The Heavens

The negative review is accurate: it's a very Christian story so it feels cruel and unfair - in a good way, that's the point, but I don't have to like it. That being said I really liked the game! The premise is lovely, the art nice and the sound (I love the bell sounds for voices) perfect for the setting, and I liked the atmosphere. The writing was really good at making it feel pure and magical, close to human but not yet. There's so much innocence in lines like "I hope to be born" and their whole attitude, it could easily have been too preachy or boring but it was vague enough to avoid it. I also liked the ending, I'd have been disappointed if [spoiler]the cloud wasn't punished[/spoiler].

The Heavens takes the familiar concept of reaching the afterlife and reshapes it into an introspective visual novel about judgment, morality, rebirth, and the value of human existence. Developed by ctc and published by Expedition Games, the experience places narrative and contemplation ahead of traditional gameplay. Its central idea is immediately intriguing: arriving in Heaven does not necessarily mean the journey is finished. Instead, the protagonist must confront the question of whether they are pure enough to earn another opportunity to live on Earth. Most of the experience revolves around reading dialogue, following the story, and considering the ideas presented by its characters. There is little emphasis on action or complicated mechanical systems, making this a game aimed primarily at players who enjoy visual novels and narrative-driven projects. The restrained approach works because the unusual premise provides its own source of tension. Rather than wondering whether the protagonist can defeat an enemy or survive a dangerous environment, the player is encouraged to think about judgment, personal choices, and what qualities might make someone deserving of another life. The…

didn't expect much from this but it was actually such a good story

🍂🍁 ★★★★

This isn't a game. It is a digital e-book/visual novel masquerading as a game on Steam. There isn't any actual gameplay here, just clicking through some of the worst writing to insult the concept of literature. This is the kind of writing that would never be accepted by a real book publisher, leading to this being dumped onto Steam Direct for $100 as if it was a game... it's not. This is a completely garbage evangelical propaganda piece about christian re-incarnation as the book follows the authors bizarre fantasy of dying, going up to heaven as an angel then seeing if he can get re-incarnated. I know it's tempting to laugh but some people genuinely believe this is true and go on to make life destroying decisions because of it. Whether we may or may not agree with the cause, it's my firm belief that religious propaganda, evangelism or indoctrination of any kind has no place in gaming. It does no service to gamers at all for skewed, narrow minded religious or social agenda to be shoved down our throats, no matter which side is doing the shoving. We're here to have fun, not get indoctrinated. Because the primary purpose of this product is totally unrelated to gaming, this reall…

This is a horror game more than a game about inspiring religious purity, but I'm pretty sure that's the point. The art is nice but the translation/writing is iffy.