Asemblance

About

"Asemblance" is a single-player psychological horror simulation game with a compelling plot and striking visuals. Players find themselves trapped in a machine that simulates memories, with an AI voice as their only guide. As they try to escape, they face memories from a past that may not be their own, questioning their sanity and control. The game is inspired by The Twilight Zone, The X-Files, and Black Mirror and features a soundtrack by Seattle electronic artists Kid Smpl and Johnny Goss.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

62%

Audience ScoreBased on 95 reviews

story22 positive mentions

grinding7 negative mentions

The game has a deeply emotional atmosphere that resonates with players, making it a memorable experience.
Visually stunning with good graphics and sound design, enhancing the overall immersive experience.
Offers multiple endings that encourage exploration and replayability, providing a sense of intrigue and discovery.

The game is extremely short, often completed in under two hours, which may not justify the price for some players.
Puzzles can be frustratingly obtuse and rely heavily on trial and error, leading to tedious gameplay.
Lacks essential features such as subtitles, key rebinding, and detailed graphics options, which can hinder accessibility and enjoyment.

story
72 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
60%
10%
The story of Asemblance is often described as linear and vague, focusing on themes of loss and grief but lacking depth and clarity, which can lead to player frustration. While some players appreciate the atmospheric sci-fi elements and intriguing concepts, many criticize the storytelling for being poorly delivered and requiring illogical leaps to progress. Overall, the narrative has potential but is hampered by its execution, leaving players divided on its effectiveness and engagement.
- “The story has a bit of a sci-fi theme that requires a bit of thinking to progress the story.”
- “I enjoyed the game; the story seemed rather interesting, reading some of the notes, looking around, it was a positive experience.”
- “The visuals are gorgeous, the story (of what I understood so far) is great, and the sound effects are fantastic.”
- “The plot of Asemblance is actually extremely linear.”
- “Not only is the story uninteresting, poorly delivered, and just bland, the logical leaps required to unlock all the bits and pieces of it are just stupid.”
- “Asemblance does a terrible job in trying to tell the story that it houses, and even reading the long, jargoned notes scattered around the office location does little to convey even the most minor of plot points.”
graphics
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
45%
15%
The graphics in the game are generally considered good, with a pleasing aesthetic and a strong atmosphere, though they vary in quality across different environments. While some areas feature nice visuals, others suffer from issues like muddy textures and lack of detail, leading to mixed reviews overall. The limited graphics options and relatively short gameplay experience have also been noted, suggesting that while the graphics are enjoyable, they do not elevate the game to a standout level.
- “The visuals, music, and voice acting are all great.”
- “The game had nice graphics and the environments were fun to explore.”
- “The visuals are gorgeous, the story (of what I understood so far) is great, and the sound effects are fantastic.”
- “However, it feels like a graphics-focused tech preview for a game that should have been larger in scope, in terms of environments you can go to as well as gameplay.”
- “The resolution was missing, 720p it is then and even on that it had muddy textures while being on the highest graphic settings.”
- “...but in other areas the graphics look bad (the skybox in the forest area for instance).”
atmosphere
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
95%
5%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its engaging and immersive qualities, with many reviewers highlighting its aesthetic appeal and strong narrative elements. While the environment is described as intriguing and well-crafted, some players note that the gameplay can feel frustratingly reliant on trial and error, and the overall experience may be short-lived. Despite these criticisms, the atmospheric and story-driven aspects remain a significant draw for players.
- “A slick, atmospheric puzzler that doesn't hold your hand.”
- “The experience was good at this point, an interesting atmosphere and you slowly unlock new rooms with environmental puzzles.”
- “The game has a great atmosphere (I would describe it as more suspenseful than scary, to anyone who's worried about that) and an enigmatic, engaging plotline that drove me forward and motivated me to find all the endings, no matter how long it would take.”
gameplay
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
57%
21%
The gameplay is primarily story-driven, offering a short experience of about two hours that includes simple mechanics and repetitive puzzles, which some players found tedious and lacking in substance. While the narrative has potential with interesting twists and a scientific backdrop, many reviewers felt the gameplay was trivial and not engaging enough to support the story effectively. Overall, the game seems to prioritize graphics over a more expansive and varied gameplay experience.
- “Interesting gameplay, exciting story with a fascinating scientific background and nice twists, resulting in a short but intense gaming experience.”
- “I liked the way the story and mechanics played out.”
- “The gameplay is simple and straightforward, and there are lots of things you can look into.”
- “However, it feels like a graphics-focused tech preview for a game that should have been larger in scope, in terms of environments you can go to as well as gameplay.”
- “This game certainly seems like it has potential to be a really cool story, but never really presents anything super engaging, and the fundamental gameplay feels really tedious.”
- “But there's just nothing of substance in the gameplay.”
music
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
20%
30%
The music in the game is generally praised for its ability to enhance the atmosphere and evoke emotion, with many reviewers noting its creepiness and fitting nature. While the soundtrack is considered strong and memorable, some users pointed out issues with long pauses and instances of white noise, which detracted from the overall experience. Overall, the music contributes significantly to the game's aesthetic, though it may not be enjoyable outside of the gameplay context.
- “The visuals, music, and voice acting are all great.”
- “The atmosphere this game creates is absolutely overwhelming, especially the extremely stunning music in the game is still stuck in my head.”
- “Good soundtrack overall that fits the game nicely.”
- “The music is appropriately creepy and fitting, but I wouldn’t want to listen to it by itself.”
- “There is a minor issue where there are sometimes long pauses with no music before the audio loops again, and other times there is only white noise instead of any music at all.”
- “There is a minor issue where there are sometimes long pauses with no music before the audio loops again, and other times there is only white noise instead of any music at all.”
grinding
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, particularly in relation to the ending puzzles and the process of achieving multiple endings. Many reviewers noted that the gameplay becomes monotonous, leading to a reliance on walkthroughs to bypass the repetitive tasks, ultimately diminishing the overall engagement and enjoyment of the story.
- “The 'true' ending is difficult to achieve even with the help of YouTube walkthroughs, and if you are bothering to watch such a walkthrough, why bother going through the tedious trouble of actually completing the game yourself once the mystery has been spoiled?”
- “This game certainly seems like it has potential to be a really cool story, but never really presents anything super engaging, and the fundamental gameplay feels really tedious.”
- “To me, this felt utterly tedious and boring, and without walkthroughs, I wouldn't have reached any endings.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
75%
Reviews highlight a significant emotional twist in a secret ending, praised as one of the most impactful experiences in media. However, some players feel the overall story lacks depth and emotional engagement, describing it as boring and repetitive, suggesting that additional environments could enhance the emotional weight of the narrative.
- “There is a secret ending that isn't for an achievement that you will need to look up a guide for, but it is the best and most emotional twist I have ever experienced in media.”
- “Three, add one more environment to the story, maybe one really involving the kid to help build more emotional gravity to the storyline.”
- “The game has a boring story and is very short and repetitive.”
- “The emotional aspects feel underdeveloped and fail to resonate with the player.”
- “Overall, the game lacks emotional depth, making it hard to connect with the characters.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is plagued by significant stability issues, with frequent bugs that hinder gameplay even when players know the intended actions. This instability contributes to a frustrating experience, leaving users dissatisfied with both the mechanics and the narrative.
- “Walking simulator about hunting glitches in a few small holodeck environments.”
- “Even if you know exactly what to do, it's so buggy it probably won't even work.”
- “Tl;dr: buggy game and boring story with no payoff.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
150%
Overall, the game's endings do not significantly enhance its replay value, although Asemblance offers some potential for replayability.
- “Asemblance is well equipped for a little replayability too.”
- “The game lacks significant changes in subsequent playthroughs, making it feel repetitive.”
- “Once you've experienced the story, there's little incentive to replay.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its strong optimization, running smoothly and presenting a clean visual experience, which enhances the overall gameplay.
- “The only thing this release has going for it is the fact that it is well optimized.”
- “From a technical standpoint, this game runs smoothly and looks very clean.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that the humor in the game is lacking, with many players finding the story uninteresting and devoid of comedic elements, which diminishes their engagement and desire to continue playing.