Heavenly Bodies Critic Reviews

Even in the frustrating moments when the controls seem to have it out for you, there’s so much to like about Heavenly Bodies. It’s a wonderful concept for a game, it’s impressively polished, and it’s hyper-focused in the best way. It feels like the devs took their time. While it may be a struggle, it’s a fun struggle.

Heavenly Bodies deploys a fantastical movement system and clever puzzle design in service of a decent enough time on your own but probably deserves to be experienced with a friend.

I greatly enjoyed my time with Heavenly Bodies and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys these types of physics-oriented titles – It’s a wisely-tuned spaceborne experience that does exactly what it wants to do and does it well. Mission accomplished.

One of the latest indies surprises of 2021, an enjoyable game that recreates the aesthetics and some situations of the space movies of the 70's with tons of sympathy, that you can also enjoy in local coop. It's not very long and have some control issues, but it's so funny that you will forgive almost everything.

Much like Manual Samuel and other titles of that ilk, Heavenly Bodies certainly feels tailor-made for the streaming scene. With its penchant for generating knee-slapping laughs and red-faced moments of white hot anger that are both best enjoyed with friends and in front of a captive audience (not to mention the speedrunning mode that would arguably garner a fair audience), 2pt Interactive have certainly crafted a commendably enjoyable co-operative yarn that should last well into the holidays and beyond.

Combining the awkward unforgiving nature of space with a short and focused puzzle exploration game, Heavenly Bodies succeeds in what it sets out to achieve. It’ll frustrate you, impress you, drive you mad and blow you away with its mechanics and 70s aesthetic. You might not always have fun playing it, but this is a Zero-G trip worth embarking on, smashed controllers and all.

A brief fumble in the darkness of space, Heavenly Bodies is designed to beguile you with floaty, physics based puzzles. It will scramble your brains as you perform the most straightforward of tasks, at times testing your sanity and (if playing in co-op) the strength of any relationship.

Heavenly Bodies is not your average cup of coffee, not even for indie games. It has a very specific audience it set its target on and delivers on its promise of challenging players through the control system. Visually and atmosphere wise it is clearly inspired by the classic, realistic sci-fi movies. The game itself is pretty short, but due to the control scheme, you will spend quite a lot of time even on the simplest tasks. Heavenly Bodies is not for everyone, but those who enjoy this kind of games will have a blast with it.

The resulting sense of forward momentum helps keep the frustrations from growing tiresome.

The novelty of grappling with gravity has never been this fun or challenging. A gorgeous, if demanding, patience-tester that makes every manoeuvre a thrill.

Push past this, and you'll find a cleverly designed set of challenges that shine best in co-op. While things can quickly spiral if you're careless, completing objectives feels like a real triumph, and each mission scales things up, providing new ideas along the way. Once you have your head wrapped around it, Heavenly Bodies offers up wonderfully tactile puzzles, and the DualSense is really put through its paces. The game is rather short, but it does give you more to do after beating each mission. We should also mention there are three levels of control available, with the easiest allowing you to "swim" through the air (or lack of). While we do think there's a good time to be had here, be aware you'll need some patience to find the fun.