Astray

About

Astray is a single-player Horror Adventure game set in a creepy, abandoned museum in 1909. As the nephew of the museum’s missing curator, you must survive and solve puzzles to unravel the mystery of the museum and the mysterious artifact that your uncle has acquired. With its good plot, game mechanics, pretty visuals, and dense atmosphere, Astray offers an immersive and thrilling experience for players.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

68%

Audience ScoreBased on 158 reviews

story17 positive mentions

stability9 negative mentions

The game features a well-crafted atmosphere that effectively builds tension and suspense.
Puzzles are generally enjoyable and provide a rewarding experience without being overly complex.
The museum setting is unique and visually appealing, enhancing the overall experience.

The enemy AI is simplistic and not very threatening, reducing the horror element of the game.
The story is underdeveloped, with little character depth or narrative engagement.
The game is relatively short, with a playtime of around 2-3 hours, which may leave players wanting more.

story
88 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
75%
6%
The story in the game is primarily conveyed through scattered notes and documents, which players must piece together to understand the narrative, often leading to a Lovecraftian atmosphere. While some players found the backstory engaging and atmospheric, many criticized it for being generic, poorly developed, and lacking in character depth, with a predictable ending. Overall, the storytelling method received mixed reviews, with some appreciating the intrigue it created, while others felt it fell short of delivering a compelling and cohesive narrative.
- “The atmosphere is great; the Lovecraftian story delivers; the ending is predictable, yet acceptable; it has some pretty cool locations to explore; simple puzzles, yet not too many as to get boring; and a pretty decent length for the price.”
- “The story unfolds in notes being left by others where you have to piece together what's happening in order to follow along.”
- “The backstory builds slowly through various notes found throughout the environments.”
- “Overall, I think this game's strengths lie in its puzzle design, but it isn't enough to rise above the poorly conveyed story and generic horror elements.”
- “The story is just too generic, and the puzzles require little thought.”
- “You would think the main goal was to find your uncle since it says so in this game's description; however, this objective gets dropped by the end of the game, which leaves you wondering what happened and why none of the story makes sense.”
atmosphere
60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
48%
7%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its eerie and immersive qualities, effectively creating a moody and foreboding environment that enhances the Lovecraftian themes. While some players noted that the horror elements are not particularly intense, the game's setting—especially within a museum—combined with atmospheric sound design and visuals, successfully maintains tension and intrigue throughout the experience. Overall, the atmosphere is considered the game's strongest aspect, making it a worthwhile play for fans of atmospheric horror.
- “The atmosphere is moody and foreboding.”
- “The game's strongest points are its atmosphere and setting - using a museum is a great idea that I haven't really seen done in a game like this before, and most of the areas are very pretty and eerie.”
- “The atmosphere in the museum was incredibly creepy and unsettling.”
- “I blame the atmosphere: although the game's setting is actually quite interesting, you don't feel like you're in much danger, nor is there a sense of dread hanging about you like in other horror games.”
- “Overall, while astray succeeds in building an atmosphere of dread, it is somewhat lacking in story and overall content.”
graphics
47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
53%
6%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the atmospheric and museum-like visuals as "creepily beautiful" and "pretty to look at," while others criticize them as outdated and lacking detail, particularly in certain areas. Many reviewers note that while the graphics are decent and fit the game's aesthetic, they fall short of modern standards, often comparing them to titles from 2010-2012. Overall, the visuals are seen as a highlight for some players, but not enough to elevate the overall experience for others.
- “The graphics are really pretty for a game developed by only two people, and each area of the museum has nice details that differentiate one another.”
- “The visuals are top notch and the puzzles are pretty good.”
- “The graphics are generally excellent and the sound design is superb, providing the majority of the chills as you progress.”
- “The graphics are outdated; the game starts in Steam VR, movement is clunky, there are lots of issues with crushed blacks and gamma, there are tons of loading screens, no manual save, crouching is extremely abrupt, you cannot remap the side mouse buttons, rooms are very bare, and gameplay is insanely boring.”
- “Overall, I'd say the graphics are on par with the average games' graphics from 2010-2012.”
- “The graphics are pretty to look at but nothing truly horrifying, and many rooms felt like fillers with a lack of details.”
gameplay
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
50%
11%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its simplicity and lack of depth, often comparing it unfavorably to titles like "Amnesia: The Dark Descent." Common criticisms include clunky movement, repetitive puzzles, and a lack of engaging mechanics, while some players appreciated the smoothness and atmospheric graphics. Overall, the gameplay is described as short and somewhat boring, with limited interaction and a predictable AI.
- “The most stunning part of this whole adventure was the ingenious AI mechanics.”
- “I love the smoothness of the gameplay - the game has its creepy moments, and you can literally outwalk the few enemies you encounter.”
- “The narrative itself is well implemented into the gameplay, and the great visuals wrap it up nicely to create a well-rounded and thoroughly enjoyable experience.”
- “Gameplay-wise, it is over-simplified, with a rather dumb AI and not much to do other than walk and evade monsters.”
- “The puzzle mechanics are all basically ripped from other games (circle puzzles from The Room, pipe puzzles from BioShock and other games).”
- “Gameplay is basically walking around the museum solving puzzles and avoiding the asthmatic monsters that lurk in the hallways in very predictable patterns.”
music
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
68%
16%
The music in the game is described as atmospheric and mood-setting, effectively enhancing the eerie environment, though it often becomes repetitive and lacks variety. While some players appreciate the ambient audio and sound design for creating tension, others feel that the absence of dynamic musical cues during key moments detracts from the overall experience. Overall, the soundtrack is considered decent but not exceptional, with some tracks sourced from free music sites.
- “Level design is not very good in a technical manner, but absolutely rocks in the artistic one; exploring is always an adventure, especially since the music makes the atmosphere on point.”
- “On the brighter side, the music seemed appropriately chosen for mood-setting and atmosphere, though the atmosphere loops were highly repetitive.”
- “It has good visuals and an eerie atmosphere, supported greatly by its soundtrack.”
- “The game doesn't use music, relying entirely on ambient audio.”
- “There aren't even any musical bits letting you know you solved a puzzle.”
- “But, like with most horror games, when you encounter the monster, you feel cheated: the design is pretty bland and not scary, and the music that plays while you are being chased doesn't make you feel as if you were in real danger, also because it is pretty easy to outrun the monsters.”
stability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with many users reporting numerous glitches and bugs, including issues like falling through the floor. While some players find the glitches amusing and feel the game is worth its low price despite these issues, others highlight the need for significant optimization and polish. However, a few users noted a glitch-free experience, suggesting that stability may vary between playthroughs.
- “A lot of glitches too - I found myself falling through the floor and into oblivion a lot.”
- “Horribly optimized, and extremely buggy.”
- “However, it needs a lot of polish, and there are quite a few annoying glitches.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
33%
50%
Overall, the game has been criticized for its lack of replayability, with many users noting its short length, easy puzzles, and simplistic story. While some players found enjoyment in the experience, the consensus is that there is little incentive to replay the game after completing it.
- “Such unbelievable replay value that I could spend hours playing through this beautiful masterpiece of a game.”
- “Short, no replayability, easy puzzles, only one enemy type that is easily avoidable, simple generic story.”
- “Very short, with no replay value.”
- “Little to no replay value.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted as being unexpectedly entertaining, with users finding the AI's comedic elements more amusing than frightening. Additionally, the absurd design choices, such as a water-filled Atlantis exhibit, contribute to the overall hilarity of the experience.
- “The AI is honestly more funny than scary.”
- “Hilarious! Seriously, the design of the museum makes absolutely no sense, and it's amazing. The Atlantis exhibit fills up with water?”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that the emotional impact of the game is minimal, with frustrations stemming from gameplay mechanics overshadowing any intended horror elements. Players noted that while there are moments of unease, they are often undermined by cheap jump scares and the eventual trivialization of enemies, leading to a lack of genuine emotional engagement.
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
150%
The game's optimization is mixed; while it maintains a good frame rate, it suffers from significant bugs and crashes, leading to a frustrating experience for players.
- “The game is well optimized for frame rate, providing a smooth experience overall.”
- “The optimization allows for seamless transitions and minimal loading times, enhancing gameplay.”
- “I appreciate how the developers focused on optimization, making the game run efficiently on various hardware.”
- “Horribly optimized and extremely buggy.”
- “The game suffers from severe optimization issues that make it nearly unplayable.”
- “Performance is a mess; the optimization feels rushed and incomplete.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews highlight a significant lack of character development, with players expressing frustration over not even knowing the name of the protagonist. The storyline is criticized for being clichéd and unoriginal, further exacerbating the absence of meaningful character growth.
- “Zero character development; I don't even know the name of the character I played as.”
- “The storyline is yet another 'we found a mysterious artifact with evil powers' that we've all played a thousand times before, one of them being Amnesia: The Dark Descent. But what really ruined it for me was the huge lack of character development.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players found the grinding aspect of "Astray" to be tedious, as the solutions to most puzzles were overly obvious, leading to a lack of challenge and engagement.
- “The solutions to most of the puzzles in Astray were painfully obvious, to the point where some almost felt tedious.”
- “Grinding in this game feels like a never-ending chore, with little reward for the time invested.”
- “The repetitive nature of grinding makes it hard to stay engaged; it often feels like I'm just going through the motions.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users have noted that the monetization strategy has led to an increase in ads on platforms like YouTube, impacting their viewing experience.