Underponder

By design, one of the most cryptic games I ever played, but it does have a compelling psychological narrative if you are willing to overcome the moon logic. In the defense of the game, there are many creative and well-designed puzzles, but sometimes you are stuck for 2 hours, doing some excessive backtracking with limited visibility (assuming you can see at all). There is a section where I walked for like 20 minutes in complete darkness which should give you an idea of what kind of game it is. I completed the 'normal' difficulty around 15 hours (with no hints), and as far as I can tell the madness difficulty adds some new content. I was very close to rage quitting the game many times, but the curiosity got the better of me. It has a lot to offer in terms of psychological mechanics and how you interact with the puzzles, arguably more complex and thought-provoking than many games in the genre. Don't expect puzzle logic, the hints will guide you maybe 25% of the time, there are many 'leap of faith' moments where you find things by accident. You will be very disoriented in almost every location (I even got a headache a few times), but the first area essentially works like a stage select, just not in a conventional way. The game alternates between walking-simulator gameplay and difficult platforming, and as you complete the stages, more levels will be available. Also, it has a unique mechanic where you can interact with the world by closing your eyes which could have all kinds of unexpected effects. Additionally, you can make yourself smaller in order to squeeze into tiny places. Not sure what game I can compare it to, it's not exactly like the LSD: Dream Emulator, but it falls into that category of exploring the faq out of your surroundings. To say that this game is very atmospheric would be an understatement, it's a complete mind ****** experience that genuinely made me delirious. Some of the puzzles rely on sound, although I find that I can't use it properly, not sure if I misunderstood the mechanics or if the sound levels are not balanced. [i] Props to the developer for actually coming up with some unique ideas and not just recycling what has been done in the past, I don't know how many people will appreciate that cerebral aspect of the game though. I play a lot of games in this genre that do something similar but not as good. Not sure how to describe it properly, but it feels like the game explores anxiety on a much deeper level. [/i]. [h1] Pros: [/h1] + pretty lengthy game (could take over 10 hours with no hints) + second difficulty adds new content + lots of creative puzzles that incorporate a unique mechanic + very atmospheric, occasionally funny, interesting narrative + achievements & secret areas [h1] Feedback: [/h1] [u] Exploration/Backtracking/Hints [/u] - I would put some particle effects around the items that you can interact with, most of them look like a prop unless you are looking directly over it. I know there are checkpoints, but if you leave the stages you have to backtrack all the way, I wish you could use checkpoints if they were already unlocked. As for the hints, I think you should add more sticky notes, hide them if you have to, some of the puzzles are way too cryptic dude - it feels like looking for a particle of sugar on the beach. I am not sure if the sound puzzles are working correctly, I never noticed any sudden changes in the soundtrack during the eye mechanic, not enough to consider it a clue anyway. [u] Puzzle Design/Stage design [/u] - the puzzle frustration was very sporadic, some of the "easier" stages gave me more trouble than those near the end. For example, the stage with 4 portals was pretty intuitive, you could logically beat it if you were paying attention. Then you play a platforming stage (the one with the bright fog), and you just have to 'leap of faith' in a few spots. The point being is that some stages do a good job at hinting at the solution, where other stages were too random with very useless hints. The one with the blood bath was kinda misleading in my opinion, it gave me a hint toward the last puzzle in the chain, sending me on a ghost chase. I think the game would be more enjoyable if it was a bit more intuitive... Out of the 8 regular stages, I enjoyed maybe 4 of them. The problem is that the first 3 platforming levels were relatively dull when compared to some of the psychological highlights. Now the last platforming stage had a lot going on thematically so it was significantly better, I wish you maintained that level of creativity across the game. [u] Technical Notes [/u] - every 90 minutes or so the game freezes after death, it happened about 5 times. I also had a few Unreal Engine errors upon startup crash but I forgot to copy them. I didn't have any performance issues, but it uses a decent amount of GPU like most UE games (not sure if the optional FPS cap would help). On a side note, is there a technical reason you have to use the mouse scroll to change swimming depth? Should be toward the camera. [b] Overall Thoughts: 7/10 [/b] One of the most creative games I ever played, more of an artwork than a game in a way (feels like self-expression), but it comes at the price of extreme frustration with puzzles that can be hard to digest. Don't get me wrong, I like cryptic exploration games, it was just a bit too much - I was getting headaches because I spend so much time in platforming stages with too much brightness. In the end, I am happy that I finished the game, gives you that - "Thank God this **** is over" feeling, in a good way (oh yeah, and then you unlock madness difficulty, nope). The game is not for everyone, still one of my favorites just because it had so many cool ideas. [code]Review By: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/31294838-Hidden-Gem-Discovery/ [/code]

It is incredibly surreal. The environments are dark and dreamy. The sound effects are part of the puzzles. I want there to be a little more explanation as to the mechanics *in* the game. I spent a long time running around trying to figure out the first puzzle only to find on coming back to the Steam page that I am supposed to close my eyes in game to hear sounds to solve puzzles. Going just by what is in the game, when you close your eyes, you change dream areas. Pick this up if you are into esoteric, obscure, surreal puzzle games like Myst or Riven. https://youtu.be/r64jafAdz7Q

Completed the game on the first difficulty. Next challenge will be the Madness difficulty, gave it a little try already, it lives up to its name. Its frustrating in this day and age when the video games are infuriatingly easy and dumbed down for the masses. Miss the days when video games actually had a bit of challenge? Underponder might just be the ticket for that need. It challenged me to really think "outside of the box" in many of the challenges. Some puzzles challenged me like no other games have in recent years. But after every solved problem the game gave me a great feeling of accomplishment and it was nice to get to go deeper in to the story. So, if you need a challenge, ponder no longer. This is the game for you.

At first I though this is a puzzle game containing many creative or challenging puzzles, but most of the time was spent on things like running and jumping that have nothing to do with puzzles. The most annoying part is the controlling mechanic. You can't change the direction and speed in the air once jump off. This become a nightmare in some levels requiring a lot of repeated, precise jumping.

This game can be sharp as it is smart and soft like a mothers love at the same time in creepy way.

Существуют ценители арт-хаусного кино, а есть ценители психоделических игр. Я всегда с большим интересом относился к необычным проектам, в эпоху, когда все делают шутеры под копирку. И вот я увидел Underponder, мое прохождение и геймплей можете найти здесь: https://youtu.be/scnVvf0TieY Сразу отмечу, что и здесь без копирки не обошлось, спасибо ассетам unreal. Но автор попытался создать необычную игру, не похожую ни на что другое. Начинается все с блуждание по лесу с красными оттенками и ощущением живой съемки, после этого мы переносимся на платформу, где по очереди проходим уровни. Каждый уровень это что-то особенное и вы должны решать головоломки и найти конечную точку,, иногда даже с помощью звука, который здесь объёмный и хороший. В целом интересный проект для всех фанатов психоделики, разве что иногда пейзажи утомляют, и звуки ходьбы.

While I really enjoyed the first few levels, encountering an aggressive enemy face-to-face midway through the game scared the hell out of me (especially since I just had the volume maxed from an audio-related puzzle.) I thought the Steam store's description of "since there are no enemies to bash around" ensured this would be a stress free Myst-like experience for me. Boy was I wrong. Aside from this, the puzzles are fantastic, don't hold your hand, and are definitely got me thinking. I would have recommended this game if it weren't for the description, which unfortunately hooked me under false expectations. Anyone hoping for a peaceful puzzle solving experience, please take this as a warning. Edit: The developer was willing to modify the description based on my review. Considering this review was based on the old description, that leaves only positive points. Modified accordingly.

Underponder is a great puzzle and platformer game, the puzzles can be quite hard at times but when you try all the mechanics this game gives you they are definatly doable, altough it is nothing for the unpatient as you have to try out alot and really need to think outside the box. When finally finishing a level though it is quite rewarding with the sense of accomplishement. The Atmosphere of the game is also amazing, from the sound to graphical choices up to the cutscenes it is a very thought through game and quite the accomplishement for being made by only one developer. Also the control and movement feels very fluent and well made. Overall a very nice game for people who like puzzels and platformers and are not deterred from trying alot of things until something works or even take a step back from the game to come back later and thinking how you didnt thought of that solution earlier. Would definetly recommend

Very challenging and mysterious indie game where nothing is for granted. Not for the clueless gamer! Be ready for multiple retries, pay attention to the details and be rewarded. The sense of being lost in a mystery and the Immersive live-action cinematics bring in mind such old-schoold classics as the original Resident Evil. Aesthetically pleasing with a top-notch eerie soundtrack from a veteran ambient soundscape artist.

This game reminds me of good old days, when game puzzles were tough and no one held your hand, and games were allowed to be a bit crazy or weird. So this game feels so different than many new games which are built to give lazy and unimaginative players an instant satisfaction, or otherwise they start whining and harassing developers. It seems I am not only one who got those Myst vibes, although this very different in many ways. There is similarity in atmosphere, but details are very different. This game is very obscure, sometimes frustrating, and you can clearly see that it was done imagination first, instead of following some business and marketing excel table. Just wandering around and exploring the environment is interesting, like it was in Myst. Game contains puzzles, but there is some jumping, too - so this isn't just walking simulator. Mostly it is dreamlike, bit surreal, but it can turn into a nightmare, and nightmares may contain monsters. Some sections are really, really hard.