BLEAK: Welcome to Glimmer

About

BLEAK: Welcome to Glimmer is a single player platformer game. It was developed by Novelline, Inc. and was released on April 8, 2016. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

A super high difficulty, fantastical 2D action platformer complete with an expansive original soundtrack. 20+ Levels. Multiple playable characters. Rich lore. BLEAK: Welcome to Glimmer is Act One in a timeless tale of loss and redemption.

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Single-Player

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79%

Audience ScoreBased on 33 reviews

music11 positive mentions

monetization2 negative mentions

Atmospheric and melancholic hand-drawn art style that creates a unique, immersive world.
Extremely challenging platforming gameplay that offers a rewarding experience for players who enjoy difficulty and precision.
Outstanding soundtrack that complements the game’s mood and enhances the overall atmosphere.

Lack of checkpoints makes the game frustrating due to having to restart levels entirely after death.
Simple but repetitive level and visual design that can become monotonous over time.
Technical and control issues reported, including clunky jumping mechanics and lack of clear direction, which may frustrate some players.

music
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
36%
14%
The music in the game is widely praised for its originality, mood-setting, and impressive guitar pieces, drawing favorable comparisons to the Bastion soundtrack. While some users criticize the marketing approach to the soundtrack DLC, the overall consensus highlights the soundtrack as a standout, integral part of the game's atmosphere and experience.
- “The soundtrack for this game is incredible, really capturing the mood of each world.”
- “The overall aesthetic sets the tone for the game as well as complements the soundtrack.”
- “The music is really well done, and has some great guitar pieces that are played within the stages.”
- “Furthermore, the developer has their hand out for a $5 USD "donation" for this as you're expected to give them money for soundtrack DLC (that's already in the game) on Steam to "support" the developer... digital panhandling.”
- “But this game has simple and boring controls and gameplay, boring music.”
- “Enough about the gameplay though, the soundtrack needs some attention, too.”
gameplay
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
41%
18%
The gameplay offers precise, challenging platforming mechanics with a steep difficulty curve and no checkpoints, appealing to fans of tough side-scrollers and speedrunning. While some find it frustrating and poorly designed, others appreciate its tight controls, clear feedback, and engaging difficulty. Overall, it’s a demanding but rewarding experience for players who enjoy high-difficulty platformers.
- “Great puzzle game with easy-to-use mechanics.”
- “Its difficulty paired with the game's awesome soundtrack and easy-to-learn mechanics put it among other high difficulty side scrollers such as Super Meat Boy and I Wanna Be The Guy.”
- “The actual gameplay feels fantastic, and any time you die, you know exactly what killed you.”
- “This platformer has you controlling a guy called "Bleak", but it was very badly made with sloppy jumping mechanics, badly designed maps, no checkpoints, and godawfully bad technical presentation. The pricing compared to the actual quality is an exercise in delusion.”
- “The gameplay is extremely hard from the start; I consider myself an above-average player when it comes to platformer games, but I must admit that Bleak is extremely challenging, especially due to the fact that there are no checkpoints.”
- “Cool art design, but the platforming gameplay is too frustrating to be worth it ultimately, which is kind of a letdown.”
graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The graphics receive mixed feedback, with some criticizing the outdated, simplistic 2D retro style as poor and bland for a modern game, while others appreciate the unique art style, good optimization, and complementary aesthetic that enhances the game's tone. However, repetition in stage design is noted as a drawback. Overall, the visuals are simple but distinctive, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere.
- “The art style of the game really stands out.”
- “The overall aesthetic sets the tone for the game as well as complements the soundtrack.”
- “In regards to the graphics and artwork, they are simple but nice - I personally like the cut-scenes.”
- “On the topic of visuals, the weak-looking 2D retro assets seem like they'd be more at home in a browser game or a mobile app.”
- “3D graphics accelerators hit the mainstream of PC gaming in the mid-1990s with cards like the ATI Rage and Voodoo3D; there's no excuse for such poor 2D graphics in 2025.”
- “The only complaint I'd have about the graphics is that although the stage and level design look good, it starts to get repetitive after a little while as it feels as though the art assets just change slightly between stages.”
story
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The story is generally described as grim and slightly depressing, fitting well with the game's art and character design. While some find it unremarkable or just adequate, others appreciate the depth revealed through progression, especially in the storyline mode involving saving a sister. Overall, it receives a moderate rating around 7/10.
- “Firstly, the storyline mode, where you have to go through four different worlds and save your sister, Asha.”
- “At first I thought the story would just be something small to fill the space between levels, but after spending more time with the game I realized that there is actually a fair amount of story there.”
- “While it's expected that the game's story lives up to its name, the fact that the gameplay also feels bleak is less beneficial.”
- “It conveys a very grim and slightly depressing theme, especially in its character design, which fits very well with the story.”
- “The art and style for this game remind me of a dark but uninteresting story.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization is heavily criticized for being a blatant cash grab, with users accusing the developer of repackaging the same game as a remaster on Steam without meaningful improvements. Additionally, there are concerns about fake reviews from dubious accounts promoting these misleading releases.
- “Worse, this is now being used to advertise a 'remaster' of the exact same game with no apparent changes, which will soon be launched on Steam as yet another cash grab.”
- “They're all written in either Russian or broken English, appear at almost exactly the same time shortly after the product launched on Steam, and the accounts are consistently used to write fake reviews for asset flips and other cash grabs/scams.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is confusing and frustrating due to unclear objectives and the absence of checkpoints, which forces repetitive replays and diminishes player enjoyment.
- “Navigating a maze of platforms without knowing the goal creates a confusing atmosphere that, combined with the lack of checkpoints requiring repeated replays of the same sequence, quickly drains any joy from the experience.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The character development effectively conveys a grim and slightly depressing theme that aligns well with the overall story, enhancing the game's atmosphere and narrative depth.
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is well optimized, running smoothly even on systems with lower-tier graphics cards and CPUs.
- “The game is optimized well and should have no problem running on systems with a lower tier graphics card and CPU.”

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Frequently Asked Questions

BLEAK: Welcome to Glimmer is a platformer game.

BLEAK: Welcome to Glimmer is available on PC, Mac OS, Windows and Linux.

BLEAK: Welcome to Glimmer was released on April 8, 2016.

BLEAK: Welcome to Glimmer was developed by Novelline, Inc..

BLEAK: Welcome to Glimmer has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its music but disliked it for its graphics.

BLEAK: Welcome to Glimmer is a single player game.

Similar games include Ori and the Blind Forest, Face It - A game to fight inner demons, Shu, Nihilumbra, Pinkman and others.

BLEAK: Welcome to Glimmer

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