The Message from Deep Space
Applesinmypants · 2026 · Science, Puzzle, Aliens, Sci-fi, Retro
PC
Overwhelmingly Positive97% · 728
This game is free to play. Get it on Steam →
Screenshots
About The Message from Deep Space
Premise
The Message from Deep Space is an odyssey of puzzles. Take the role of the mission's Translator, working alongside a scrappy band of scientists, and venture headfirst into the world of deciphering an alien language --- completely from the ground up.Scenario
Set in 1973, Earth is the recipient of a meteorite that broadcasts radio waves. In the role of the mission's Translator, the player is responsible for designing responses to the meteorite's transmissions, which, if correct, will elicit new messages from the meteorite. Only through this radio wave dialogue will patterns, words, syntax, and meaning all take form, leaving but one question:What is it the aliens want to say?Features
- Translate an alien language
- Learn about an alien civilization
- Interface with a retro computer
- Manage a user-driven dictionary
- Design radio transmissions by frequency
- Collaborate with scientists that respond to your actions
- +1000 in-game dialogues
- +1-hour OST
- +30 hours of gameplay
Voyager I
Inspired by The Golden Record aboard the Voyager I space probe, The Message from Deep Space takes a realistic approach to deciphering an interstellar message. Beginning with the limited universal constants available to technologically advanced civilizations, the message spans a range of real-world fields of math & science. Decoding the message is tough, but with the support of the game's meticulous linguist, the single-minded computer programmer, and the affable astronomer, it is a challenge fit for anyone with Curiosity and Perseverance.What Steam players say
Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.
I've bailed on a lot of puzzle games, but this one kept me engaged through the whole thing. I've never had my mind blown so many times during a single game. This game take a simple, staightforward interface from hour one all the way to the completion of the game and makes it engaging and emotional the whole way through. Some of the puzzles are hard, some of the puzzles are shockingly poignant, and it's hard to talk about this game with someone who hasn't played it because I desperately do not want to spoil the experience. It's worth a go - if you enjoyed the demo you'll probably enjoy the full game.
This game sits in the intersection of all my autistic interests
Congrats on your Computer Science degree!
This is the perfect type of puzzle game if you want to sit down after work for 20 minutes to solve a few messages and then close your computer and realize that its been 3 hours and the sun has set. I love it.
tldr: slow and dry at times, but there's nothing else like it. Try the demo, you'll see what you're getting. There have been a number of games puzzle games focusing on new languages recently, with Chant of Sennaar being the most mainstream that I've seen. This one is definitely the deepest, albeit probably not the most accessible. There is no hand-holding on this one, no pictures to see, no context to compare. Just pure words for you to try and understand. And they build too, which is something that I've not seen other language games do. Getting the definition of one word slightly off changes the interpretation of subsequent words. Some of the nuances are subtle... Humanity could be a race, a civilization, a culture. There are multiple words for "is" (as I interpreted it). They have an alien grammar. There really is not another experience like this that I've ever seen. With that said, the game is very dry sometimes. Methodically cataloging numeric, physical, chemical technical terms takes up an obnoxiously large part of the game. That's not a criticism.. I'm sure real contact with an alien would involve a ton of that. It's not especially "fun" though. So just be aware, if you …
Definitely one of the most unique and engaging games I've played in the past couple years, up there with Outer Wilds
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