3rd eye

About

3rd eye is a single player puzzle game with horror and fantasy themes. It was developed by 3rd eye project and was released on September 30, 2019. It received positive reviews from players.

"3rd Eye" is a story-driven, atmospheric horror adventure game. You play as a paranormal investigator, equipped with a special camera that can detect supernatural entities. The game is set in a mysterious and creepy mansion, where you must uncover the dark secrets of its past while avoiding terrifying creatures.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

85%

Audience ScoreBased on 73 reviews

story10 positive mentions

stability3 negative mentions

The game features stunning art and a unique atmosphere that effectively creates a creepy yet engaging experience.
The story, while sometimes confusing, offers intriguing themes related to child psychology and the character of Koishi, making it enjoyable for fans of the Touhou series.
Despite its flaws, the game has a lot of heart and effort put into it, making it a worthwhile experience for those who appreciate indie horror games.

The English translation is poorly executed, leading to confusion and making it difficult to follow the plot, with some dialogue even being untranslated.
The gameplay can feel repetitive and lacks clear direction, often requiring players to interact with everything to progress, which can be frustrating.
Performance issues, such as frame drops and glitches, detract from the overall experience, making it feel less polished than it could be.

story
41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
69%
7%
The game's story is a mixed bag, with many players finding it either incoherent or enjoyable, often depending on their familiarity with the Touhou universe. While some appreciate the atmospheric elements and the exploration of themes like psychological horror, the poor English translation significantly hampers comprehension and engagement. Overall, the narrative is seen as intriguing yet fragmented, leaving players divided on its effectiveness and depth.
- “I also love the story of Koishi, a prequel to the canon lore. I highly recommend this for some fan lore materials, but be aware that the translations are kind of whack; it's not that bad and it is still enjoyable.”
- “The story they created really ties up to a character like Koishi, and I love how they implement the '3rd eye' idea into not just the story and gameplay, but also into the little pages you find around, giving some interesting commentary to think about for a while.”
- “I'm happy that this game decided to portray its story through narrative and visual cues instead of jumpscares, as I was expecting.”
- “Much of this game would also be incomprehensible to a person unfamiliar with the existing Touhou story and cast from the mainline games.”
- “The story and events are incoherent and never explained.”
- “The story tackles serious subject matter, but the translation makes it difficult to really get involved with what was going on.”
graphics
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
32%
9%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique and beautiful art style, which creates a captivating and eerie atmosphere that enhances the overall experience. Many reviewers highlight the impressive visuals and atmospheric music, although some note that technical issues can affect performance. While the aesthetics are celebrated, there are mixed feelings about the coherence of the story, with some players feeling that the visuals overshadow the narrative quality.
- “This game has amazing atmosphere, climatic soundtrack, and unique and cool art style.”
- “The artwork is wonderful, music is top-notch, and the general atmosphere it sets does well too.”
- “The visuals and music of this game are fantastic.”
- “The game has some moments that kill my FPS and freeze my PC.”
- “A game cannot survive on aesthetics alone.”
- “Regardless of the game's issues, it's only worth recommending to dedicated fans or those who particularly like the game's creepy, cutesy aesthetic.”
music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
83%
17%
The music in the game is widely praised for its atmospheric quality and ability to enhance the overall experience, with many reviewers highlighting its impressive arrangements and mood-setting capabilities. While the soundtrack is generally well-received, some players noted issues with overlapping tracks in certain areas and suggested improvements for smoother transitions. Overall, the combination of unique art style and evocative music contributes significantly to the game's appeal, making it a standout feature despite some minor critiques.
- “This game has amazing atmosphere, climatic soundtrack, and unique and cool art style.”
- “The artwork is wonderful, music is top-notch, and the general atmosphere it sets does well too.”
- “The visuals and music of this game are fantastic.”
- “Music is smooth until chapter 3; I wish there was a crossfade when opening the third eye and changing the background music.”
- “And add some bridges to link two songs with different keys or tempos.”
- “The art and music are great, but the setting of the game's story is a bit off.”
gameplay
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
60%
20%
The gameplay is characterized by its simplicity, primarily involving walking, talking to characters, and solving straightforward puzzles, which some players found lacking in depth. The "3rd eye" mechanic adds an interesting layer to the experience, allowing players to explore an alternate reality, though it may feel somewhat tacked-on and detracts from immersion for some. Overall, while the atmosphere and story are engaging, the gameplay itself is streamlined and may not satisfy those seeking more complex challenges.
- “On a serious note, this game has very simple puzzles and gameplay but has a lot of good atmosphere, and the story was actually pretty fun to decipher.”
- “The story they created really ties up to a character like Koishi, and I love how they implement the '3rd eye' idea into not just the story and gameplay but also into the little pages you find around, giving some interesting commentary to think about for a while.”
- “The gameplay was rather simple, a lot more streamlined than your usual adventure game.”
- “The progression is made by solving 'puzzles', which consist of you walking back and forth the screens talking to characters with or without the eye mechanic active, hoping that one of them says something new, or gives you a random item.”
- “It's only 3 hours long (can be even shorter because you can choose to skip parts of a level) and gameplay is essentially walking around, talking, and picking up items.”
- “As other people have pointed out, the 'third eye' mechanic felt tacked-on.”
atmosphere
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
69%
23%
8%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its unique art style, haunting soundtrack, and immersive storytelling, creating a captivating experience that enhances the gameplay. Reviewers highlight the blend of eerie and whimsical elements, making it particularly appealing for fans of atmospheric psychological horror. Overall, the combination of visuals, music, and thematic depth contributes to a memorable and engaging atmosphere.
- “This game has amazing atmosphere, climatic soundtrack and unique and cool art-style.”
- “The artwork is wonderful, music is topnotch, and the general atmosphere it sets does well too.”
- “Great art and atmosphere creates a creepy yet cute point and click adventure exploring Koishi's experiences in Gensokyo.”
- “Gotta love their good work on the eerie settings, as well as the creepy atmosphere.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game exhibits some stability issues, including minor bugs, glitches, and translation flaws, such as text cut-offs and audio overlaps. However, these problems are generally not detrimental to the overall experience, indicating that the developers have put significant effort into the game's heart and design.
- “The game has a lot of heart and effort put into it, but there are some glitches that detract from the experience.”
- “There were a couple of minor bugs and glitches, such as text being cut off and random stutters, which affected the overall stability.”
- “Multiple sound clips playing over each other created a chaotic audio experience, highlighting the game's stability issues.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its macabre and dark elements, drawing comparisons to "Fran Bow" for its similar tone. While some players found the humor effective, others felt confused by the delivery, suggesting a mixed reception overall. The game's art and music were noted as strong points that complement its comedic style.
- “I think it's fair to compare the game to Fran Bow, and having now played both, I think Fran Bow had stronger puzzle elements, though 3rd Eye makes up for it with macabre humor and excellent art and music.”
- “Reminds me of Fran Bow for its black humor and playability.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, including performance problems and potential memory leaks, which can cause it to hang the desktop. Additionally, the lack of an options menu further complicates the ability to adjust settings for better performance.
- “The game has some performance issues that could be improved with better optimization.”
- “I think it really makes a good game, but it suffers from poor optimization, causing it to hang the desktop.”
- “I think it really makes a good game, it's just poorly optimized; it hangs the desktop (probably a memory leak, I don't know).”
- “The game has some performance issues and doesn't have an options menu at all.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
While the game touches on various emotional subjects, reviewers note that it fails to deeply explore any of them, resulting in a lack of emotional depth.