Robert Foster
The protagonist, raised in the Australian wasteland and drawn into a search for the truth behind Union.
Documented for this version
Left Mouse Button | Select destinations, inspect objects, speak with characters, and perform contextual actions. |
|---|---|
Right Mouse Button | Open or access the inventory interface. |
The DOS release is primarily controlled with a mouse.
Available actions depend on the selected object, character, or inventory item.
How it plays
The game uses a third-person perspective with point-and-click interaction. Players move Robert through illustrated locations, examine objects, talk with characters, collect items, and combine or use those items to solve environmental puzzles.
Progression is largely linear, with new areas and story events becoming available after key problems are solved. Dialogue and observation provide clues, while Joey can assist with certain interactions. The DOS version is a single-player adventure with no separate combat mode or character-statistics system.
Plan your run
Examine every available object and speak with characters more than once, especially after major story events. Many puzzles depend on combining an item with an apparently unrelated object or using an item in a specific location.
Keep Joey in mind when testing possible interactions, and revisit earlier areas when new information changes the context of a puzzle. Save before experimenting with unusual item combinations or irreversible actions.
Meet the cast
The protagonist, raised in the Australian wasteland and drawn into a search for the truth behind Union.
An artificial-intelligence personality that accompanies Robert through a portable robot body and assists with puzzles.
A prominent Union citizen whose actions and knowledge are connected to the game's central mystery.
Before you begin
Inspect scenery carefully; some useful interactions are easy to miss.
Try items on environmental objects as well as on characters.
Record unusual clues and revisit locations after important conversations.
Beneath a Steel Sky is a science-fiction point-and-click adventure developed by Revolution Software and published by Virgin Interactive for DOS in 1994. The game follows Robert Foster, a young man raised in the Australian wasteland who is forcibly taken to the enclosed city of Union. After escaping, he investigates the city and the forces controlling it, aided by the artificial-intelligence personality Joey. Its play style combines exploration, inventory-based problem solving, dialogue, and environmental observation. The game was well received for its writing, comic-book artwork by Dave Gibbons, atmosphere, and witty puzzles, and it became one of Revolution's most respected adventure titles.
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