Beyond a Steel Sky: Console release date, time, gameplay, features and more

A 27-year-long journey will finally see Beyond a Steel Sky being brought to consoles as players make their highly-anticipated return to Union City.

Even so, the next instalment in the Steel Sky series will present players with new challenges, a brand new antagonist and more complex puzzles that honours the original game.

Here's everything you need to know about Beyond a Steel Sky, from its console release date, gameplay and features.

Beyond a Steel Sky release date and time

Beyond a Steel Sky’s publisher Microids announced that as a result of the “worldwide logistical issues and constraints”, the game will see a multi-day platform release in various territories.

pic.twitter.com/9bLzvT2Smp

— Microids (@Microids_off) November 26, 2021

In the United Kingdom, its physical release will arrive on 7th December 2021 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch. Digitally, the game will release across the aforementioned platforms on 30th November 2021.

Similarly, the digital version of Beyond a Steel Sky will launch in Australia and New Zealand on 30th November 2021 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch. Meanwhile, its physical release will come out two weeks later on 17th December 2021.

In the North American region, the Switch version will come out digitally on 7th December 2021 while the remaining digital versions, as well as the physical versions, will arrive on 14th December 2021.

Finally, in the remaining regions and territories, the physical version for Nintendo Switch will launch on 2nd December 2021 with the remaining platforms, both digitally and physically, dropping 30th November 2021.

While Sony has yet to disclose the game file size for the PlayStation version, below are the approximate file size for the game's remaining platform releases.

• Nintendo Switch: 3.0GB
• PlayStation: TBD
• Xbox: 11.15GB

Beyond a Steel Sky gameplay

This cyberpunk thriller is 27 years in the making for its creators Charles Cecil and Dave Gibbons as players set to return to Union City following the events of Beneath a Steel Sky. As Robert Foster, you are tasked with investigating the disappearance of a young boy in which the leads have brought Foster back to the dystopian city.

As such, everything that’s happening in Union City is not what it seems, which is largely due to the advancements in artificial intelligence. According to Cecil in a recent Dev Diary, “As evidenced by the presence of a class system in this society, with a surprising twist: in Union City, the wealthiest live as close to the ground as possible, while the poorest and the droids live on the upper levels.”

Features

Beyond a Steel Sky is set in an energising world, filled with colourful characters with hopes and ambitions for their future which the protagonist can subvert or not. Players can also utilise a hacking tool from which the choices they make in-game can help solve puzzles by providing them with an array of solutions to choose from.

Speaking of puzzles, every puzzle in Beyond a Steel Sky is connected through a well-thought and compelling narrative to bring together a fresh and interesting gameplay experience. As players navigate their way through Union City, uncovering dark conspiracies that seize to take control of the city, the narrative speaks to several modern-day themes of social control, artificial intelligence and global surveillance.

The game will also feature two museums for players wanting to learn more about the game as well as its predecessor, Beneath a Steel Sky.

PC system requirements

As the developers brought the game to PC last year, let's run down the minimum and recommended PC requirements in order to run Beyond a Steel Sky without any technical hiccups.

Beyond a Steel Sky minimum requirements

• OS: Windows® 10 (64-bit only)
• Processor: AMD Phenom X4 945 3.0GHz or Intel Core i3-2100 3.1GHz.
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 2GB or AMD Radeon HD 7770 2GB.
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 20 GB available space

Beyond a Steel Sky recommended requirements

• OS: Windows® 10 (64-bit only)
• Processor: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz or Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz.
• Memory: 6 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB or AMD Radeon R9 280X 3GB.
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 20 GB available space

For fans of Detroit: Become Human and Death Stranding, players eager to engage in a riveting sci-fi world with a thrilling narrative and unique aesthetic design will more than enjoy Beyond a Steel Sky when it launches soon.

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Featured image courtesy of Revolution Software.