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Broken Lens

Broken Lens Game Cover
82%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:story, music
Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding, replayability
82% User Score Based on 132 reviews

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Broken Lens Game Cover

About Broken Lens

Broken Lens is a single player casual puzzle game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Team RUN and was released on July 22, 2024. It received positive reviews from players.

Broken Lens is a relaxing game where you will discover the story of a little robot with a sight problem. GameplayInspired by the classic game of our childhood "spot the differences", Broken Lens allows you to renew the experience with a new exploration system. Move the point of view and zoom in to travel through works of art to find and get rid of the differences between your two visu…

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Reviews

82%Audience ScoreBased on 132 reviews
story17 positive mentions
grinding4 negative mentions
  • Beautiful and cute art style with a relaxing and fitting soundtrack that creates a cozy atmosphere.
  • Unique spot the difference gameplay featuring parallax layers and a subtle, emotional storyline that adds depth beyond traditional puzzle games.
  • Well-designed hint system that supports players without penalty, allowing both casual and completionist play styles.
  • Extreme difficulty spikes in later levels with very tiny, subtle, or angle-dependent differences leading to frustration and pixel hunting.
  • Performance issues on some systems including crashes, high CPU/GPU usage, lag, and input problems like clicks not registering correctly.
  • The secret notebook and lore are entirely in French, which hinders understanding and puzzle solving for non-French speakers.

  • story

    65 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    26% positive mentions, 68% neutral mentions, 6% negative mentions

    The game's story is a subtle, emotionally resonant narrative about a little robot, memory, and exploration, revealed gradually through environmental clues and collectible pages—often in French—adding depth and mystery to this unique find-the-difference experience. While some players find the story bittersweet and touching, others note its vagueness, language barriers, and complexity can hinder full comprehension, making it more rewarding for those who deeply explore and decode its hidden elements. Overall, the story enriches the gameplay with a quiet, poignant atmosphere that encourages curiosity and interpretation.

    • “Rather than treating visual comparison as a self-contained puzzle, the game embeds it within a cohesive world and a soft, emotional story about perception, curiosity, and understanding.”
    • “Story fragments are revealed through collected pages and environmental clues, gradually piecing together a quiet tale about memory, exploration, and interpretation.”
    • “Additional secrets and cute designs only add to this story, which - as you will discover - does not have a very happy end and squeezes the heart in your chest.”
    • “A cute game of spot the difference with a mystery storyline that absolutely ruined the ending of the game, making the time spent on it not worth it.”
    • “Also the story is some kind of vague Wall-E rip-off messaging from what I can tell, but there's not really any incentive to decipher the bits of story you get that are hidden behind a cipher for some reason.”
    • “Cute art, there is a story but it's not really compelling, some meta-puzzles require the French language, and I quickly ran out of interest in playing without hints.”

  • music

    31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    81% positive mentions, 9% neutral mentions, 10% negative mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for being relaxing, melodic, and well-suited to the cozy, immersive atmosphere, effectively complementing the art and gameplay without distracting players. Many reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature, describing it as soothing, beautiful, and perfectly balanced to enhance focus and mood throughout the experience.

    • “The music is stunningly relaxing and the art style felt well tailored for the topics explored.”
    • “It's hard to mention everyone in the credits but I would just love to thank everyone who came together to make this game and personally I would like to say thank you to yomoeh for making one of the most immersive soundtracks I've had the pleasure of listening to in a while, combined with the gorgeous art, it got every intended tone and mood across perfectly.”
    • “The music is soft and melodic, designed to fade into the background and support focus rather than distract from it.”
    • “I also wish this game did more on the audio side, but instead I just turned the master volume down and listened to my own music.”
    • “I recommend getting the soundtrack and art book if that's ever a thing, and skipping the game itself.”
    • “A perfect game to relax and chill after a long day, while listening to podcast or music.”

  • graphics

    25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    76% positive mentions, 20% neutral mentions, 4% negative mentions

    The graphics of the game receive widespread praise for their charming, hand-drawn art style that is warm, expressive, and richly detailed, perfectly complementing the gameplay and story. Reviewers highlight the beautiful, cozy visuals paired with a relaxing and fitting soundtrack, creating an immersive and aesthetically pleasing experience. While generally calming and adorable, some find the artwork occasionally less relaxing during gameplay moments, but overall the visuals are considered a standout feature that enhances the game's unique narrative style.

    • “The hand-drawn art style is warm, expressive, and full of small details that naturally complement the core mechanic.”
    • “Broken Lens is a wonderful look at a 'spot the differences' game; it combines amazing artwork and a cozy soundtrack with gameplay that delivers a nice challenge at times.”
    • “The artwork and the storytelling through them is beautiful, and as you progress through the game you get to see wholesome and epic scenes with cute yet mysterious creatures.”
    • “Not relaxing at all this way, which is a shame because I really like the art style and the first few levels.”

  • gameplay

    24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    38% positive mentions, 49% neutral mentions, 13% negative mentions

    The gameplay centers on a visually driven spot-the-difference mechanic enhanced by detailed hand-drawn art, varied environments, and subtle narrative elements, creating a relaxing yet progressively challenging experience. It offers a cozy, soothing atmosphere with a well-designed hint system and soundtrack, though difficulty ramps up with smaller, more complex differences requiring careful observation and patience. While initially straightforward, the gameplay evolves to demand greater focus, appealing to players who enjoy detailed visual puzzles.

    • “Broken Lens is a wonderful take on a 'spot the differences' game, combining amazing artwork and a cozy soundtrack with gameplay that delivers a nice challenge at times.”
    • “The main spot-the-difference game is entertaining with a good split-screen mechanic. It starts relatively easy but quickly becomes more complex due to increasing detail in the images, shrinking sizes of some differences, and parallax effects where differences may be hidden behind foreground items and only visible from particular angles.”
    • “It is a game that rewards patience, observation, and curiosity, offering a calm alternative to faster-paced or more mechanically complex titles.”
    • “The core gameplay revolves around spotting differences between paired scenes that appear nearly identical at first glance.”
    • “The first few levels have proper photo-hunt gameplay and then it quickly devolves into pixel-hunting.”
    • “As for the gameplay, one would think that finding differences would be easy.”

  • emotional

    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game weaves its spot-the-difference mechanics into a heartfelt narrative about perception and curiosity, fostering a strong emotional connection to its adorable robot protagonist. Players praise its beautiful artwork, touching and sometimes bittersweet story, which can evoke genuine feelings—even tears. Overall, it's a charming, soothing experience perfect for both solo play and sharing with children.

    • “Rather than treating visual comparison as a self-contained puzzle, the game embeds it within a cohesive world and a soft, emotional story about perception, curiosity, and understanding.”
    • “I'm not exaggerating, that last world got to me and made me cry.”
    • “The artwork and the storytelling through them is beautiful, and as you progress through the game you get to see wholesome and epic scenes with cute yet so mysterious creatures.”

  • grinding

    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    Grinding in the game can feel tedious, especially when trying to find all differences or achieve 100% completion. However, the intriguing secrets and notes provide engaging content for players who remain attentive, though fully completing everything may not be very enjoyable.

    • “Finding all the differences was a bit tedious after a while.”
    • “It can feel a bit tedious to do so.”
    • “I suggest not trying to 100% it, as it's quite tedious to find everything, and not very fun in my opinion.”

  • replayability

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    67% positive mentions, -34% neutral mentions, 67% negative mentions

    Replayability in this game is largely fueled by completionism and curiosity about the narrative, appealing to fans of mini-puzzles and spot-the-differences challenges. While not essential for casual players, those aiming for all achievements will find ample incentive to replay.

    • “If you're a fan of spot-the-differences games, you enjoy mini-puzzles, and you don't mind some replayability (especially if you want to get all of the achievements), then this game is worth checking out.”
    • “Replayability offers infinity hours+ of gameplay.”
    • “Replay value is driven primarily by completionism and narrative curiosity.”
    • “If you're a fan of spot-the-differences games, you enjoy mini-puzzles, and you don't mind some replayability (well, that's only if you want to get all of the achievements), then this game is worth checking out.”

  • atmosphere

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The atmosphere of Broken Lens is effectively crafted through subtle sound design, enhancing its transformation of a simple puzzle game into a meaningful and immersive adventure.

    • “Sound design plays a quiet but important role in shaping the atmosphere.”
    • “Overall, Broken Lens succeeds by transforming a simple puzzle concept into a meaningful, atmospheric adventure.”

  • optimization

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The game suffers from poor optimization, leading to performance issues and a subpar experience.

    • “The game is badly optimized.”
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Frequently Asked Questions

Broken Lens is a casual puzzle game with science fiction theme. Common tags for Broken Lens include indie, linear, exploration, relaxing, nature and others.

Broken Lens is available on PC, Mac OS, Steam Deck, Windows and others.

Broken Lens was released on July 22, 2024.

Broken Lens was developed by Team RUN.

Broken Lens has received positive reviews from players. Most players liked Broken Lens for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Broken Lens is a single player game.

Similar games include Hidden Folks, A Building Full of Cats, Morphopolis, Moncage, The Tiny Bang Story and others.