Fractured Horizon

Very Fun. Intuitive. Challenging.

it's a 6 minute game.

A very clever mechanic and fun gameplay. Extremely short but this is great concept for the kids who created it and they might do well to turn it into a full game. That they made it in a single semester is all the more impressive. Well done.

"Fractured Horizon" is one of literally thousands of student projects infesting Steam. It's from Hogeschool West-Vlaanderen. While student projects tend to be better quality than most "amateur" made games, we must still question what value such projects have for gamers. As with all student projects, this isn't really a fully fleshed out game, it's just the result of an academic exercise, and as such it has much more limited value as a game than a professionally developed game would have. Educational institutions should not be using Steam as a dumping ground for homework assignments (especially if the students didn't even pass the course). Sure, it helps their marketing and helps the students feel good about themselves, but this is another case of a business putting themselves before the needs of gamers. This isn't the worst student project I've seen by a long shot... it's a serviceable and working first person 3D platformer with parkour/grappling elements... think of this as a very weak Mirror's Edge. Only, of course, because this is a student project, it lacks polish, has bugs that will never be fixed, and is an incomplete, short tech demo that teases what might have been a game but never will be. I see that as a problem... we're not here for free samples at Costco, we came here for a meal. The game is quite short, with very little content or longevity. The lack of content here makes it hard to suggest it's worth spending the time to add to your library and download. The graphics in this game are really quite good, which at least makes the game look more appealing. And while it's vital for any game to have impressive visuals (gaming is a visual medium, after all), there's more to a game than just the graphics. To be worth a gamers time, the game must match top tier visuals with top tier gameplay, and that's not happening here. Now on to pricing and value for gamers. It would be unethical for students to try charge money for their homework assignments, so you don't have to pay any money for this. But you'd still have to spend your time downloading this, and "time is money", as they say. There's the other problem, too... as a student project, this wasn't made for gamers. There's no requirement for them to polish and balance the game properly, all they need is something to show the faculty so they can get their grade and move on. Let's once more ask... why is that good for gamers? It's obviously not delivering a solid product. Yet here it is, on the store page, and here you are, reading my review for a student demo that's going to waste your time. While genuine amateur developers who made real products get ignored because they have to compete with this stuff. In some ways, this deluge of student projects on Steam is harmful to everyone. In terms of public reception, this failed to appeal to the 130 million+ gamers on Steam. SteamDB showed the game peaked at just a dozen or so concurrent players, and now there's basically nobody playing it. Even though it's free. This is a dismal public reception, but it's easy to see why gamers rejected it. Given that this free student project won't count toward your game collection or add any achievements, and because it's not really a full game and more of a homework assignment, it's not a worthwhile download.

☀️

Very short and free, but cool 3D platformer. Would love to see a full game or at least more levels, the foundation is there. Was a bachelor project. More short reviews for hidden gems at my curator page: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44819215-Lesser-Known-Hidden-Gems/

I love this game! Fractured Horizon is one of those under-the-radar gems that gets you hooked right away and doesn't stay for too long. It's a short, snappy thing—about 20 minutes or so—but every second of it is packed with energy, imagination, and pure platforming joy. The true standout here is gravity manipulation. Utilizing Gravity Fields to warp your orientation and bound across broken platforms feels seamless and rewarding. There's a flow to it—like deciphering a kinetic puzzle while dashing at full speed through a sci-fi dreamscape. Mounting walls, ceilings, or whatever is considered "down" in this broken world never gets tiresome. What really surprised me was how replayable it is. I jumped back in with modifiers for the fun of it, and it completely altered the mood. Whether you're looking for speedrun perfection or just chillin' with the movement, the game will speed or slow to your speed. It's that "one more run" type of thing that's lustily addictive. And let's not forget—that was accomplished by a team of students in just 11 weeks. That's nuts. The polish, the atmosphere, the sound mechanics it all comes together in a way that seems so much more advanced than you'd expect from a student project. If you are a fan of action-filled parkour, clever physics, or just looking for an adrenaline rush, Fractured Horizon is certainly worth the experience. It's free, it's fun, and will leave you wondering where else there are fractured worlds to explore. Color me impressed and I will be coming back in the near future!