Relicta

I really want to like this. It just feels so unpolished. Half the puzzles seem like they are completed using accidental physics instead of an actual mechanic. The very low achievement take rate for just passing basic milestones tells it all.

I like some of the ideas in how the puzzles are made but I found it frustrating that I solved the puzzle in my head and then the execution kept failing clumsily and I kinda have to blame the physics mechanics. Like you want to bounce a cube off another cube and then stand on a platform to lower a wall and yeet a cube over to attach magnetically - great idea. Issue became that one cube had way more attraction then the other and in 4 attempts of doing virtually the same thing, they landed on the wrong side of the wall. I didn't change what I was doing, the game just worked a bit different between tries and it felt random. 14-20 hours of that? Rather excessive. Rather quit now than spend hours frustrated when the puzzles become longer and maybe time becomes a factor.

10/10 Puzzles & Gameplay - The puzzles are amazing and well built. I really enjoyed solving them, especially the more difficult ones in the Extras tab in game which felt like totally new games (a prequel and sequel) of their own. 7/10 Graphics & Worldbuilding - It has decent enough graphics and felt immersive, but there is quite a lot of copy and paste objects making some places feel exactly the same. 5/10 Story & Plot - Interesting story and concept overall, but it felt disconnected from the puzzles. I felt it was diminished by the unrealistic characters and some plot holes. 0/10 Characters & Dialog - Every character had the exact same personality which sounded like an insufferable narcissist with nearly constant swearing, sarcasm, and degrading language. Maybe some people like this, but its not for me and consequently I never want to replay this game. I still recommend this game primarily to those who love puzzle games and can tolerate the characters I described above. In my opinion the dialog is horrible, but the puzzles are genuinely a great and fun challenge.

A very solid puzzle game combined with a damn good sci-fi story that will keep you on the edge of your seat for how much more you want to know what happens next. There's also a fair number of humorous moments that got me smiling or laughing hard. 20 Dollars for all that is a steal.

Relicta is majorly slept on! I've been playing through both the main story and the 2 excellent free DLCs and I have words to share! The game is a first person physics puzzler in the vein of Portal and Q.U.B.E, but is perhaps most similar to Magrunner: Dark Pulse since one of the main mechanics is magnets and the switching of polarity. Generally this is used to move boxes around with the aid of a 'remove gravity' ability. On top of this there are various barriers, switches, moving platforms and the like. This all makes for a very interesting and satisfying set of puzzles, albeit the main story in particular focuses mostly on systematic problem solving (keeping overview of complex systems) rather than creative problem solving (thinking outside the box), which may or may not be to your preference. I personally found that the two free DLCs - which together takes just as much time as the main story - struck a better balance between the two types of problem solving. My only substantive critique is that the main story becomes a bit obstructive because there is a fair amount of "walking simulator" in the base, which seems to primarily be there to make sure the story gets told. I have see…

Clunky, boring, and badly narrated. I am sure they could have found voice actors with worse acting skills, but it is hard to know where the developer would find them.