It’s a busy time for sci-fi, but don’t miss Aphelion

EntertainmentCloseEntertainmentPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All EntertainmentGamingCloseGamingPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All GamingGames ReviewCloseGames ReviewPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All Games ReviewIt’s a busy time for sci-fi, but don’t miss AphelionThe new adventure game is a nice counterpoint to the recent barrage of blockbusters.The new adventure game is a nice counterpoint to the recent barrage of blockbusters.by Andrew WebsterCloseAndrew WebsterSenior entertainment editorPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Andrew WebsterApr 28, 2026, 9:00 AM UTCLinkShareGiftImage: Don’t NodAndrew WebsterCloseAndrew WebsterPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Andrew Webster is an entertainment editor covering streaming, virtual worlds, and every single Pokémon video game. Andrew joined The Verge in 2012, writing over 4,000 stories.The last few weeks have bordered on overwhelming for science fiction fans. While Project Hail Mary is dominating the box office, For All Mankind is currently in the midst of its penultimate season, with a spinoff streaming next month. When it comes to games, Capcom kicked off a new sci-fi franchise with Pragmata, and Housemarque is about to launch the haunting shooter Saros. With all of that going on, it’d be easy to miss Aphelion. It’s a comparatively small and quiet adventure game, one focused more on storytelling than gameplay. But that also makes it a perfect complement to all of the current blockbusters, offering something much more intimate and approachable.Aphelion is developed by Don’t Nod, a studio best known for the original Life is Strange and more recently the climbing game Jusant. The new game is sort of a mashup of Life is Strange’s storytelling and Jusant’s gameplay. In Aphelion’s near-future, the Earth is very close to becoming uninhabitable, but a recently discovered planet called Persephone has the potential to be humanity’s next home. Two astronauts, Ariane and Thomas, are sent to investigate just how viable the planet is. Naturally, things go wrong almost immediately. The two crash-land on Persephone and are separated. So in addition to trying to complete the mission for the good of humanity, the pair are also desperately trying to find each other on a cold, seemingly barren wasteland.RelatedSaros is pure action nirvanaPragmata is just okay, but it could’ve been greatAphelion plays like a third-person action game crossed with a walking sim. Much of the time you’re simply making your way through the environment as the story unfolds around you, but there’s also some puzzle-solving and platforming. Eventually, there’s even some stealth when you encounter a terrifying creature reminiscent of the smoke monster from Lost. But Ariane and Thomas find themselves in very different situations, and thus they control very differently. Ariane is mostly healthy and intact, and so her quest involves much of the climbing and exploration. Thomas, meanwhile, was injured and his suit was damaged, so he struggles to navigate the world while dealing with a faulty oxygen tank. There are no weapons, so you deal with everything either by climbing or using…

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