Abusive relationships are traumatic experiences. They can be controlling environments, full of psychological and physical harm for the victim, making them feel lost, weak, and dependant on the abuser. The abuser in turn is there to exert their control and hold power over others. A Long Journey to an Uncertain End explores the theme of an abusive relationship, but in an unusual way; its central character is an AI spaceship, the abuser chasing them across space, while crewed by a group of space farers that you manage.
A Long Journey to an Uncertain End intertwines resource management, crew management, and time management as you attempt to flee the abusive ex. Taking on the role of a ship represented by a hologram means you have some freedom. When deciding the ships name you decide the pronouns it will be addressed by, including he/him, she/her, they/them, or a custom choice. You also name your ex in the same way, with Buttface being a helpful starting option. Once you’ve got through this initial stage the adventure begins, as you and your crew head for the Core Worlds and freedom from your ex.
Aylah and CORGI are the first two members of your crew that are there for you. CORGI is entwined with the ship, so cannot be sent on jobs, but Aylah can. Aylah’s skill is with tech, so the obvious pick for tech jobs. As you hop from planet to planet you can recruit more characters, each with their own specialist skills. Truly is a flirt and charmer, Denny is a thief, and Matias is the muscle, who is also one of the Core’s shining drag queens. There are several other characters, and each proves useful in different job settings. To survive in this universe, you need to carry out jobs to earn resources.
Those resources include fuel so you can move from place to place, supplies so the crew don’t starve, shielding for the hull, and favours that can boost your success score by 30% at the end of a job, or be used to get rid of unwanted attention. Rewards are based on who you send to the job and how successful they are, with their skills needing to be matched up to get the best outcomes. The issue here is that while the jobs highlight skills that are ideal for a job, they do not highlight all the skills, which would be handy as you can send two characters to do them. If the right character is not there, then certain choices are locked out. Jobs are also timed with some taking longer than others, and this is where time management comes in. There’s a countdown showing how close your ex is to recapturing you, and if they do it’s game over, with your run coming to an end.
A Long Journey to an Uncertain End is split into sectors, with each sector having a end sequence of various choices to make, all the while trying to avoid patrols. Before these take place, people you’ve helped will send you some resources to even the odds. If you manage the resources properly, you will not need these extra resources. It’s quite easy to build up what you need quickly. The jobs and travelling take their toll on the crew members, and they need a bit of rest and relaxation too. Some places you stop at have locations that crew members can go to unwind and improve their mood. However, only one crew person can go at a time and not every place is suitable for every person. You have to juggle which crew needs the R&R most, with who it will be most effective for in the limited time you have.
The story of A Long Journey to an Uncertain End is certainly engaging, exploring the nature of abuse and the escape from it well; the setting of an AI ship fleeing to freedom in a hostile universe is an inspired choice. The game is replayable as there are different endings, and you will not be able to visit every planet or space station in one run. A successful run takes about two hours. On one of my runs I did come across an odd bug where a crew member I’d not recruited decided to come along for the ride, and at the final mission they were selectable as a choice to carry out an important job, despite not existing on my ship in this run’s timeline. It’s a bug that needs addressing as it can cause confusion, but it didn’t impact my enjoyment of the game.
