Panoptia

I have been following the developer and this game for two years. Hearing and watching it come together has been one of the most inspirational experiences I've been lucky enough to be a part of. I've played through the demo and was fortunate enough to make it to the game's beta release. The developer was incredibly welcoming and was open to hearing any feedback he could get. Panoptia is the truest form of an independent passion project, and the game itself is filled with small details and incredible visual pieces that can leave a player either completely enamored at a scene or horrified upon questioning it. During the beta I reached one of the endings in about seven hours and it left a lot for me to think about in terms of my playthrough and what I saw. There is more to explore in the game then I had time to look around however, so I expect some more pieces for people to discover as they roam through each area tucked deeply away. The game sells you on a experience filled with twisted and beautiful imagery, somber and exciting music, and several charming characters that were wonderfully memorable. To take it one step further, this game invites you to what can only be described as …

Panoptia has a lot going for it. Right from the get go, you’ll notice the unique art style, awesome sound track, specific attention to detail in the world, and interesting story development. If that isn’t what you are looking for, Panoptia is likely not for you. This game is NOT some strategic puzzle to optimize nor a game of technical mechanics. Rather, Panoptia puts all of its assets in developing a believable and interesting world that the player can explore and interact with in a meaningful way. It draws clear inspiration from some older games, while at the same giving it a fresh modern spin. If you are looking for a game that has a very unique aesthetic and portrays an extremely memorable world while at the same time displaying some clear symbolism and implicit commentary along the way, you will really enjoy this ! What’s great is there is a demo, so if you are on the fence, try that first!

Only a couple of hours in but so far this is a great game for anyone who likes psychological horror and exploration. The characters are well-animated and expressive, the music is pretty good and the story is, likewise, pretty awesome. I very much recommend this game to fans of Yume Nikki and Omori, specifically.

Why are you reading the reviews? Just buy this game if your interested.

i refunded. the game didn't grasp my attention after playing around an hour, walking simulator doesn't bother me at all. With the few reviews that was saying the game is super good, i was really disapointed. But, the first real area is a maze in the dark ? Yeah.. no. For me to want to explore this, i want to be intrigued by the story, i want a reason to actually explore a dark area where i can't see 2 metter ahead, and the game didn't give me a reason to do it. If you want for the player to explore a very tedious area, give the player a reason to do it. Look outside give a reason to explore the horrible maze appartement, here it's RIGHT at the begining, and no actual reason to explore it.