A Tale of Paper

About

A Tale of Paper is a single player puzzle game with fantasy and mystery themes. It was developed by Open House Games and was released on August 19, 2022. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

You play as Paperboy, an origami figure that mysteriously comes to life and now it must embark a journey to fulfill the dream of your creator. Face the dangers that surround you in this world that is completely unknown to you. You will find iconic enemies like roombas and or a giant spider. The environment will also be a part in this dangerous world with such things as water creating interesting…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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73%

Audience ScoreBased on 94 reviews

story7 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

Unique origami-based transformations and mechanics that create fun and inventive puzzles.
Beautiful and atmospheric visual design combined with a captivating, soft melancholy soundtrack.
Short and accessible gameplay experience with easy-to-learn platforming, suitable for fans of puzzle-platformers and games like Little Nightmares.

Frustrating final boss with high difficulty spike and cramped space, causing repetitive deaths and breaking the overall tone of the game.
Save system and checkpoints are poorly implemented, often forcing players to restart large sections, leading to loss of progress and frustration.
Control and camera issues, including janky platforming mechanics, lack of camera control in 3D spaces, and poor keyboard support, detracting from overall gameplay smoothness.

story
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
60%
12%
The story is subtly told through atmospheric visuals, origami mechanics, and a melancholic ambiance, creating an emotional and unique narrative without dialogue. While some players found the plot vague or minimal, others appreciated the touching, mysterious tale experienced through gameplay and environment. Overall, the story complements the puzzle-platformer well, though its brevity and indirect delivery may not satisfy everyone.
- “A beautiful and melancholic puzzle-platformer that tells a heartfelt story without a single word.”
- “The puzzles are inventive, the atmosphere is thick, and the story is surprisingly emotional.”
- “Still, it's an enjoyable little puzzle-platformer as advertised with a bit of a sad but touching story you piece together as you go.”
- “I don't think there is a story, or if there is it isn't very clearly stated. I'm about an hour and a little in and there has been no story described aside from what you can piece together from your character.”
- “There is supposedly some kind of story but I couldn't discern it.”
- “Story is dull and boring.”
graphics
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
26%
16%
The game's graphics are generally described as beautiful and charming, with a well-crafted art style that creates a strong atmosphere, though some find them standard or mediocre compared to standout titles. The visuals effectively complement the music and overall mood, contributing to an engaging experience despite being relatively short and not exceptionally unique in design.
- “The graphics and animations are very nice and create a great atmosphere, which sometimes even seems threatening.”
- “The artwork is beautiful, soundtrack is nice, and the gameplay is fun.”
- “Beautiful atmosphere, good music, and graphic design.”
- “Graphics: mediocre.”
- “A Tale of Paper: Refolded is a one-hour game with mediocre graphics, mediocre gameplay, and a little bit of story.”
- “The graphics quality and game resolution settings didn't seem to have any notable effect.”
gameplay
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
52%
16%
The gameplay is generally praised for its unique origami transformation mechanic, varied ability switching, and engaging 2.5D platforming and puzzles, creating a fun and atmospheric experience. However, some find the mechanics janky and criticize the short length and certain frustrating segments like the boss fight. While enjoyable and visually appealing, the gameplay may feel too brief and uneven for those seeking a longer or more polished experience.
- “Without a doubt, the origami transformation is the best mechanic so far.”
- “The game mechanics of switching between abilities is varied and fun.”
- “Overall the gameplay was fun and engaging, the puzzles weren't too hard, the curiosity to make you want to keep playing is there, and the atmosphere is definitely there as well.”
- “Janky mechanics significantly detract from the gameplay experience.”
- “I don't mind the short length of this game, but the janky gameplay mechanics and that horrible boss fight at the end force me to not recommend this game to anyone, unless they truly know what they're getting into.”
- “A Tale of Paper: Refolded is a one-hour game with mediocre graphics, mediocre gameplay, and a little bit of story.”
music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
16%
17%
The game's music is widely praised for its delightful, atmospheric, and inspired soundtrack that complements the visuals and enhances the overall experience. While the sound design and score are consistently described as beautiful and pleasant, some users note limited audio settings and occasional frustrations with gameplay elements involving music puzzles. Overall, the soundtrack significantly contributes to the game's charming and immersive indie ambiance.
- “The music and sound design are fantastic!”
- “To dazzle your ears, great songs captivate anyone and match the variety of areas of the map.”
- “I can sympathize with the theme of this game, and the art style and music are beautiful.”
- “Three of my hours played were in that one room, just switching music notes in every single possible order, one by one, till I got it right.”
- “You also can't rebind the control layout, and you can only change the master sound settings from the main menu - music and sounds aren't separate, and nothing can be changed while in-game.”
- “I can't do music.”
atmosphere
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
20%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its eerie yet charming world design, complemented by a soft, melancholy soundtrack that enhances its emotional storytelling. Visuals and animations effectively create a thick, sometimes threatening ambiance, contributing to an engaging and immersive experience. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a strong point, adding mystery and depth to the gameplay and puzzles.
- “Eerie, cute world design, soft melancholy soundtrack, and really fun puzzles with unique origami transformations all combine in one atmospheric platformer that tells a story without saying a word.”
- “The puzzles are inventive, the atmosphere is thick, and the story is surprisingly emotional.”
- “The graphics and animations are very nice and create a great atmosphere, which sometimes even seems threatening.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
Players find the grinding aspect tedious and challenging, often requiring multiple attempts or extra lives. Precise controls add to the frustration, making the experience less enjoyable over time.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “If it was more your thing, definitely think you would enjoy, I started off enjoying then it slowly became tedious.”
- “I personally do not enjoy trying to make very precise movements on a gaming controller, so that felt rather tedious to me.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game delivers a beautifully melancholic and heartfelt emotional experience through its inventive puzzles and rich atmosphere, telling a touching story without words. Players appreciate the subtle, sad narrative that unfolds gradually, enhancing the overall emotional impact.
- “A beautiful and melancholic puzzle-platformer that tells a heartfelt story without a single word.”
- “The puzzles are inventive, the atmosphere is thick, and the story is surprisingly emotional.”
- “Still, it's an enjoyable little puzzle-platformer as advertised with a bit of a sad but touching story you piece together as you go.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game performs well overall, running flawlessly on the Steam Deck OLED, though some occasional stuttering occurs. However, optimization for ultra-wide screens is lacking.
- “As for performance: flawless on the Steam Deck OLED.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users criticize the monetization for excessive and unskippable ads disrupting gameplay, with multiple ads appearing in quick succession before content is shown. Additionally, some feel the developers should verify their own updates before promoting them.
- “Just a video with unskippable ads every two seconds.”
- “Saw five ads before they even started showing the answer.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability has been an ongoing issue, with frequent bugs and broken achievements noted by players. Although developers acknowledged these problems and promised fixes, some bugs persisted for a long time before partial improvements were made in mid-2024.
- “It was difficult and buggy, and just wasn't fun.”
- “Old review from now on, buggy achievements got removed as of July 11, 2024.”
- “However, the game is buggy and there are broken achievements which the developers acknowledged on the discussion boards and promised a fix back in September 2022.”