Space Sprouts

Remember when science was like this really cool thing, with limitless possibilities? As we now live in an age where scientists apparently all have an agenda and cannot be trusted (according to some people anyway), it’s fun to reminisce about when we looked up to those who studied and learnt to understand the secrets of our world and beyond. I mean, sure, there was always the possibility of another Jurassic Park happening, but at least that sounded like an adventure. Instead, we just have these immensely powerful mini-computers we carry around in our pockets, only to use them to doomscroll about the dystopia we’re currently heading for/living in.

Luckily, developer Schleuder Games remembers those days of hope about scientific discovery as well. It’s the only way to explain how their debut game, Space Sprouts, wants you, no, begs you to just try things out and see what happens. The game tells the story of Oda, who is travelling through space for the first time, leaving her home planet behind to start life anew somewhere else. As you say goodbye to your loved ones during the tutorial, you already get a sense that this game is unlike anything you’ve played before.

Once your ship leaves its dock, you get to explore the cockpit and any other room you encounter. The only thing is, after about three minutes, your flight is over! That might feel like a bit of a letdown, but fret not, as you soon discover that actually, Oda is an older woman now, telling her grandchild about her trip to her new home. But it seems she might have forgotten quite a lot about her journey there, and her grandchild urges her to retell the story, to see if she can remember more.

This is where the real game starts. Before you restart your space travel, your grandchild will ask you a number of questions, and these are basically prompts to get you to remember things. For example, she will ask you if you stayed seated, so it could be a good idea to make sure you’re seated during the docking phase at the end of your trip. Or she will ask you what was behind the giant metal door you encountered, so you figure out a way to open the door and find out.

It’s this childlike sense of wonder and curiosity that really shines throughout Space Sprouts. The game controls are pretty simple: you walk around using your keyboard, and you interact with things using your mouse. This allows you to interact with practically anything you can find on board your ship, with the game inviting you to try and find interesting ways to use these items. Early on, I found a pair of scissors, which I then used to clear overgrowth that was blocking a passageway. But rather than just using them in a functional way like that, I also decided to try if I could give myself a haircut. And I could!

Having the game be this welcoming to any and all exploration and experimentation is such a joy. I’m not usually a big fan of games that give you a lot of freedom—give me a linear story any day of the week—and Space Sprouts definitely doesn’t hold your hand when it comes to guiding you through its ship and its story, but the reactiveness on show here just made me eager to try things I wouldn’t have in any other game. Oh, there’s a room with a black hole in it? Let me throw some things in there to see what happens. Huh, something else comes back instead. But what happens if I throw myself in there…?

The game’s ship is just one big playground, not only inviting you to play within it but tempting you to try and break it. How can I mess with items to see if I push the ship beyond its limits? Especially since the game has a fixed ending: you survive, and you arrive on a new planet to then, years later, tell the story to your grandchild. The game cleverly avoids creating paradoxes by playing around with the idea of memory itself. For example, the more memories you recount, the longer your time aboard the ship becomes for your next retelling, allowing you to explore even more and go even deeper within the vessel.

Now, I need to be clear on one thing: no passenger on a spaceship should have access to this many dangerous machines. In real life, this ship would be considered a safety hazard and would never be allowed to leave. But in Space Sprouts, you just go with it. This ship has stories to tell, not just about your journey within it but about the people and other beings that were there before you. There’s a very human element to the game, despite it basically playing as a physics simulator. Memories are core to our human experience, as is storytelling, giving meaning where none might usually be found.

With your runs being pretty short, the game offers a ton of replayability, especially since there are 100 different memories to be found within the game. Discovering them is sometimes a bit far-fetched but never impossible. And even if you’re struggling, there’s a handy walkthrough in the Steam Community that details what you need to do to find everything. But my advice would be to only use that guide if you’re stuck, because discovering things by yourself is a lot more fun. Just apply the scientific principle to everything: ‘I wonder what this does.’