BLACKHOLE
- May 18, 2015
- FiolaSoft Studio
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Get on itch.io Store"BLACKHOLE is a single-player comedy platformer game with an amazing story, fantastic gameplay, sensational graphics, and stunning music. After crash-landing on Entity, a black hole's object, the coffee-making crew member and AI Auriel embark on a mission to fix their spaceship, rescue survivors, and shut the black hole. The game features vibrant locations, including colorful caves, an ancient civilization's lost city, and a living jungle, with gravity-changing level designs."
Mac OS
PC
Playstation 4
Windows
Xbox One
Linux
PlayStation
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Reviews
- The game features interesting gravity-changing puzzles that provide a unique challenge.
- The graphics and voice acting are well-executed, contributing to an engaging atmosphere.
- The story, while quirky, adds a layer of humor and motivation to the gameplay.
- The controls can feel imprecise and slippery, making the precision required for some puzzles frustrating.
- There is a lack of a proper difficulty curve, with sudden spikes in challenge that can be overwhelming.
- The music and dialogue can become repetitive and annoying, detracting from the overall experience.
- story78 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally described as engaging and filled with humor, featuring interesting plot twists and well-developed characters, which enhance the overall experience. However, some players find the storytelling inconsistent, with excessive dialogue and cutscenes that can detract from gameplay. While the narrative may not be groundbreaking, it provides a cohesive backdrop that motivates exploration and puzzle-solving within the game.
“My favorite 2D hardcore platformer with a very interesting story, plot twists, funny characters, awesome soundtracks, a free DLC right after the main game, and more side-quests/achievements which can be really challenging to find out how to complete them. 10/10”
“The story starts a little bland, but I found myself interested in it later on, and I really enjoyed the ending.”
“An engaging story: believable sci-fi, good jokes, multilingual, perfect voice acting, subtitles.”
“Endless dialogue and cut-scenes, even when you choose the 'minimal story' setting.”
“The story is very weak and drowned out by massive amounts of dialogue that don't move the plot forward at all.”
“I played this game for an hour or more and after the lengthy introduction - I found I didn't care about the world or the story or the attempts at humor.”
- gameplay75 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 77 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is characterized by a central gravity manipulation mechanic that introduces a mix of platforming and puzzle-solving challenges. While some players appreciate the innovative mechanics and level design, many criticize the controls as inconsistent and the difficulty as frustrating, particularly due to a lack of clear explanations for advanced mechanics. Overall, the game offers a blend of engaging and tedious elements, making it a polarizing experience for players.
“The game starts off easy enough but starts to ramp up as you get comfortable with the new mechanics that are introduced in each world.”
“The core puzzle mechanic involves gravity platforms which reorient the level, making the walls and ceiling your 'floor' and altering how you traverse your surroundings.”
“The gameplay provides unique twists on the genre, primarily through the use of gravity platforms that rotate the screen.”
“Couldn't bring myself to keep playing as the gameplay and world/level structure is just so convoluted.”
“New gameplay mechanics were introduced with no explanation, making it frustrating to learn how to progress.”
“The physics when you change gravity while moving fast are unintuitive and hard to control, and the water mechanics are intentionally harder to control than they needed to be.”
- music36 mentions
- 61 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its catchy and fitting soundtrack that enhances the overall experience. However, some players noted issues such as repetitive tracks and moments where the music cuts out, detracting from immersion. Overall, while the soundtrack is generally well-received, opinions vary on its consistency and impact throughout the game.
“This is a decent game with good graphics, funny characters and dialogues, and nice music.”
“The graphics provide a smooth and undistracting canvas for the uniquely sculpted landscape, and the music perfectly fits the mood of each level.”
“The soundtrack is amazing and flows with the game.”
“One level has the music cut out for a solid 20 seconds before looping.”
“The soundtrack is okay; I love the main theme, but it seems prevalent in every song in different flavors and as such gets a bit dull over time.”
“Music is a mixed bag.”
- graphics33 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their quality and artistic style, with many reviewers highlighting the visuals as a strong point. However, some players find the graphics to be repetitive and lacking in variety, suggesting that while the aesthetics are appealing, they could benefit from more diversity in design. Overall, the game is noted for its good production value, combining nice graphics with engaging music and level design.
“This is a decent game with good graphics, funny characters and dialogues, and nice music.”
“The graphics provide a smooth and undistracting canvas for the uniquely sculpted landscape, and the music perfectly fits the mood of each level.”
“The graphics and art style are great.”
“Also, the graphics are repetitive and boring.”
“Graphics are meh.”
“There is no way a game with graphics like this could weigh 1.1 GB, unless they packaged super high-res sprites and textures that, frankly, are really not needed for the purpose of a game like this.”
- humor28 mentions
- 93 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The humor in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the funny dialogues, sarcastic writing, and cultural references, while others feel the jokes are forced and lack originality. Many highlight the entertaining characters and story, but criticize the humor for being overly simplistic or juvenile. Overall, the game offers moments of genuine amusement, but its comedic attempts can be hit or miss, leading to a polarized reception.
“The game is full of humor and biting sarcasm.”
“The story itself is fun and filled with humor, sarcasm, and more than a few cultural references.”
“Game is original and funny and entertains from its beginning intro.”
“The AI jokes try too hard, and therefore are not funny.”
“It's not funny or interesting.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that while the game features an interesting world rotation mechanic, the grinding involved can become tedious and frustrating, particularly as levels increase in size and complexity. Some players find the balance between puzzles and platforming helps alleviate boredom, but the overall experience can still feel laborious, leading to mixed feelings about the game's difficulty and enjoyment.
“It seems to me like the reason this game is touted as difficult is not because of clever level layout or clever use of mechanics; it is because the levels grow bigger and more tedious as time goes on, and the mechanics get more and more precise without the physics and fluid gameplay to back it up.”
“After grinding through the game, I will change my review from negative to positive, but just barely.”
“World rotation is a clever game mechanic, but behind it lies too much tedious jumping.”
- emotional3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express that the game's challenging mechanics, such as timing and memorization, can lead to intense frustration and emotional distress, with some even reporting feelings of hopelessness. The difficulty can evoke strong negative emotions, highlighting the game's potential impact on mental well-being.
“This game literally made me feel like self-harming.”
“I don't mean that this game made me feel like I needed to self-harm.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game offers solid replayability through achievements and speedrun leaderboards, appealing to completionists and competitive players. However, the replay value may be limited for some, as the primary enjoyment stems from puzzle-solving, though the extensive content can provide additional hours of gameplay for those seeking 100% completion. Overall, it remains a worthwhile experience, especially given its low price.
“The game also has lots of achievements for completionists and a leaderboard of times for each level for speedrunners, providing plenty of replayability.”
“Replayability is limited, as most of the fun comes from solving the puzzles, but there's plenty of content in this vast world that I would probably need at least another 20 hours or more to reach 100% game completion.”
“The replayability is limited, but some people will definitely enjoy watching the story once again.”
“While the game is cheap and offers long gameplay, the replayability factor leaves much to be desired.”
“The game is worth the price, but I found the replayability to be lacking.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its appealing and immersive qualities, contributing positively to the overall experience.
“The game has a captivating atmosphere that draws you in.”
“The immersive atmosphere really enhances the overall experience.”
“The hauntingly beautiful atmosphere sets the perfect tone for the adventure.”
