Detritus
Lost in deep space, your cargo vessel has suffered a catastrophic hull failure. The engines are offline, the AI is silent, and there’s no sign of the crew …and that’s just the start of your problems.
Explore the remains of the derelict ship. From fragmented memories, discover what became of the crew and piece together the events that led to the disaster. Find codes, hack keypads, and make your way past biometric locks in order to get the engines back online.
The ship is filled with debris; make use of it to help you survive – perhaps you'll find the answers you seek among the detritus.
This is a text-based 'interactive fiction' game. There are four difficulty levels: from 'story' to 'survival' – catering for a wide variety of player skill levels and experience. Allow around two hours to play. The game includes optional in-game hints, as well as a complete walkthrough.
Excerpts from a few user reviews:
"This isn’t a mere explore-the-spaceship game. It’s also a resource management game with awesome mechanics... This is a game you don’t want to miss."
"The story's themes and choices are powerful, it has a great gameplay loop, and its gameplay and story are held together so tightly... I was hoping for an interesting experience when I chose it. I was not expecting the most memorable game I've played this year."
"This game is trying to do too much, and somehow it's nevertheless succeeding at all of it."
"With its slick graphical interfaces, soundtrack, multimedia effects and compelling sci-fi story, playing Detritus feels like playing a commercial-quality offering... This is unabashedly a game, rooted in exploration of a mystery but also requiring juggling certain resource management demands... Though it takes some time to come into its own, the story does not disappoint."
If you play and enjoy this game (and would like to see more) please consider supporting the author by donating $2 – just use the 'Support This Game' button above. Thank you!
Development log
- v1.16 – minor update40 days ago
- v1.15 – another minor tweak68 days ago
- v1.14 – minor bug-fix89 days ago
- v1.13 - another minor update91 days ago
- minor update (v1.11)95 days ago
Comments
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Love this game!! My only question is how to get into the captains room?
The Captain's room
There are two ways in. The first is to discover the code somehow. If you’ve managed to get into Cabin 4, you know the code has something to do with a company jingle…
The second is to simply blast the lock. But to do that, you’ll need a fully charged plasma pistol.
For full solutions, check the walkthrough in-game.
is there a way to undo a turn or go back without a save because I reached the part where i can choose the endings but now i cant unlock the captains room without having to do everything all over again
oh nvm i found it lol
and... nevermind again because i cant undo from the turn where SPOILER ALERT!!!
I find rover and talk with gail
You can ‘undo’ using the back arrow in the top left, however, it only goes back about 30 turns, so you may be too far on.
I'm about to start the game, but got hit positively hard by the soundtrack!! what are the chances I can have the tracks of this game for mere personal listening? would appreciate immensely!!!
Yeah, the title track is catchy, it was created by ‘The_Mountain’ and you can listen to it on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/track/1MwiabnLsNhgWu2VTCRv5a?si=7b251e2eaadc4505
A little gamplay, some rambling critique ;)
I really enjoyed this game and the horror twist at the end. I like how there were clues along the way to point towards the ending. Very topical too. I played in story mode because I don't much care for resource management and i appreciate that that was an option.
The game won't let me make food how do you, I've died of hunger 5 times, and I'm loving the game so I really want to continue
making rations
Find a ‘datachip (schematic)’ somewhere. Then use it at the terminal in the Fabrication room to add ‘rations’ to the list. Now you can make new ration packs in the Fabricator, but you’ll need to collect some items with biomass (like old food) and maybe some polymers too, and throw them into the recycler so you have enough resources. If that gets too complicated, you can switch to ‘easy’ in the settings (and then you won’t have to worry about food).
This is Science Fiction. I mean real, actual, true Science Fiction. The structure and connectivity, the intentional feed of information... by god, is it intentional. I started this game on a whim, and couldn't put it down until I saw the end. Everything you learn gives an orchestrated shift in perspective, every hint you catch gives just a glimpse at what might be true, and it all falls into place in the end. Perfectly executed to maximize the reader's investment, all to get genuine thought on complex questions. That is Science Fiction.
Other than that, uhh... the sonic wrench could be a little clearer about not maintaining the regular wrench's functionalities. I played on normal, yet I never got anywhere near death, but maybe I just got lucky. I don't know how you're intended to find the third piece of the final puzzle, I just failed enough times for a hint that told me where to get it, and there was nothing else really there. No other complaints.
Also, just as a curiosity, were the recycler and fabricator inspired by Prey (2017), or perhaps something that also inspired Prey?
Thanks for playing – and for the review! Really glad to hear you enjoyed it (and it sounds like you found all the hidden details!).
And yes, there are definitely inspirations from other games – such as The Persistence and Prey (and System Shock, which inspired them).
the third item
The third item for that last puzzle actually starts off floating around exactly where you need it, but some folks recycle it without realising! If that happens, it respawns somewhere else.
Honestly this was a really good game. I experienced a few bugs toward the end with resources not spawning at all or spawning differently each time after loading autosaves - and I wish the ending had been written a little tighter (discussing information I never learnt in the game, such as how long it had been) but these are things I can definitely overlook
Some post game bonus notes allowing you to read the various discussions of options you didn't choose in game would've been nice, interrogating either version of gail in a different manor
Also a little annoying (but not major) that choosing the second ending option forces you into [Ending 2] instead of the choice between 2 and 3 like the next option
And lastly, in answer to the final moral dialogue of the game - it does replace what came before. Maybe this matters less for dime-a dozen ai, although still a little - but for unique ai or people, this is a real loss on the level of killing someone. Life should not be made or iterated on, it is born and grows. And sometimes, whether ai or sociopath, it can be born wrong, sadly.
(Simplified the last paragraph, would spoiler tag if itch made doing so easier)
Really liked the game, it's not too long, but it's full of mistery and small revelations. The pressure of knowing that the resources are actually limited, even if somewhat common, also setted my mind in overdrive.
I think this might be the best game I've played. Period. It's rare that a game literally has me staring at the screen with my jaw on the floor. The subtle hints throughout the story were perfect, just enough to give you an idea of what's going on, but not enough to spoil the surprise. I wish I could wipe my memory to experience it all over again.
Hey, thanks for playing – really glad to hear you enjoyed it! And be careful what you wish for, GAIL might be listening ;)
Oh my god, I just finished the game and ... This might be my favorite IF game ever, this is just amazing.
AMAZING game (mostly spoiler free below)
I am truly blown away by this game! The plot is interesting and that pulled me in but the actual storytelling kept me playing. I loved the flashbacks and non-linear storytelling and it was a very cool(and new to me) experience of playing a game with nearly no visuals. I enjoyed the challenging routes and puzzles, the mechanics kind of remind me of Rusty Lake and all the cube escape games; everything connects and you will be seeing it later. The only part I had a bit too much trouble on was fixing engine B, I did use the walkthrough for that after I spent 32 minutes on it and kept failing ( I never thought to use the coffee cup ), however everything else was enjoyably tricky. My jaw actually dropped multiple times throughout playing(when we came back as captain, the message between hq and GAIL telling her about the mutiny, the reveal we have been remade all those times and from the detritus, the ending where we destroy the ship just to name my faves). While playing this kind of reminded me of Mouthwashing and Rusty Lake, it is truly something I've never seen before and I loved every second of my 2 hour and 28 minute playthrough (quite a bit of that time was me not understanding a game mechanic and missing something and going back to said thing). I will definitely be playing again to catch all those easter eggs and foreshadowing and hopefully I don't take so long! Thank you for this fab game!
Thanks for playing and writing up your thoughts – I appreciate it!
Loved it - tightly designed and great narrative. Big fan of the Easter eggs and twists. One of those games you wish you could play again for the first time.
Man, this game was so cool. I thought I lost, because I recycled the mug and soda, as I saw the "Don't recycle" text for the mug, but I looked through the comments, and then proceeded to search the ship for the mug, thinking that only it was the thing I needed, and then found both the mug and can at the same time, and assumed I needed both, since I had cleaned out the area beforehand. Such a cool game!
Don’t worry, you’re not the only one who’s recycled important stuff by accident! Essential items respawn elsewhere, so the game is still doable, just a little tougher! Thanks for playing, glad you found them in the end!
Dunno if, given how long I heard people say this game is, any popular Twitchers and YouTubers are playing this.
[SPOILERS] Need to figure out how to fabricate something that can fix the charger, like a paperclip, and I recycled the only one. Great.
resetting the pack charger
You can either find another schematic upgrade, so you can make a new paperclip – or, you can also use a pencil or a metal spring to reset the charger too.
(CONTAINS SPOILERS)
WOW. I am blown away by the creativity and cool design of this!
The main menu music got me hyped to play this right off the bat. I was jamming to it for a while before I even hit Play!
I like how the music faded into a different track instead of abruptly cutting off once the game started. It’s a little thing, but it’s very appreciated.
The sound effects are satisfying and fit the sci-fi theme.
I played on Normal. Being able to eventually fast-travel was VERY useful and helped me save resources!
hahaha
I caught how it was a ship of Theseus and CTRL+V before I got to the bonus notes. I thought that was funny.
Two typos I noticed:
interupt should be interrupt
should be silhouetted
I loved this moment. Extremely creepy.
This was so cinematic and broke my heart.
lol the changes to the repeated text were always fun to read!
I got kind of stuck on the final engine puzzle, having recycled two of the objects I needed. I was able to reload a save and acquire things from the Hull Breach, but I was sat there for an extra hour just wracking my brain for what items I needed. The last item was a little “out-there” too; I had to ask for help! Aside from that, the puzzles in this were neat and I liked putting my brain to work.
The ending was really nice :] I got Ending (3b). GAIL will always be my buddy.
Hey, thanks for playing and for the feedback! Good spot on those typos (those have been fixed). The final puzzle can be tricky if you accidentally recycle those things (but if you do, they'll respawn elsewhere). Glad to hear you solved it! Some additional hints have been added to make that just a little clearer.
Everything Radiosity makes OOZES atmosphere. No visuals are needed to make my heart rate spike, and this is coming from someone who avoids fiction novels as an adult. I cannot properly emphasize that anyone with an ounce or more of imagination should play this game!
Love this comment - thank you!