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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Lordfirespeed\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/912d3e0b10bb2b523fe04e5cfba467aa72faaf34.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t![\"This](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/shared/images/userreviews/icon_review_counted.png\")
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/shared/images/userreviews/icon_thumbsDown_v6.png\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https://community.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/images/apphubs/bigpicture/thumbs_down_selected.png\")
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tNot Recommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t13.5 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(10.2 hrs at review time)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 22\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tGame is good, but I don't think you should buy it yet.
I don't think Rivage has been playtested enough. There are many friction points in the gameplay which should have been raised and fixed prior to release. For example (potential spoilers):
- Many objects become difficult to see/read when picked up, even when the flashlight is used. You cannot move the items, either, you have to inspect them in-place so this is really grating. A really poor example of this is a book right away on a desk which becomes totally black when picked up (unless the flashlight is engaged) - this might be meant to serve as a flashlight tutorial, but it's poorly executed since the book is plainly in view until it is picked up. The book shouldn't be visible at all until the nearby desk lamp is turned on.
- Immersion-breaking 'progress' bars. Why do I have to hold down a key for 3 seconds and then wait for 3 seconds more for some action to happen?
- Speaking of holding a key for 3 seconds, why does it take so long to delete photos? I don't want to interact with the in-game photo system because cleaning it out will take me ages!
- Certain interactable levers/environment handles are really sensitive, which makes them feel flimsy and unrealistic.
- Your character can only hold 1 item at a time, adding pointless friction to otherwise enjoyable scenarios, especially situations where you need to gather multiple items to one common location.
- Control overlaps / bugs
- Left click is used to both rotate objects and interact with them while inspecting them. Using the scroll wheel to zoom also simultaneously interacts with your K9 (HUD) which is confusing - HUD controls which overlap with inspect controls should be disabled while inspecting an item.
- Inspecting an item 'interrupts' crouching
- Rebinding controls is a nightmare because it's impossible to bind two controls to the same key and it's also impossible to unbind controls. To swap two controls, you have to bind a temporary unused key.
- The game spoils that you are in a time loop before giving you a chance to realise it for yourself, through interact prompts ('Loop'? Really?) and pop-up text.
- Immersion is broken when entering new areas by massive popups declaring the area's name. Let us find out for ourselves! We don't want to be hand-held!\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tI don't think Rivage has been playtested enough. There are many friction points in the gameplay which should have been raised and fixed prior to release. For example (potential spoilers):
- Many objects become difficult to see/read when picked up, even when the flashlight is used. You cannot move the items, either, you have to inspect them in-place so this is really grating. A really poor example of this is a book right away on a desk which becomes totally black when picked up (unless the flashlight is engaged) - this might be meant to serve as a flashlight tutorial, but it's poorly executed since the book is plainly in view until it is picked up. The book shouldn't be visible at all until the nearby desk lamp is turned on.
- Immersion-breaking 'progress' bars. Why do I have to hold down a key for 3 seconds and then wait for 3 seconds more for some action to happen?
- Speaking of holding a key for 3 seconds, why does it take so long to delete photos? I don't want to interact with the in-game photo system because cleaning it out will take me ages!
- Certain interactable levers/environment handles are really sensitive, which makes them feel flimsy and unrealistic.
- Your character can only hold 1 item at a time, adding pointless friction to otherwise enjoyable scenarios, especially situations where you need to gather multiple items to one common location.
- Control overlaps / bugs
- Left click is used to both rotate objects and interact with them while inspecting them. Using the scroll wheel to zoom also simultaneously interacts with your K9 (HUD) which is confusing - HUD controls which overlap with inspect controls should be disabled while inspecting an item.
- Inspecting an item 'interrupts' crouching
- Rebinding controls is a nightmare because it's impossible to bind two controls to the same key and it's also impossible to unbind controls. To swap two controls, you have to bind a temporary unused key.
- The game spoils that you are in a time loop before giving you a chance to realise it for yourself, through interact prompts ('Loop'? Really?) and pop-up text.
- Immersion is broken when entering new areas by massive popups declaring the area's name. Let us find out for ourselves! We don't want to be hand-held!\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/shared/images//award_icon.svg\"){kind=icon}
Award\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t238 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
2 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t9
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Helpful\"](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/images/loyalty/reactions/still/26.png?v=5\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t7\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Life](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/images/loyalty/reactions/still/30.png?v=5\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t5\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Smart\"](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/images/loyalty/reactions/still/33.png?v=5\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"SharkBiteRem\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/b1f7eb95cd1a08d99d1f94795d4aa9297ad508eb.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tNot Recommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t39.6 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 26\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tYou can not fully complete this game without scanning QR codes on your phone, which is a security issue. The dev was previously blown out for AI before rebranding the project to Rivage from Strand. The behavior is not trustworthy, and publishing for them shows a lack of care for the player base and their very loudly voiced opinions on these issues, which Raw Fury has said publicly they don't approve of as well. Being a puzzle game I didn't look anything up to avoid spoilers, so I went in not knowing these facts until they roadblocked my progress at nearly 40 hours in. If you care about these things, save your time and money.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t221 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
3 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t3 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t17\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t5\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t5\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"One](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/images/loyalty/reactions/still/29.png?v=5\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Winner\"](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/images/loyalty/reactions/still/24.png?v=5\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Funny\"](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/images/loyalty/reactions/still/28.png?v=5\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/shared/images//award_icon_blue.svg\"/)
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Bayley\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/7a9af96db3b3644bfda38d508f692026c06962a5.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tNot Recommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t1.5 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 26\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tProduct refunded
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tI was originally going into this with a background love of outer wilds, solaris, blue prince etc., but this really didn't do it for me. The game looks great and yes the UI is a little buggy (which is forgivable), however, the puzzles are either too simple or too complex. I never approched a puzzle with curiosity or enjoyment: it felt like a chore as they were mostly linear in nature. I love time-loop games don't get it me wrong, it's my fav sub-genre, but I feel as though this one was just slapped in there for the sake of it. You could have easily experience the game without it, it does not feel fresh. Furthermore, although the devs have said that all AI assests have been replaced, there where strikingly obvious AI assests (such as paintings, posters, and props) that have been left in. Whether this is an oversight I don't know. I just don't understand who this game appeals to. I thought it would've been for me considering what this game was likened to, but it doesn't scratch that itch unfortunatley.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t77 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Pergund\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/e480c58110a57e7a3ff9e77886c855ab43613292.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tNot Recommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t5.6 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(4.2 hrs at review time)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 26\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tThis is a hard one to recommend. Don’t be fooled by the description, as you might expect the game to be as intricate as Blue Prince. In reality, it plays much more like an escape-room game.
Throughout my entire playthrough, I felt like I was playing Escape Room Simulator. You can interact with almost everything around you: books, potatoes, sodas, and countless other objects. Most of these items simply clutter the environment without serving any meaningful purpose. If you’ve played Escape Room Simulator, you know what I mean.
You can only carry one item at a time, which feels more like a chore than anything else. I also encountered a bug when I tried to replace the item in my hand with an item on a circuit board caused one of the items to disappear.
All of the puzzles require reading: “When is my birthday?”, “What is the name of my book?”, and similar questions. So you’re basically just looking for notes, reading emails, and skimming text messages. There are hardly any visual puzzles that give you that satisfying feeling of actually connecting the dots and solving something.
When I think of a time loop as a mechanic, I immediately think that timing and/or time itself is important, but that isn’t the case here. It feels more like a gimmick to prolong the game time by forcing you to start over because you didn’t write down the barcode for one specific item in a game cluttered with a bunch of other items.
So the environment and puzzles feel arbitrary, because you never know what information you’ll need next. You might have to start an entirely new loop simply because you didn’t realize you needed to remember the name of one specific soda can.
Overall, this game is not worth the asking price. I’d recommend buying Escape Room Simulator instead. It has custom-built rooms, so you can find a much wider variety of challenging rooms to play.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tThroughout my entire playthrough, I felt like I was playing Escape Room Simulator. You can interact with almost everything around you: books, potatoes, sodas, and countless other objects. Most of these items simply clutter the environment without serving any meaningful purpose. If you’ve played Escape Room Simulator, you know what I mean.
You can only carry one item at a time, which feels more like a chore than anything else. I also encountered a bug when I tried to replace the item in my hand with an item on a circuit board caused one of the items to disappear.
All of the puzzles require reading: “When is my birthday?”, “What is the name of my book?”, and similar questions. So you’re basically just looking for notes, reading emails, and skimming text messages. There are hardly any visual puzzles that give you that satisfying feeling of actually connecting the dots and solving something.
When I think of a time loop as a mechanic, I immediately think that timing and/or time itself is important, but that isn’t the case here. It feels more like a gimmick to prolong the game time by forcing you to start over because you didn’t write down the barcode for one specific item in a game cluttered with a bunch of other items.
So the environment and puzzles feel arbitrary, because you never know what information you’ll need next. You might have to start an entirely new loop simply because you didn’t realize you needed to remember the name of one specific soda can.
Overall, this game is not worth the asking price. I’d recommend buying Escape Room Simulator instead. It has custom-built rooms, so you can find a much wider variety of challenging rooms to play.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t71 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Xlis1\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/fbce5878ca8def1ad238043a869ce2026ac7372c.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tNot Recommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t12.5 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: October 4\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tI bought this game on release because it looked like it had the potential to be another great time-loop mystery up there with the likes of Outer Wilds and The Forgotten City, and I could not have been let down harder.
There are lots of people complaining about the graphics being buggy, and the film grain is incredibly annoying and doesn't seem possible to disable, but technically it worked well enough for me. I almost wish it hadn't, so I could pretend this was a good puzzle game held back by technical flaws.
The game makes a few fundamental mistakes when it comes to both time-loop games and puzzle games, and the plot manages to massively undermine its own main character right at the end for seemingly no reason. It does so in a way that makes the good ending not even feel good. It probably wouldn't have felt especially satisfying either way because of how the ending is written, but the late-game character reveals make it feel downright bizarre and almost disconnected from the actual text of the game and the protagonist we've been following.
As for the actual puzzles, there are several that go beyond simply being kind of dull or unoriginal and push well into the territory of feeling incredibly tedious for no ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ reason other than to presumably pad the runtime.
I don't think I'd consider the following spoilers, but if you really don't want even the slightest hint at what kinds of puzzles the game contains, then I guess stop reading here.
The game asks you to:
- Solve a Rubik's Cube, using a horrific input method that makes manipulating it annoying as hell.
That's not really a puzzle. That's a check on whether you already know how to solve a Rubik's Cube, and if you don't, it's 30–40 minutes of following a tutorial.
- Convert ~30 or so characters from hex to ASCII.
On its own, this is fine. It happens in a place where that kind of thing actually makes sense in-universe, and the surrounding puzzle is reasonable enough. But there is no meaningful difference, IMO, between making me manually encode 5 characters and making me manually encode 500 beyond the added tedium, and 30 is already well beyond the point where I think it becomes more annoying than interesting.
- AND THEN THEY ASK YOU TO CONVERT ANOTHER ~120 CHARACTERS FROM HEX TO ASCII LATER FOR AN OPTIONAL PUZZLE.
This is genuinely something I would write as a joke in a parody puzzle game about bad puzzle or ARG design. It doesn't even make sense in-universe why the data is where you find it, or why it was stored as hex instead of ASCII or literally anything else.
It is so monumentally, mind-numbingly pointless that I legitimately cannot think of any reason for its inclusion other than padding the runtime.
If you're willing to put up with some deliberately tedious puzzles and a plot that is almost self-defeating, then I guess I'd recommend picking it up on a very steep sale.
If you want an actually good puzzle game in a similar style/genre, I'd highly recommend the aforementioned Outer Wilds and The Forgotten City, both of which are excellent, easily my favorite puzzle games of all time.
Hell, The Forgotten City is based on a Skyrim mod made by the same guy with the same name. The mod is also pretty good, although it's heavily limited by the fact that it is, well, a Skyrim mod, and lacks a lot of the cooler elements and set pieces of the full game. Still worth checking out, though.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tThere are lots of people complaining about the graphics being buggy, and the film grain is incredibly annoying and doesn't seem possible to disable, but technically it worked well enough for me. I almost wish it hadn't, so I could pretend this was a good puzzle game held back by technical flaws.
The game makes a few fundamental mistakes when it comes to both time-loop games and puzzle games, and the plot manages to massively undermine its own main character right at the end for seemingly no reason. It does so in a way that makes the good ending not even feel good. It probably wouldn't have felt especially satisfying either way because of how the ending is written, but the late-game character reveals make it feel downright bizarre and almost disconnected from the actual text of the game and the protagonist we've been following.
As for the actual puzzles, there are several that go beyond simply being kind of dull or unoriginal and push well into the territory of feeling incredibly tedious for no ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ reason other than to presumably pad the runtime.
I don't think I'd consider the following spoilers, but if you really don't want even the slightest hint at what kinds of puzzles the game contains, then I guess stop reading here.
The game asks you to:
- Solve a Rubik's Cube, using a horrific input method that makes manipulating it annoying as hell.
That's not really a puzzle. That's a check on whether you already know how to solve a Rubik's Cube, and if you don't, it's 30–40 minutes of following a tutorial.
- Convert ~30 or so characters from hex to ASCII.
On its own, this is fine. It happens in a place where that kind of thing actually makes sense in-universe, and the surrounding puzzle is reasonable enough. But there is no meaningful difference, IMO, between making me manually encode 5 characters and making me manually encode 500 beyond the added tedium, and 30 is already well beyond the point where I think it becomes more annoying than interesting.
- AND THEN THEY ASK YOU TO CONVERT ANOTHER ~120 CHARACTERS FROM HEX TO ASCII LATER FOR AN OPTIONAL PUZZLE.
This is genuinely something I would write as a joke in a parody puzzle game about bad puzzle or ARG design. It doesn't even make sense in-universe why the data is where you find it, or why it was stored as hex instead of ASCII or literally anything else.
It is so monumentally, mind-numbingly pointless that I legitimately cannot think of any reason for its inclusion other than padding the runtime.
If you're willing to put up with some deliberately tedious puzzles and a plot that is almost self-defeating, then I guess I'd recommend picking it up on a very steep sale.
If you want an actually good puzzle game in a similar style/genre, I'd highly recommend the aforementioned Outer Wilds and The Forgotten City, both of which are excellent, easily my favorite puzzle games of all time.
Hell, The Forgotten City is based on a Skyrim mod made by the same guy with the same name. The mod is also pretty good, although it's heavily limited by the fact that it is, well, a Skyrim mod, and lacks a lot of the cooler elements and set pieces of the full game. Still worth checking out, though.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t44 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"WookieMatingCall\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/bd3fe8ca3f37fd4abd3142960cec915d840033a3.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tNot Recommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t3.4 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 27\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tFor the three hours I played, the game was fun. Until I got to a part that I could not solve because I'm color blind and there are no color blind options. I'm not going to guess and check my way through multiple color based puzzles so guess I'm out $20 until hopefully this gets patched in the future.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t25 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
1 person found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t1 person found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Plus](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/images/loyalty/reactions/still/32.png?v=5\")
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\tA developer has responded on Sep 30 @ 6:08pm
(view response)
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Cas\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/386cbeff3ef9ab897d65c8f026e45b1b33f9fa3d.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tNot Recommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t2 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 22\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tI was looking forward to the release after playing the demo, but am not convinced this is for me. The premise is interesting, but the often very contrived puzzles break the immersion too often for me. While the puzzles are okay in themselves, they often do not fit in the world logically at all and you're conveniently spoonfed puzzles one-by-one.
In addition, the writing of the story is not doing enough to get me hooked and wanting to know more. All the characters I've heard about so far seem very one dimensional with matching cheesy voice acting.
Already from the very beginning I think the game is giving too much away through the UI and starting cutscene, kind of taking away agency to learn certain facts for myself.
It does run smoothly and I have not ran into any bugs except a hinge of the fridge door suddenly changing direction.
It is not bad as an escape room, but maybe I expected too much from it after seeing the potential from the demo.
I am of course only 2 hours in as I may refund, though part of me does wonder if behind its flaws there may be an interesting story even if the delivery is lacking.
And if it turns out that some alien mastermind put me into a spaceship-themed puzzle-box, and my crewmates are this alien's closest approximation of a human, the design is perfectly fitting.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tIn addition, the writing of the story is not doing enough to get me hooked and wanting to know more. All the characters I've heard about so far seem very one dimensional with matching cheesy voice acting.
Already from the very beginning I think the game is giving too much away through the UI and starting cutscene, kind of taking away agency to learn certain facts for myself.
It does run smoothly and I have not ran into any bugs except a hinge of the fridge door suddenly changing direction.
It is not bad as an escape room, but maybe I expected too much from it after seeing the potential from the demo.
I am of course only 2 hours in as I may refund, though part of me does wonder if behind its flaws there may be an interesting story even if the delivery is lacking.
And if it turns out that some alien mastermind put me into a spaceship-themed puzzle-box, and my crewmates are this alien's closest approximation of a human, the design is perfectly fitting.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t49 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Zinisco\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/6f982210fe9a377fdb74d9a836e4d670f0fd68fc.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tNot Recommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t12.4 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 24\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tI wanted to like this game. I really did. The concept intrigued me at first, Especially the time loop part. The art is amazing, and the music is good. But the story feels all over the place and I didn't quite understand what was going on at all. I didn't really care for any of the characters. None of them were relatable or likable. The dialogue just comes off as bland and cheesy most of the time too. Some puzzles are cool on paper but none felt really satisfying by the end. Then the game becomes tedious and obnoxious as time goes on. I honestly just wanted it to be over at that point. So, unfortunately I cant recommend this game.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t28 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"nom.ssh\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/c3b0e722888005745bb94ecbde05e8ac8a8a96e9.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tNot Recommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t4.6 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 22\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tI bought this game without knowing much about it, thinking that it would be right up my alley. I like puzzle games, absolutely adored stuff like The Witness, Outer Wilds and Blue Prince. I also liked the more narrative Tacoma, which seems like it should be very similar to this.
I will say the game looks very pretty, but that's about it. There is no feeling of mystery to the story, the characters are flat and uninteresting, the world-building poor and inconsistent, the UI clunky, and the puzzles uninteresting.
The game is almost completely linear, and many puzzles boil down to a scavenger hunt for a key or password. In most cases you can see almost immediately how a puzzle must be solved, and then it's just a matter of going through the steps. In one particularly frustrating case, I was on a scavenger hunt for four different pieces of a key, and if I picked up a piece that was not one of the right ones, it would overwrite the one I had, forcing me to go back and find that one again. And I was doing this in the dark.
I never felt that racking my brains over some puzzle led to a revelatory 'a-ha' moment, only sometimes feeling that a solution was obscure and illogical. The most baffling thing is that, as far as I can tell, the time-loop mechanic doesn't lead to any clever puzzles, but is instead completely unnecessary. It serves to somewhat restrict your movements, but as you can just start over and go someplace else instead, why doesn't the game just let you do that without the time-loop?!
Would not recommend.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tI will say the game looks very pretty, but that's about it. There is no feeling of mystery to the story, the characters are flat and uninteresting, the world-building poor and inconsistent, the UI clunky, and the puzzles uninteresting.
The game is almost completely linear, and many puzzles boil down to a scavenger hunt for a key or password. In most cases you can see almost immediately how a puzzle must be solved, and then it's just a matter of going through the steps. In one particularly frustrating case, I was on a scavenger hunt for four different pieces of a key, and if I picked up a piece that was not one of the right ones, it would overwrite the one I had, forcing me to go back and find that one again. And I was doing this in the dark.
I never felt that racking my brains over some puzzle led to a revelatory 'a-ha' moment, only sometimes feeling that a solution was obscure and illogical. The most baffling thing is that, as far as I can tell, the time-loop mechanic doesn't lead to any clever puzzles, but is instead completely unnecessary. It serves to somewhat restrict your movements, but as you can just start over and go someplace else instead, why doesn't the game just let you do that without the time-loop?!
Would not recommend.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t23 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"REChick\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/21bb9603b5688bf02e28f99c132ab8d7e9375db9.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/shared/images/userreviews/icon_thumbsUp_v6.png\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https://community.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/images/apphubs/bigpicture/thumbs_upselected.png\")
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRecommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t18.5 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(8.8 hrs at review time)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 23\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tIf you want a game that has great puzzles for 8+ hours then this game is for you.
If you want a story-rich game with great characters, maybe skip this one.
Overall, I would still recommend this game despite its few flaws. Like many others, I played the demo and was waiting months for the game to come out. I even took a sick day. I do feel like my expectations were too high though. To be clear, the game is great, especially for the price point, but I wouldn't say it's going on my top ten list. As for the visuals, I'm playing on my backup laptop on medium graphics and the game is still beautiful. It was grainy at first, but a few setting changes fixed the problem. I don't think the game deserves all the bad reviews tbh.
The story is good enough to keep you moving from one puzzle to the next, but the characters are all unlikable. Even the protagonist. I understand that they act the way they do because of the stress they've been enduring for months, but it would have been nice to see them before the events of the game. Overall the character writing is 'meh' and the voice acting isn't great either. I found myself playing more for progression rather than caring about the people.
*Pros*
- Puzzles are difficult enough and require multiple steps and observation skills. Not a lot of hand-holding.
- Screenshot mode. As someone who usually uses a a notebook to take notes, I really appreciated this feature.
- Visuals are great
- Premise is interesting
- The base is operating on low power, so navigation is a puzzle in itself.
- Gameplay 8+hrs so far. I haven't finished yet, but I saw all the bad reviews and thought I should throw in my opinion
- World building is immersive
*Cons*
- Characters are almost annoyingly simple and unlikable. I would skip all their audio logs and messages if I wasn't worried I'd miss something important.
- Story is okay so far. This could be because of lack of character development, or because I'm not done with the game yet.
- Some graphics settings seem to be automated and revert back to original settings at relaunch.
- No manual save. Auto-save only.
- Text is hard to read because of colors choices. Environment is supposed to be dark due to lack of power, so a flashlight is usually a must. However, the light seems to glare and reflect off text. The blue pen on white paper doesn't help though.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tIf you want a story-rich game with great characters, maybe skip this one.
Overall, I would still recommend this game despite its few flaws. Like many others, I played the demo and was waiting months for the game to come out. I even took a sick day. I do feel like my expectations were too high though. To be clear, the game is great, especially for the price point, but I wouldn't say it's going on my top ten list. As for the visuals, I'm playing on my backup laptop on medium graphics and the game is still beautiful. It was grainy at first, but a few setting changes fixed the problem. I don't think the game deserves all the bad reviews tbh.
The story is good enough to keep you moving from one puzzle to the next, but the characters are all unlikable. Even the protagonist. I understand that they act the way they do because of the stress they've been enduring for months, but it would have been nice to see them before the events of the game. Overall the character writing is 'meh' and the voice acting isn't great either. I found myself playing more for progression rather than caring about the people.
*Pros*
- Puzzles are difficult enough and require multiple steps and observation skills. Not a lot of hand-holding.
- Screenshot mode. As someone who usually uses a a notebook to take notes, I really appreciated this feature.
- Visuals are great
- Premise is interesting
- The base is operating on low power, so navigation is a puzzle in itself.
- Gameplay 8+hrs so far. I haven't finished yet, but I saw all the bad reviews and thought I should throw in my opinion
- World building is immersive
*Cons*
- Characters are almost annoyingly simple and unlikable. I would skip all their audio logs and messages if I wasn't worried I'd miss something important.
- Story is okay so far. This could be because of lack of character development, or because I'm not done with the game yet.
- Some graphics settings seem to be automated and revert back to original settings at relaunch.
- No manual save. Auto-save only.
- Text is hard to read because of colors choices. Environment is supposed to be dark due to lack of power, so a flashlight is usually a must. However, the light seems to glare and reflect off text. The blue pen on white paper doesn't help though.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t21 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Tranderson](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/1cd0ff6f087762bbb9513c1493ed55f68ae4175e.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t13 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 24\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tThe puzzles were well done, but the way the researches interacted with each other was so childish and poorly written. I hated every single one of these characters that served as the worst charicatures for their position in the story. There is a vague idea that the events outside the ship have driven them mad, but no. Some of them are just like that. Deeply unlikeable, petty, and unexplained. Maybe it plays better in something other than english.
Its sad because the puzzles are kind of fun, and the layout of the ship was nice. I didn't find everything but I don't know that I want to try much harder to find more. Oh well.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tIts sad because the puzzles are kind of fun, and the layout of the ship was nice. I didn't find everything but I don't know that I want to try much harder to find more. Oh well.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t32 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Bluenose\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/a60f3ddd21fa7f4938dde6168640490755568e3e.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t6.1 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 30\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tI love loops, I love walking sims, I love puzzle games and old school adventure games. I do not love this game. The station is not a real place that you navigate and try to understand. It's a convoluted excuse to lead you around to specific puzzles in order. The world doesn't have a logic to try and sort out, it's more like a virtual escape room. Go through a sequence of puzzles so that you get a key to unlock the next section with a new, unrelated sequence of puzzles. There were some clever puzzles, some tedious puzzles, some both. Nothing stuck out with wonder or anything profound though. The loop system itself was almost entirely pointless. It acts as a reset back to the start method, but aside from a single puzzle, it could have been completely replaced with something more convenient and less cumbersome and lost absolutely nothing. As for the characters, I did not find them sympathetic, just annoying. I spent 6 hours playing through the story. I looked up a small number of hints towards the end once I was tired of playing and wanted to be done. I was not invested enough to go for the secrets beyond a simple playthrough.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t13 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Ultranoia\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/4e3bb001c3c2154d5cea51d61ea7672fa77fcda8.jpg\")
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRecommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t21.4 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRivage is a puzzle-adventure that borrows a few mechanics and narrative elements from Outer Wilds and, to some extent, Blue Prince. However, they matter far more on a narrative level than on a gameplay one: they're never pushed as far as in the titles they come from, and even without them the experience wouldn't change much. The result is a much more classic, Myst-like exploration-driven structure.
What works best is the sci-fi setting, portrayed through an aesthetic that is both realistic and soft. It's not particularly original, but it effectively conveys an atmosphere of loneliness and unease, with a cozy touch.
The puzzles tend to be simple, but they're almost always tied to exploring the map, so they never get boring.
The UI has a few minor rough edges, and on the polish side there were perhaps a few too many bugs, though nothing that compromises the overall experience.
If you're looking for extremely complex puzzles, this might not be the game for you. But if you want something that captures the vibes of the games mentioned above, and you enjoy a focus on exploration, it's definitely worth a try.
While it never brings anything truly original to the table, the mix of genres and influences that come together in this title, along with its overall quality, makes it noteworthy and a good puzzle game.
Length: ~15 hours, ~20 for completionists
Score: 8/10\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tWhat works best is the sci-fi setting, portrayed through an aesthetic that is both realistic and soft. It's not particularly original, but it effectively conveys an atmosphere of loneliness and unease, with a cozy touch.
The puzzles tend to be simple, but they're almost always tied to exploring the map, so they never get boring.
The UI has a few minor rough edges, and on the polish side there were perhaps a few too many bugs, though nothing that compromises the overall experience.
If you're looking for extremely complex puzzles, this might not be the game for you. But if you want something that captures the vibes of the games mentioned above, and you enjoy a focus on exploration, it's definitely worth a try.
While it never brings anything truly original to the table, the mix of genres and influences that come together in this title, along with its overall quality, makes it noteworthy and a good puzzle game.
Length: ~15 hours, ~20 for completionists
Score: 8/10\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tReviewer's PC Specs:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWindows 11
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAMD Ryzen 7 5800X 8-Core Processor - RAM: 64 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 - VRAM: 16 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t19 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
1 person found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t1 person found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Benjfinity\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/9e93694e7796b9cdb97aa6e82715094c0ff450d2.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tNot Recommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t3.2 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 22\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSpent over an hour in menus trying to get the game to not look grainy. I never ended up fixing that. Puzzles do not feel organic within the world at all (Why would someone circle batteries that they want put away instead of just putting away the batteries???) Other puzzles are the type of disjointed type of puzzle you'd find in an old point and click game, a lot of; find
number, put number somewhere else, that's the puzzle. The voice acting and characters are super cheesy. Suffers a bit from AAA syndrome. Main characters says out loud "I don't think I can use this item here", "I think I should do this", "Time to do this", etc. Just let me play the game, I don't need someone to backseat me.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tnumber, put number somewhere else, that's the puzzle. The voice acting and characters are super cheesy. Suffers a bit from AAA syndrome. Main characters says out loud "I don't think I can use this item here", "I think I should do this", "Time to do this", etc. Just let me play the game, I don't need someone to backseat me.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tReviewer's PC Specs:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBazzite
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAMD Ryzen 7 5700X 8-Core Processor - RAM: 31 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNVIDIA Corporation NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080/PCIe/SSE2 - VRAM: 10 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t28 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
1 person found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t1 person found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"flaggledorf\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/733ff202d8f8fccfeef289c3b0079af75a46c29b.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRecommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t14.2 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(6.4 hrs at review time)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 22\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tLoving the game so far, only complaint is there a puzzle that i was unable to tell the green/white circles aparts cause I'm colorblind and the game doesn't seem to have a colorblind mode. Had to have a friend point out which was green. Highly suggest the developers add in a colorblind mode or tools for color deficiencies.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t9 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"cobaltfist\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/108eba6cc347da67294b0bbeb7686f4abf4d7aff.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tNot Recommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t5.9 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: October 2\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tMid. Decent ish escape room sim.
Rubiks cube puzzle is just dumb, since they don't give you all the necessary controls to solve it the good ole fashioned way, and I'm not googling how to solve a cube using the limited control scheme they give us (This is a huge negative to me, I honestly cant fathom the why behind this design choice). Actually. 0/10 on the cube. No excuse. Bad design.
QR codes in game requiring you to use your actual phone for any reason at all? 0/10. Not doing it.
Outside of that, the puzzles are only slightly worse than your average escape room game.
Story is somewhat decent.
The bugs I ran into early on might be fixed, might not, I'm not replaying this garbage to figure out if they are.
Also Warning to anyone colorblind. There are MANY puzzles in this game that require you to be able to accurately distinguish between similar colors in very bad lighting. And no. There are not accessibility settings.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tRubiks cube puzzle is just dumb, since they don't give you all the necessary controls to solve it the good ole fashioned way, and I'm not googling how to solve a cube using the limited control scheme they give us (This is a huge negative to me, I honestly cant fathom the why behind this design choice). Actually. 0/10 on the cube. No excuse. Bad design.
QR codes in game requiring you to use your actual phone for any reason at all? 0/10. Not doing it.
Outside of that, the puzzles are only slightly worse than your average escape room game.
Story is somewhat decent.
The bugs I ran into early on might be fixed, might not, I'm not replaying this garbage to figure out if they are.
Also Warning to anyone colorblind. There are MANY puzzles in this game that require you to be able to accurately distinguish between similar colors in very bad lighting. And no. There are not accessibility settings.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t12 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Glossi\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/2fe3654abe4b1c50b9695d92b9ea1fe06a7d8b83.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRecommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t6.5 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 26\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tThis is one of those games where if Steam had something inbetween Yes and No I'd click that. I enjoyed the storytelling, environments, and *some* of the puzzles, but many of the puzzles felt like they were overly difficult compared to the difficulty of everything around them, which sometimes caused me to overthink the puzzles that were more reasonably designed. Those poorly-designed puzzles weren't enough to make me dislike my time with the game, but it did make me content with me getting the bad ending and just looking up the good ending and how to get it.
If you're someone with a notable amount of patience as a gamer and a higher frustration threshold than me this is likely a good game to play. If you're someone who has less patience than I do, you're more likely to ragequit than see the game through to the end.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tIf you're someone with a notable amount of patience as a gamer and a higher frustration threshold than me this is likely a good game to play. If you're someone who has less patience than I do, you're more likely to ragequit than see the game through to the end.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t7 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Eris](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/ca5e1e9c3e55ec185a5ec6ebf95635888e6e599e.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tNot Recommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t11.1 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 24\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tIt was okay, while extremely pretty it was extremely linear in a way that it doesn't really present itself as, and some of the puzzles were extremely annoying rather than engaging, and while I can forgive the quality of the voice acting (Amaan was cool though) the overall story lost a lot of focus near the end, leaving me with a feeling of "are you going to expand on that at all?" rather than "wow that was intriguing, lets think through the possible meaning and ramifications of that", especially when the AI only starts speaking to you three quarters of the way through????\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t9 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Firask\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/a296802d57a0db2648dcdfeee336380fc3d84c95.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRecommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t11.4 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 27\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tFun experience, great artstyle, good puzzles, the narrative was interesting though I think it got more confusing as I neared the end of the game and I was left puzzled over both conclusions as neither really feels like a payoff to anything you uncover throughout the game, kind of the opposite infact.
That being said, I do have one major problem:
It's a cardinal sin to me if you have puzzles that take you out of the game for any reason. The normal playthrough was safe from this (I'm assuming all password symbol combos are present in the already decoded hex -> ascii part). but the 'good ending' requires you to scan QR codes with your phone and solve a rubics cube. also the morse code part basically required you to take notes on the side as the sequence is too long and there is no ingame assist on the waveform like with the other sound puzzle. this kind of stuff should be reserved for easter eggs only\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tThat being said, I do have one major problem:
It's a cardinal sin to me if you have puzzles that take you out of the game for any reason. The normal playthrough was safe from this (I'm assuming all password symbol combos are present in the already decoded hex -> ascii part). but the 'good ending' requires you to scan QR codes with your phone and solve a rubics cube. also the morse code part basically required you to take notes on the side as the sequence is too long and there is no ingame assist on the waveform like with the other sound puzzle. this kind of stuff should be reserved for easter eggs only\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tReviewer's PC Specs:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWindows 11
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-Core Processor - RAM: 62 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti - VRAM: 16 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t9 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"the](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/296152a91dfc394db33d5a6be1d4e6645eca72d5.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tNot Recommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t7.4 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 25\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tIf you played the demo and liked it then quit while you're ahead. The first two hours of this game are as good as it gets. Puzzles vary wildly in difficulty from absolutely trivial to ones that are so difficult they make you feel like you missed a clue. Top that off with the looping and power requirements adding absolutely nothing to the gameplay past the first 10 loops or so.
The voice acting and writing feels like a student project, and you need a NASA supercomputer to get reasonable FPS - all while being stuck with horrendous artifacting that you have no setting to get around.
SPOILERS AHEAD
That's really the ending??? Absolute insult to injury.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tThe voice acting and writing feels like a student project, and you need a NASA supercomputer to get reasonable FPS - all while being stuck with horrendous artifacting that you have no setting to get around.
SPOILERS AHEAD
That's really the ending??? Absolute insult to injury.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t9 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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