Ambrosia Sky: Act One Review – Deep Space Burial

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Imagine a blend of Metroid Prime’s exploration and the satisfying cleaning of PowerWash Simulator – that’s Ambrosia Sky: Act One. You’ll investigate an abandoned space colony orbiting Saturn, uncovering the stories of its former inhabitants by finding notes and examining what remains. Using a special tether, you’ll navigate areas with tricky gravity. Your main task is to clean the colony of a dangerous, spreading fungus using a versatile chemical sprayer. This first-person cleaning isn’t just relaxing; it’s crucial to restoring the ecosystem, and you’ll need to switch between different spray nozzles and chemicals to succeed.

Okay, so Ambrosia Sky is a pretty unique game – it’s a sci-fi title where you basically clean things up. But it’s way more than that. The developers, Soft Rains, really hit me with a surprisingly emotional story about loneliness and, well, dying alone out in space. It’s a really thoughtful game, not just about tidying up a spaceship!

You play as Dalia, a scientist who also works as a ‘Scarab’ – a space-based undertaker. She investigates disasters, studying what caused them while respectfully collecting and preserving the remains of those who perished. The Scarabs’ motto is, ‘Where catastrophe strikes, Scarabs go.’ Their ultimate goal is to unlock the secrets of immortality by sequencing DNA from the deceased and reversing the aging process. However, Dalia is also grappling with her own personal history, which takes center stage as the story unfolds.

Being a Scarab is already a tough job, but this case is especially difficult for Dalia. The ruined asteroid colony where she’s investigating is actually where she grew up, and she hasn’t been back in fifteen years. Many of the victims were people she knew, and it quickly becomes clear she has unresolved issues from her childhood and why she left. As she uncovers more clues and remembers the past, she starts to feel guilty, wondering if things would have been different if she hadn’t gone away.

While Dalia attempts to solve the mystery and honor the deceased, it feels like she—and the player—won’t find real resolution just yet. Ambrosia Sky: Act One is only the beginning, and the game deliberately ends without providing a complete conclusion. Several plot points—hinting at both a religious cult and corporate wrongdoing—remain unresolved, and the story is building momentum when it stops. Despite this, I’m invested in Dalia’s journey and the secrets of the colony, which makes the wait for Act Two (expected in 2026) feel quite long.

Although this part of the story doesn’t fully explain everything, it still powerfully portrays moments of peace and a sensitive look at death. Not everyone qualifies for the Scarab’s process of renewal, so learning about each person’s life before their death is a key part of the experience. Through notes, emails, and Dalia’s memories, you piece together who they were, their role in the colony, what they were doing when they died, and why they chose to stay instead of leaving with the others.

This allows characters a final connection with those who have passed, receiving one last message from them. Knowing a Scarab – likely Dalia – will find their remains, they each have a chance to offer comfort. Even as a deadly fungal infection consumes them, their compassion shines through as they consider the feelings of whoever discovers their body. This approach to death makes these scenes both moving and surprisingly hopeful. It feels fitting that Dalia is there to say goodbye, taking a moment to honor their memory with tenderness and respect. This earns the story its emotional impact and heartfelt sincerity.

There’s a surprising sense of peace in how Ambrosia Sky handles death and caring for what’s left behind, similar to the calming effect of cleaning-based games. Using a special sprayer to clear out the fungal growth is strangely satisfying, but it’s more than just a relaxing task. The fungus isn’t just visually unpleasant – with its twisting, glowing roots and disturbingly organic purple shapes – it actively hinders your progress, blocking paths and cutting off power to the colony. The game’s unique, almost abstract art style makes even this cleanup process visually striking.

The easiest way to get rid of the fungus is simply spraying it with water. However, you can also collect plant samples that grow near it to improve your sprayer with special chemicals. These include a flammable spray that quickly burns through certain types of fungus, and an electric spray that can power up nearby mechanisms and unlock doors. You can’t use these enhanced sprays constantly, so you’ll need to think strategically about when to use them. Alternatively, you can use your tether to grab and throw explosive canisters at obstacles to clear them – though this is the only instance where you can really interact with the environment. While the game is described as an immersive sim, levels are generally quite straightforward, with only one clear path forward.

The game’s upgrade system feels limited. With only 18 upgrades, most simply increase how much ammo you can carry, and I unlocked them quite quickly – roughly every three missions. While Soft Rains likely plans to add more depth in future updates, the current system feels incomplete, as if this first part of the game was trimmed down from a larger project. Some tools, like the electric spray, aren’t very useful – you mostly only need them for optional locked doors. Hopefully, these elements will be improved and become more impactful later on.

If you find cleaning surprisingly relaxing – whether it’s scrubbing skate parks, robotic rovers, or even Shrek’s swamp – you’ll likely enjoy maintaining the agricultural colony in Ambrosia Sky. While the game is still finding its footing with some simple progression and limited options, cleaning the fungus-covered corridors is a surprisingly peaceful and satisfying experience. The game combines this with touching human stories that offer a comforting sense of hope amidst a bleak setting. I’m excited to see where the story goes with the character Dalia – it’s already a captivating tale with a warm and relatable quality that most players will appreciate. Hopefully, future updates will expand on this strong start.

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2025-11-14 02:14