Heavenly Bodies

Heavenly Bodies is a physics game about cosmonauts, the human body, and the absence of gravity. You operate the arms of a Soviet-era cosmonaut directly with the left and right thumbsticks, with each stick controlling one arm independently, and the entire game revolves around the discovery that even the simplest task — picking up a wrench, opening a hatch, climbing across a console — becomes a complex physical negotiation when nothing is held down by weight.

The scenarios are inspired by the actual feats of space exploration history. You assemble space telescopes, maintain delicate solar arrays, conduct cosmic botany experiments, dock spacecraft, repair life-support systems — all aboard a stylised 1970s research station with the aesthetic of archival space photography and technical illustration crossed with a deeply ironic sense of humour about how badly any of these tasks actually go when you're piloting your own arms one finger at a time. Mission control communicates over radio with the unflappable bureaucratic patience the situation deserves.

A controller is strongly recommended; mouse-and-keyboard controls exist but don't deliver the intended experience. Local co-op lets a friend share the cosmonaut's body (each player taking one arm) or pilot a second cosmonaut alongside, and online play is supported through Steam Remote Play Together. The control mode difficulty is customisable, controls are rebindable, and a comprehensive accessibility documentation set is available through the Family Gaming Database for players whose needs aren't covered by the defaults.