts would confiscate the sunglasses after you've finished exploring the storage room of the pipe factory. But did you know that there is a secret way to keep those glorious sunglasses FOREVER? I discovered this decades ago, and I just genuinely like this mistake for some peculiar reason. All that is required is for you to complete the puzzles necessary to get the lift working again on the upper walkway section, then do a tiny bit of backtracking to pick up the ID card and (more importantly) the sunglasses off Reich's body as the final step before continuing the rest of the game in style.

Worth also mentioning is the phenomenal soundtrack by Dave Cummins, which strives through regardless of your sound card setup. Selecting my favourites, I'm going to put a spotlight on the chillaxing composition of the 2nd jukebox song in the St. James Club, the pleasingly bombastic sounds of the upper walkway near the security headquarters, and of course the entrancing music of LINC-Space.

 I've been kindly informed by LINC that my terminal credits are expiring, so I will just finish up by saying that it was an exhilarating experience from the very beginning with the crashed helicopter on the walkway and then getting chased as a fugitive, what an absolutely cinematic-esque opening to a game from 1994. I played the 2003 freeware edition and enjoyed the adventure immensely.

Beneath a Steel Sky is a game I still have (want?) to play.

When I tried playing it so many years ago, I was shot again and again in the very first scene. And since I wanted to play an adventure game and not a shooter, I gave up and forgot about it ...

This was a really fun read! You also have a knack for discovering little details and easter eggs.

I really like Joey, the sidekick, and the way he relates to his various incarnations. The locations and different layers of society are really fun to explore.

The game uses the ambitious and sophisticated Virtual Theatre engine. Revolution had to scale some of the dynamism back for each release after Lure of The Temptress, but most of it is still implemented in this game. Characters occupy space, move around and have their own "agendas", your ally can follow instructions and perform them in real-time.

BaSS is a classic, and though I've only played it once (long ago), I absolutely loved it! Actually been thinking about replaying it for a while, now.

Also, can't remember how I ended up with two, but I've got this in my shelf:

   

Beneath a Steel Sky is great, I first played it back in the 90s and I replayed it a few years ago.

Dave Gibbons, the artist most famous for working on the comic book Watchmen (with Alan Moore), created the art for the game.

The game uses the ambitious and sophisticated Virtual Theatre engine. Revolution had to scale some of the dynamism back for each release after Lure of The Temptress, but most of it is still implemented in this game. Characters occupy space, move around and have their own "agendas", your ally can follow instructions and perform them in real-time.

Indeed, I first heard about their engine and the more advanced features it had in a podcast with someone from Revolution a while back, although I can't remember which podcast/episode or even who it was from Revolution right now unfortunately. It sounded fascinating for its time, although it's a shame it wasn't really used much in an obvious way to the player and they eventually removed most of it by the time they were working on their most famous games, although perhaps these features are move obvious in Lure of the Temptress? I've not played that one.

This was a really fun read!

I'm delighted you enjoyed reading it! I was aiming for the elusive trifecta of humorous writing, appreciation of gameplay, and documenting cool secrets. Sounds like I actually managed to achieve that!

You also have a knack for discovering little details and easter eggs. 

Thank you. The rewarding feeling of uncovering these sorts of things is a pleasing factor that developers should take note of. Intentionally added secrets and Easter eggs vastly enhances replay value, especially for detailed-oriented players that don't mind taking a deep dive.

Becoming an auditor was done on purpose, I wonder how many other players chose that pathway?

Keeping the sunglasses was never intended, quite amazing how a standard inventory item that was supposed to simply serve the purpose of showcasing gameplay mechanics, ended up manifesting into an extraordinary memento for persevering sleuths to retain exclusively.

I really like Joey, the sidekick, and the way he relates to his various incarnations. The locations and different layers of society are really fun to explore. 

Joey is a contender for best sidekick ever in an adventure game, great banter with Foster, alongside metaphorical growth.

Exploring the societal levels (both literal and figurative) from the top layer working class right down to the underground elite was certainly interesting. BASS interlaced humour in a precarious balance with dystopian elements but somehow pulled it off masterfully to ensure approachability with the premise. If it didn't have the comedy I would never have played it.

The game uses the ambitious and sophisticated Virtual Theatre engine.

Fun coincidence, I was playing parts of the game yesterday to refresh my memory and whilst playing the game with increased speed (a feature of the game) I experienced a softlock when Joey and Foster were both trying to walk out of the pipe factory. An intense Mexican standoff ensued and I had to restart in order to resolve the stalemate amongst the bickering mates.

I've played the initial two games by Revolution Software that used that engine, and the majority was fantastic as it really helps bring the world alive. It needed some refinement though.

Also, can't remember how I ended up with two, but I've got this in my shelf:

That is a super special collector's item, doubly so because you have two! Thank you for sharing, Guyra.

I like how the steelbook edition of 'Beyond a Steel Sky' for Nintendo switch came in a real metal casing. It had a small comic embed inside the plastic layer of the casing, along with a digital soundtrack and a sticker sheet. The highlight for me when I got it was how surprisingly awesome the stickers were because of the wonderful bright colours they used for the objects.

Lure of the Temptress? I've not played that one.

It's nowhere near to the same calibre as Beneath a Steel Sky, however, it's still probably worth trying out because I had good fun with it back in 2004. The atmospheric introductory cutscene gets the ball rolling, superbly aided by the music created by Richard Joseph.

Here's some crucial advice for Lure of the Temptress, the freeware edition still has copy protection! To resolve this issue, you have to restart the game at the beginning using the menu, otherwise the critical item of a tinderbox will never spawn in the forge.

Beneath a Steel Sky is my favorite non-Space Quest game. I've been writing a video script about how fantastic it is (and how disappointing the sequel was) for a long time now.

It's doubly amazing because I have it on good authority that the development of BASS was absolute hell on the Revolution team. No one had any fun making that thing, but it came out absolutely brilliant. It is truly the Blade Runner of adventure games.

Beneath a Steel Sky is my favorite non-Space Quest game. I've been writing a video script about how fantastic it is (and how disappointing the sequel was) for a long time now.

I'm certain you will do it justice, your passion for Beneath a Steel Sky will become apparent in the script you're writing, and as a direct result the Revolution Software fans will reciprocate those feelings positively.

It is truly the Blade Runner of adventure games.

I've never played that game nor seen the film. What truly sets Beneath a Steel Sky apart from most dystopian adventure games is the underappreciated lubricant of using humour to create approachability.

It's doubly amazing because I have it on good authority that the development of BASS was absolute hell on the Revolution team. No one had any fun making that thing, but it came out absolutely brilliant.

It's excellent from a historical standpoint that you got confirmation of how extremely difficult the development was. There were other ways the programmers managed to find in order to vent their frustrations at the time. For instance, they wrote two entire paragraphs written in 'ye olde' style English, hidden inside the code of the game:

https://tcrf.net/Beneath_A_Steel_Sky_(Am...miga_CD32)

Unrelated to the above link, I find it entertaining how Broken Sword 2 has a dedicated Easter egg specifically about Beneath a Steel Sky:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAeMxRxOh3U

By the way, thank you for reading my initial post about sunglasses and auditors. "Stay vigilant"  

Beneath a Steel Sky is my favorite non-Space Quest game. I've been writing a video script about how fantastic it is (and how disappointing the sequel was) for a long time now.

I agree that in an apples-to-apples comparison, the old one is leagues better. But I liked the sequel, it lacked the dystopian sci-fi edge and relied on some under-developed mechanics, but I had a really good time with it. It is an oddity though. It's like a sitcom based upon War and Peace.

But I liked the sequel, it lacked the dystopian sci-fi edge and relied on some under-developed mechanics, but I had a really good time with it.

Spoilers ahead. I also liked playing Beyond a Steel Sky, its tone was quite different though from its predecessor. The first game mainly just focused on the bleak inequality with the class systems of society, along with overly trusting computer technology. The sequel tossed in some extra elements about overconsumption of products, and even some worshipping tropes, so it ended up being a candy-wrapper style sequel.

I appreciated that the game continued to have branching dialogue as a feature. The hacking mechanic was good too. Some of the funniest moments were in the Museum of New History, where you could swap around the voices of the machines and display pieces to get hilarious results.

I strongly dislike the introduction of having two Joeys (Ken). This makes things unnecessarily confusing for both newcomers to the series, and for veteran players that were already familiar with the story.

The final thing I would like to discuss is the Aspiration Gala speech. In my personal opinion, this is one of the more clever and subtle components of the plot. You have two competing poets; the dislikeable and pretentious persona of Reginald Arthur Schnipple, contrasted against the stilted but nonetheless quite friendly and likeable droid Tarquin.

You can choose whether to mess up Tarquin's poem on purpose, or help aid him to show that metal droids can actually in fact have the same mettle as humans when it comes to expressing poetry. But I feel this brings up a fundamental ethics issue both in the game and real life. Whom would you rather help in this situation? A living, breathing, human being with a dislikeable attitude? Or a non-living, non-feeling, A.I entity that is programmed with the more desirable identity traits?