Bean and Nothingness

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Bean and Nothingness is a surreal puzzle-adventure game where you play as a sentient bean traversing through a bizarre world. Solve puzzles to uncover the mysteries of your existence and the world around you. Engage in witty dialogue with peculiar characters, and immerse yourself in a thought-provoking and humorous narrative.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Reviews

99%

Audience ScoreBased on 204 reviews

gameplay22 positive mentions

graphics3 negative mentions

The puzzle design is incredibly well-crafted, offering a variety of challenging and rewarding experiences that encourage experimentation and logical thinking.
Each world introduces new mechanics and monsters that interact in unique ways, creating a rich tapestry of possibilities that keeps players engaged.
The game is generous with its progression system, allowing players to skip difficult puzzles and explore different areas without being blocked, making it accessible despite its high difficulty.

The game is extremely difficult, which may deter some players, especially those who are not experienced with challenging puzzle games.
Some puzzles require precise movements, which can lead to frustration if the execution is slightly off, even when the player has the right idea.
The controls can feel a bit slow or fiddly at times, which may take some getting used to and could impact the overall experience.

gameplay
80 mentions
28 % positive mentions
69 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by its innovative mechanics and intricate interactions between various monsters and beans, challenging players to rethink their strategies as new elements are introduced. The game excels in gradually teaching these mechanics through well-designed puzzles, allowing for a satisfying exploration of complexity and depth. Players appreciate the balance of accessibility and difficulty, with optional challenges that encourage mastery of the game's unique systems.
- “Each monster is designed to break every assumption you've made about the game so far, and interact as intricately as possible with the other monsters and mechanics.”
- “The mechanic of transforming beans into monsters and monsters into beans allows for varied and complex interactions.”
- “Excellent level design that makes you gradually figure out game mechanics and their interactions with no hand holding.”
- “Over halfway through the game, you can still be surprised to realize, 'wait, this new gameplay element is technically an obstacle, so rollers won’t attack through it.' You can be dumbfounded by things you already learned, because the situation looks so different you don’t expect the old rules to apply.”
- “I still haven't completed the hardest one in area 1, and I almost entirely skipped the vines island because it wasn't my favorite mechanic.”
- “The game doesn't tell you how the monsters behave, which means you will have to figure out the mechanics on your own, but each world generally starts with easy puzzles when it introduces a new monster before getting to the hard stuff.”
story
10 mentions
60 % positive mentions
20 % neutral mentions
20 % negative mentions
The game's story is described as somewhat bland but serves as a nice complement to the primary focus on puzzles. While some players find the narrative epic and engaging, others feel it is secondary to the gameplay, which allows for flexible progression through puzzle rooms. Overall, the story adds value to the experience without overshadowing the puzzle-solving elements.
- “This is a great game with an epic story.”
- “The story told along the way is also a very nice bonus.”
- “But the excellence of bean and nothingness doesn’t just remain in the puzzle domain, it also delivers a great story that may be related to me, and I would not spoil it here.”
- “The story elements are a bit bland, but after all, this game focuses on delivering good puzzles.”
- “You unlock puzzle rooms in batches and you can tackle these unlocked puzzles in whatever order you like, with the number of solved puzzles to unlock the next area low enough to allow you to progress through the game's story and setting without getting blocked by any of the super-hard ones.”
graphics
8 mentions
25 % positive mentions
38 % neutral mentions
38 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are described as charming and calming, effectively complementing its engaging puzzle design. While the initial aesthetic may be off-putting to some, players are encouraged to persevere, as the visuals enhance the overall experience and creativity of the gameplay. Overall, the graphics contribute positively to the game's appeal, making it a standout in its genre.
- “I also found the visuals and sound quite charming and calming.”
- “If you are put off by the opening, tutorial, aesthetic, or movement just know that as soon as you begin the first island the game does not hold back on showing its brilliant puzzle design.”
- “Don't let the visuals fool you into thinking this game is poorly put together.”
- “If you are put off by the opening, tutorial, aesthetic, or movement, just know that as soon as you begin the first island, the game does not hold back on showing its brilliant puzzle design.”
- “If you're looking for a game that is both charming graphically and has creative solutions that are deeply satisfying to find, there's not a lot of games I'd put up there with this one.”
grinding
2 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be engaging and rewarding, as the puzzles are challenging yet satisfying, allowing for experimentation without becoming tedious. The charming art further enhances the overall experience, making the grinding feel worthwhile.
humor
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players find the humor in the game consistently enjoyable, with the act of pushing blobs and watching them fall remaining amusing even after extensive playtime.
- “Pushing the blobs and making them fall down is still just as funny 40 hours in.”
emotional
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players report a deeply emotional experience, often feeling overwhelmed with joy and accomplishment upon reaching the game's true ending, leading to tears of happiness.
- “When I reached the true end of the game, I cried like a baby just from the sheer accomplishment of getting there.”