The Daedalus Encounter

The Daedalus Encounter is an interactive movie puzzle adventure game from 1995. It was created by Mechadeus and released by Virgin Interactive for Windows and Mac. Mechadeus also developed the 3DO version, with Panasonic handling the publishing. The story centers on three space marines who served together in an interstellar war. One of them, Casey, suffered a critical injury from space debris during a battle. His body was too damaged to save, and when he woke from a coma, the war was over. His partners, Ariel Matheson and Zack Smith, had become scavengers, and Casey was now just a brain kept alive in a life-support system aboard their ship, the Artemis. To let him join their work, they gave him control of a small flying probe. During a salvage mission, the trio crash onto an abandoned alien spacecraft that is heading straight for a star. Casey must help his friends and uncover the secrets of the Daedalus ship.

As they explore, Ari and Zack find a Central Hub with six hexagonal doors. They search the areas behind each door but cannot locate any navigational controls. Casey figures out how to use a device in the room, which activates an elevator that takes the group up and out of the Hub. The alien ship gets closer to the Sun, and the temperature inside rises quickly. The elevator brings them to a control room, where the device they used vanishes, revealing a fish-shaped shell. They spot a living alien, and Casey tries to communicate with it.

The game has three possible endings depending on the player's choices. In one, the alien ship reaches the Sun, and the Artemis burns up and explodes. In another, the alien does not respond, Zack shoots it, the alien attacks, and Ari kills both the alien and a Queen that hatches from the shell. Casey then steers the ship away from the Sun, and Ari mourns Zack, who appears dead. In the third ending, the alien responds, and as the ship nears the star, a force field protects the Artemis. The shell turns out to be an egg, and a giant red alien Queen emerges. The trio bows to her. Ari explains that the creatures, called the Seddy, created the force field. The Queen has race memory and can speak, helping Casey translate, answering questions, and repairing the Artemis. A transmission from the Daedalus wishes them well, and Zack tells Casey he was right that no situation is hopeless.