Here are two truths and a lie. Sci-fi is awesome. Celestial Return rules. I once was a pitcher on the 2011 World Series winning St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. While you figure out which statement is which, let me continue on with my praise for this upcoming CRPG smorgasbord of chilling goodness.
Hands-On Preview: Celestial Return is a Weird, Dice Rolling, Hard-Sci-Fi Extravaganza
Luck be a weirdo sci-fi dystopia murder mystery tonight.
A couple of days ago, I was able to go hands-on with the first hour-or-so of Celestial Return, and I was thrilled to see that it’s a game that seems to be in lockstep with my own personal interests and preferences. An incredibly interesting story setup mixed with unique mechanics, fantastic and witty writing, gorgeous art, metal-inspired music, and a sci-fi backbone that isn’t afraid to get into some heavy topics? Yeah, I’m in.
That’s why I was also very keen to shoot some questions the way of Kerem Akman, the Creative Director of Metaphor Games, the studio behind Celestial Return, to learn more about what makes them tick. Clearly, the creators of something that’s speaking so directly to me specifically must have some awesome tidbits of information to share, right?
After getting the answers, yeah, this is a good one, if I do say so myself. Read up on why Celestial Return seems so awesome, then sit back and enjoy these fun answers from Kerem below.
Q: First of all, congrats on the successful Kickstarter campaign! Is there any sort of added pressure on development that comes along with backers already being on board for the game, or is it just exciting to see the player interest?
Thank you so much for the kind words and for these thoughtful questions. Regarding the Kickstarter, it’s a bit of both. The pressure is certainly there, but it’s a “creative fuel” pressure. Knowing that people have already put their trust in the project gives us energy, and it pushes us to be even more careful and intentional with the game.
Q: Celestial Return is insanely visually striking, and I enjoyed learning of the artistic influence pulled from things like Akira, Berserk, Blame!, etc. What is it specifically about these other works that have been such an important influence on your lives and on this game?
Akira, Berserk, and Blame! all treat their worlds like places that existed long before the reader arrived. That’s something we really wanted for Celestial Return. Beyond world-building, these works aren’t afraid of stillness, silence, or even “ugliness.” They rely on high-contrast visuals, heavy shadows, and grit. In Celestial Return, we use that same visual language to show that even in a world of advanced technology, there is still something raw, textured, and human underneath.
Q: Other influences, like Blade Runner, are very easy to see in Celestial Return so far, but I was personally thrilled to see Annihilation as a source of inspiration too, as it’s one of my favorite pieces of sci-fi ever. How would you say Celestial Return is pulling from this property?
Annihilation influences the sense of the uncanny, that feeling that something is deeply, fundamentally wrong, but not in a way you can easily explain. We’re very interested in how humans react when they’re confronted with forces that don’t care about intention or morality. In Celestial Return, the horror often comes from realization rather than spectacle. You slowly begin to understand that something you thought was controllable… isn’t.
Q: In my preview, I loved all the choices and agency I felt like I had in my decisions. Ultimately, will players typically end up in the same places regardless of these decisions, or do dice rolls and certain choices dramatically alter possible outcomes?
Dice rolls and player choices absolutely alter the story. We have both larger narrative branches and smaller, more subtle ones that affect how scenes play out, what information you gain, and how characters respond to you. However, we also want to be honest about the reality of game development. While we strive for maximum agency, there are times when players may arrive at the same story arc through different paths.
As the saying goes in BioShock, there are “constants and variables.” We focus our scope on making the variables feel impactful and the consequences feel earned. Even if you end up at the same destination, the state of your character, your relationships, and how you survived to get there will be uniquely yours. The dice might not always change the “where,” but they will almost always change the “how” and the “how much it cost you.”
Q: There’s a sort of meta-quality to the presentation of Celestial Return, which is something I’m always drawn to in video games. Things like “Loading the Work” on the game’s load screens, and the campaign itself framed as a book/graphic novel. How do you think this sort of meta/fourth-wall-breaking-type of presentation best serves this game specifically?
The idea behind those elements is to reinforce that the story itself is being assembled as you play. We wanted the UI and the presentation to feel like an extension of the world itself. The graphic novel framing also lets us lean into our comic influences; it helps bridge the gap between a digital game and a tactile piece of art.
Q: I’m already really vibing with Berk Şermet’s Noir Jazz/Cyberpunk Techno/Death Metal soundtrack. As a big Death Metal fan myself, do you know of some specific metal bands/artists that may have been an influence for the game’s music?
I’m a metal fan myself. I’m also the vocalist of my band, Devoured Elysium, so that influence naturally seeps into how we think about sound and atmosphere. For Celestial Return, we looked toward bands like Cult of Luna and Bossk for that “post-metal” sense of scale and atmosphere. While it doesn’t sound directly like what we’re doing in Celestial Return, Ulcerate has been a huge inspiration in a broader sense. Especially in how uncompromising and emotionally dense their work is. That mindset influences everything we do, not just the music.
Q: From a narrative perspective, I love all of the humor and informal types of writing that are hidden within the game; things like “YEET 4 dice and pray to the void,” and “Easy Peasy” being used in critical game directions and mechanics. Was it always a conscious decision for Celestial Return to sort of have this witty, borderline sarcastic attitude?
Yes, very much intentional. Celestial Return deals with heavy themes, and for us, humor is a survival mechanism. We built this dynamic between our two leads. The protagonist, Howard, is dark, serious, and emotionally closed off, while his companion, Rose, is the complete opposite. Sarcastic, playful, and self-aware.
Whenever we break the fourth wall or speak directly to the player through game mechanics like tutorials or system messages, it’s actually Rose speaking. You can almost think of Rose as a kind of game master. She’ll even occasionally comment on missed paths or alternative outcomes. Having her handle tutorial and system text allowed us to maintain that wit without undermining Howard’s serious character or the darkness of the world.
Q: Thematically, I feel like I’m already getting a good grip on some bigger things Celestial Return is hitting on. Corporate greed/overreach, resisting overlords, a sort of sense of nihilism at times, religion, the dangers of unchecked technology, and much more. What would you say are the most important themes you’re hoping come across?
At its heart, Celestial Return is about control. Who has it, who thinks they have it, and what happens when it slips away. We explore themes like corporate power, institutional cruelty, and wealth disparity because these aren’t just “cyberpunk tropes” to us. They’re pressures we feel every single day while living and creating in Türkiye. And they naturally find their way into the work. When you live in a place where things can feel like they’re constantly “breaking,” themes like exhaustion, doubt, and the cost of trying to do the right thing inside a broken system become part of everyday reality.
The game became a way for us to process and express those feelings. Ultimately, though, the most important theme is whatever the player takes away from it. Whether that means continuing to fight, or choosing not to in order to stay sane. Both are valid, even if they seem opposite. What matters to us is that players find their own meaning in the experience.
Q: I wanted to give a nice shoutout for confirming everything in Celestial Return is entirely human-made with no use of AI. Can you touch on why this was so important to the team in the current gaming landscape?
Our team is made up of artists (or at least we see ourselves as art people), whether it’s storytelling, visuals, or music. With AI moving so fast into creative spaces, it was important for us to draw a clear line. This project is deeply personal, and we wanted every line of dialogue, every visual, and every piece of music to come from lived experience and deliberate choice. It might feel like we’re picking a small fight in a massive industry, but it’s one we’re fully committed to. We really believe that the “soul” of the games we love comes from the people who make them, and we hope that doesn’t change.
Q: Is there anything else we haven’t touched on that you’d like to pass along to our readers?
I think the only thing left to say is a genuine thank you. It’s one thing to make a game in your own head, with your friends, fueled by the stuff you love and the things that frustrate you about the world. It’s an entirely different thing to put it out there and see people actually connect with it.
To everyone who backed us, shared the game, or even just watched the trailer: thank you for giving Celestial Return a chance. We’re a small team trying to make something personal in an industry that often rewards the opposite. Knowing there are players out there who are hungry for hand-crafted art and these kinds of stories means everything to us. We can’t wait for you to play it.
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