

Payload
Black Banshee Studios · November 5, 2021 · Puzzle, Logic, Cyberpunk, Story Rich, Lore-Rich
Payload is free to play — no purchase needed. We track it so you know if that ever changes.
Screenshots
Payload price
Payload is free to play — there is no purchase price, on Steam or anywhere else we track. We keep watching it, so if it ever stops being free the price history on this page will show when that happened and what it changed to.
About Payload
Payload is a cyberpunk puzzle game where you navigate grid-based levels on rotating cube faces to infiltrate the all-powerful Bullfrog corporation's systems alongside your AI partner F0-N1A5. With over 30 escalating levels packed with strategic obstacles and a mysterious 1980s dystopian story, you'll need to master spatial reasoning and careful planning to expose the truth and topple authoritarian rule.
After splitting from a small resistance group, you set out on your own. Your goal is to overthrow the mega-corporation by hacking into their systems. With only a computer and AI software named F0-N1A5, you begin your mission.
Become familiar with each level layout to traverse individual tiles on a cube face. Avoid all potential setbacks by creating strategic paths.
Solve over 30 intricate levels with increasing difficulties and obstacles. Watch the story unfold as you reach the end to discover the truth behind the madness.
Key Features:
Visual appealing retro aesthetics and graphics.
Rich audio content and ambient sounds.
Minimalistic interface and graphic design.
Intriguing characters and mysterious storyline.
Mini-Map for level overview.
Dynamic obstacles and environment.
Polished control scheme and movement.
Payload — game info
- Platforms
- Windows
- Steam Deck
- Playable
- Player modes
- Single-player
- PC Game Pass
- Not included
What Steam players say
Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.
Payload is a minimalist cube-based puzzle game where players navigate tile-based surfaces while following an AI's guidance, with a dystopian corporate story connecting the levels. Players appreciate the solid core puzzle concept, pleasant music, and genuine difficulty that provides satisfying mental engagement, though they note the mobile app-like presentation feels underwhelming on PC, the minimalist aesthetic is inconsistently executed across different views, and the limited soundtrack becomes repetitive.
⠀7 found this helpful
"Payload" a minimalist low poly/wireframe pathing puzzle game where you move around the faces of a cube, following hints from an "AI" that pushes the clues at you. While I couldn't find this on the mobile app stores, everything about it looks and feels like it's a mobile app designed for mobile phones... for PC gaming enthusiasts, it's not going to give you a cutting edge PC gaming experience. That alone is enough to disqualify this from any recommendation. We don't spend thousands building gaming rigs so that we can pretend they're iPhones and play iPhone games and mobile apps. The graphics aren't great, described accurately by the developer as "striking". I found it striking anyone could be so lazy about doing the graphics for their game but still think it was remotely okay to publish it anyway. The bad graphics are understandably a turn off for a lot of gamers, and it's a big contributor to the failure of the game to attract gamers despite having no up-front cost. Gaming is a primarily visual medium, and if developers want to succeed, they must understand that it's not an area for compromise. You deserve better than compromises. On the matter of pricing and value for g…3 found this helpful
[h1]Before I played Payload, I had a small pp, no friends, no gf, depression, and no life. These things havent changed, but the game is pretty good[/h1]1 found this helpful
Enjoyable, difficult, and scratches that "I want a timekiller but not just an [i]empty[/i] timekiller, yknow?" itch
6/10 A puzzle where you move on the cube's surface, with a dystopian story connecting the levels. Good: - the core concept of the puzzle is good. Each side of the cube is tiled 2x2, some tiles are impassable, you need to move through all the black tiles switching them to while, and you can jump over 1 tile to the other side - music is very pleasant, though there are too few tracks and it does get repetitive after a while So-so: - the minimalistic design is a mixed bag. E.g. the 3D "Matrix" view, the "glitch" effects, and the post-victory animation are stylish but the 2D "Map" view looks too primitive - white text on black bg is a bit straining for the eyes. They should used shades of gray at least - the story starts strong and will resonate with adults who have worked for corporations. However, it keeps mulling over the same topics over and over and starts getting boring by level 8-9. It's just the main character ("Operator") and its AI program talking. The protagonist is constantly in bad mood. It doesn't even feel realistic. By mid-game you don't really like the protagonist and don't care about him. I mean, they wanted to keep it all in-character and did an above average job. B…
Really Good puzzle game that actually is kind of hard.
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