EMUUROM

One of the most delicately designed games I've ever seen, in a scale very few match. It's a game that's very hard to describe for others, but in a way that kinda makes it a bit more special for me. Still, for any and all puzzle game lovers, this is such an easy recommendation that I'm sure will blow your mind many dozens of times. It's also made in a really cool, open source engine that treats the game kind of like a retro game, which fits really well with the graphics and OST. Really banging OST by the way, that chiptune goes crazy hard. The only unfortunate blemish is that this game cannot ever be 100% on Steam, as there are two mutually exclusive achievements in the game, and getting one removes the other. Completely baffling choice, but I won't let that lower my enjoyment of the game.

It goes DEEP. Much more than there appears at first...

I unfortunately couldn’t stand the visuals, sounds and controls/feel of this game. Genuinely think it might have made me a little bit physically uncomfortable from the style and what not. I cannot speak for the gameplay experience necessarily because I'm sure there are some great puzzles secrets and depth to this game which is why it breaks my heart writing this because that is what I was really intrigued by and wanted to experience but the “feel” of the game was truthfully unbearable for me. (silly me for not playing the demo tbf)

With an option to teleport to checkpoints, I might like this game. Its so frustrating though.

Good stuff! They fit a lot of game into this game. My main recommendation: if you reach an ending without having figured out "fast travel", just look it up and save yourself a headache. It'll make the biggest difference to how you experience the game. IMO, contrasting this with Void Stranger, Blue Prince, or La Mulana, there's a lot less to get frustrated by (though you may still find yourself going back and forth needlessly on occasion). Controls feel good, navigation is acceptable, very few RNG elements, large number of puzzles (primarily navigation!) densely packed into the map.

Every once in a while a game comes out that’s just an endlessly pool of depth. Emuurom was that for me. It’s obscure, difficult in both platforming and puzzles, and contains layers upon layers to work through. While I didn’t fully solve everything, I spent a lot of high quality time working through its mysteries, and had a really awesome time with it even when I was hitting a brick wall. If you’re a player who wants to fall down a rabbit hole and doesn’t mind being baffled or frustrated (or perhaps loves it), I cannot recommend it enough.