Arruyo

About

Arruyo is a single player casual puzzle game with a horror theme. It was developed by DigiPen Europe-Bilbao and was released on June 11, 2022. It received neutral reviews from players.

Arruyo is a 3D first person terror game, where the player is inside a farmhouse with different monsters that will try to kill him/her. To survive and discover the mystery of that place, the player will have to hide from these monsters while investigating the farmhouse.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

52%

Audience ScoreBased on 73 reviews

graphics6 positive mentions

stability8 negative mentions

The game has a unique and interesting concept, drawing inspiration from the Spanish Civil War and the works of Francisco Goya.
The atmosphere, graphics, and sound design are praised for creating a creepy and immersive experience.
It's a free game, which allows players to experience its artistic elements without any financial commitment.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs, including soft locks and issues with the core mechanics, making it frustrating to play.
Puzzles are considered too easy and lack challenge, leading to a sense of boredom rather than tension.
There is no save system, forcing players to restart from the beginning after encountering bugs or dying, which detracts from the overall experience.

gameplay
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
64%
18%
The gameplay of the game is marred by significant issues, including frequent softlocks and a lack of save points, forcing players to restart from the beginning. While the core mechanic involving light is intended to enhance the horror experience, it is often broken and fails to deliver, leading to a repetitive and uninspired gameplay experience with limited variety and interactivity. Despite some narrative strengths and visually appealing design, the overall execution leaves much to be desired.
- “Like many horror games, Arruyo focuses on light as its mechanic to stave off horror.”
- “The core mechanic of Arruyo is its lamp.”
- “Each enemy has its own unique mechanic, which the player will have to learn how to deal with.”
- “The game randomly softlocks itself during normal gameplay, and the absence of saves means the player is forced to restart from the beginning.”
- “I spent more time trying to cope with the bugs than actual gameplay.”
- “I like the story, and the visuals are fairly pretty with well-designed levels, but between the lack of gameplay variety and low performance in later stages, it was an overall boring and poorly executed experience.”
graphics
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
18%
27%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the beautiful visuals, well-designed levels, and atmospheric environments, while others note issues with performance and texture quality, particularly on higher settings. Overall, the aesthetics are highlighted as a strong point, contributing to the game's unique appeal, despite some technical shortcomings.
- “Beautiful graphics though, and an interesting story.”
- “+the graphics, models, lighting, effects and paintings look great.”
- “The graphics are amazing and it runs great on my laptop.”
- “Mediocre graphics.”
- “The lighting and textures in some parts weren't the best and this would even happen on some of the higher graphic settings. This is really not a problem for me but might be for others.”
- “The graphics were pretty passable.”
stability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
80%
The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous reports of bugs causing crashes, freezes, and unresponsive functions, particularly after cinematics or when interacting with certain elements. While some players found the game enjoyable despite these issues, the overall consensus indicates that the bugs significantly detract from the experience, leaving it feeling incomplete and frustrating.
- “100% bug-free product.”
- “The graphics are amazing, and it runs great on my laptop.”
- “This one is a buggy and incomplete feeling mess that's a little unpleasant to play, and I feel a bit bad for the students.”
- “Horrible game-breaking bugs (e.g., game freezes, hangs, functions not responding).”
- “Game is buggy; when I get too close to the demons, my game crashes and throws errors.”
atmosphere
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
70%
10%
20%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its beauty and immersive sound design, effectively conveying feelings of betrayal and haunting past decisions. While not overly scary, it creates a creepy and engaging environment, enhanced by impressive art and music styles. Overall, players appreciate the atmospheric settings, even if some found the puzzles too easy.
- “The game is honestly very beautiful, has a very good atmosphere and sound design.”
- “While I was not really scared, I did find the game creepy and with a great atmosphere.”
- “Though I clearly don’t have personal experience with the Spanish Civil War, that sense of betrayal and being haunted by past decisions comes through in spades, and creates an atmosphere I can understand, even if the specific context is alien.”
- “The atmosphere was spooky.”
story
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
38%
The story of Arruyo centers on Francisco, a painter in the Basque Country post-Spanish Civil War, and is praised for its artistic and imaginative narrative. While many players appreciate the intriguing premise and beautiful visuals, some feel that the overall execution is hindered by a lack of gameplay variety and performance issues, leading to a mixed reception. Overall, the story is considered a strong point, especially for a free game.
- “The focus is on trying to tell the story which was artistic and imaginative.”
- “In my opinion, the game had a good story to it overall; it wasn't that bad, especially since it's a free game.”
- “Arruyo is a horror game telling the story of Francisco, a painter living in the Basque Country in the wake of the Spanish Civil War.”
- “The focus is on trying to tell the story, which was artistic and imaginative.”
- “There's only a bit of story to it.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The music in the game is generally praised for its quality and ability to enhance the atmosphere, contributing to a scary experience. Users appreciate the excellent art and music style, although some feel the graphics could be improved. Overall, the sound design is considered a strong point of the game.
- “Excellent art, music, and writing.”
- “The art and music style is awesome, which does create a scary atmosphere.”
- “The music was well done; graphics were pretty passable.”
- “The music was well done, but the graphics were pretty passable.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's optimization has been criticized for causing performance issues, particularly in later stages, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences such as freezing when attempting to refill items. While the visuals and level design are appreciated, the lack of gameplay variety combined with these technical problems detracts from the overall enjoyment.
- “I like the story, and the visuals are fairly pretty with well-designed levels, but between the lack of gameplay variety and low performance in later stages, it was an overall boring and poorly executed experience.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find humor in unexpected glitches, such as clipping through walls, which, while not game-breaking, add a lighthearted and amusing element to the gameplay experience.
- “There was one part where I was able to clip through the wall and see the other side; it wasn't game-breaking, but it was kind of funny to come across.”