Xenolinguistics, anyone? Heaven’s Vault is a 3D adventure wrapped in antiquated puzzles and alien language decryption, and it’s scheduled for release on PlayStation 4 this year.
Development team Inkle puts players in the shoes of Aliya Elasra, an archaeologist with a thirst for exploration. Together with her robot pal Six, she’s embarked on a star-studded journey through the forgotten plains of Nebula, eager to unravel its mysterious glyphs.
If you’ve missed deciphering Russian, ancient Greek and Mongolian, this seems like a great opportunity to gain some second language acquisition XP.
However, unlike the recent Tomb Raider games, Heaven’s Vault opts for a non-linear narrative that is sculpted by your choices. Fail at translating something correctly? Your perception of a particular artifact or location suffers the consequences. Narrative fans may be familiar with Inkle’s previous award-winning titles, 80 Days and Steve Jackson’s Sorcery!, but be prepared for something much more grand this time around. You’ll also have the opportunity to trade conversational quips with a range of locals of both good and devious persuasions.
No release date has been announced just yet. Keep up to speed with the latest news via the development log, here.
