Lifeless Moon

The game contains platforming adventure and puzzles to solve. Levels in the game are linear, but their large size allow for limited exploration. The gameplay difficulty increases as the game progresses to match up with the player's skills learned from playing the game.

The game involves various mechanics. Namely, the two most important mechanics are the protagonist's oxygen and jetpack fuel levels. The protagonist must replenish his oxygen using various "Oxygen Supply Vehicles" and oxygen tanks scattered intermittently throughout the game, with each replenishing action granting an extra eight in-game hours of oxygen. The protagonist must also use his jetpack to cover short distances between platforms, with jetpack fuel allowing sustained boosts across larger gaps.

An astronaut travels to another planet that is thought to be filled with lifeforms. The mission is a failure as the ship is lost in the crash, both of the other crew members are killed, and the planet turns out to be an enormous wasteland seemingly completely devoid of life; however, among the vast emptiness is a derelict Soviet Union science outpost constructed on the planet. The game follows the protagonist as he explores the planet, figures out how the Soviets managed to travel to the planet and why the outpost is now empty, and why the planet is devoid of life. As he explores through the planet, he occasionally receives hallucinations and flashbacks of his life on Earth. As the protagonist makes his way across the planet in search of answers, he finds out he is not alone and the only other survivor is a mysterious Russian woman named Aelita who guides him through the planet's eerie landscape.

Through audio recordings left behind by the Soviet colonists, the protagonist is able to piece together what occurred on the planet. In 1974, the Soviets discovered a portal in Siberia which led them to the planet. The planet was originally filled with bountiful lifeforms, among them a strange type of green moss that acted as the primary energy source for the planet's native lifeforms (which the Soviets adapted as their main source of electricity on the planet). Wanting to use the planet to establish a "new Motherland" for their people, the Soviets kept their discovery a secret as they began colonizing the planet.

The game was originally planned to be an action platformer, but as development of the story expanded, developer David Board chose to refocus the game to center on the story. The game is inspired by classic adventure games including LucasArts's The Dig and the platform game Another World, as well as by Cold War sci-fi B movies. Board said that he aimed for the game to convey the "combined sense of optimism and dread of what science was capable of in the hands of humankind".

The game was part funded through crowdfunding, launching a Kickstarter campaign in September 2011. The campaign achieved its $8,500 target within 24 hours of going live, and eventually closed with over $17,000 raised. The exposure generated by the campaign helped to secure a publishing deal for the game. Though Board originally intended to release the game in July 2012, delays meant it took until March 2014 for just the Steam Early Access release.

Lifeless Planet received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.

Adventure Gamers praised the game's creative environmental puzzles, novel concept, great music, and strong atmosphere while criticizing the repetitive gameplay, visuals, flat voice acting, poor controls, and technical issues. Eurogamer disliked the title's clunky mechanics, weak puzzles, but thought that "the pure visual storytelling - the pure digital tourism, in fact - that sees this stoical game shine." 25 out of 10, writing, "The aspects of Lifeless Planet that succeed elevate it past the technical shortcomings, but only so far. You will find a compelling world and a story worth experiencing, but you do so at the expense of well-polished animation and gameplay that hinders the overall experience."