Cinderwake

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Cinderwake is a single player action game. It received positive reviews from players.

Cinderwake is an immersive action survival game where you play as a witch battling in the depths of a magical forest. A wave system with ever-increasing challenge will push your precision and mastery to the limit. You command four distinct abilities. The forest breathes in stylized darkness — twisted roots, glowing sparks, and beings emerging from the essence of magic. Game Features: Progressiv…

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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84%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,126 reviews

gameplay61 positive mentions

optimization7 negative mentions

Extensive and highly flexible base-building mechanics that encourage creativity and experimentation.
Engaging gameplay combining survival, exploration, crafting, and RPG elements with multiple challenging bosses.
Strong multiplayer experience that enhances the fun and chaos, making it a compelling co-op game.
Beautiful, stylized graphics and immersive sound design that create a tense yet enjoyable atmosphere.
Regular developer updates adding meaningful content, quality of life improvements, and community engagement.
Varied character classes, unique abilities, and a wide arsenal of distinct weapons supporting multiple playstyles.

Frequent bugs and technical issues, including crashes, lag, clipping, and performance problems especially in multiplayer.
Combat can be unbalanced or frustrating with enemies dealing disproportionate damage and some boss fights feeling unfair.
Story and questing can be confusing, repetitive, or feel disconnected from survival/building elements, impacting immersion.
Some UI elements such as inventory management and translations are poorly polished, causing difficulty understanding mechanics.
Difficulty spikes and grinding required to progress may deter some players, especially solo, with limited replay variety.
Certain gameplay systems like stamina, climbing, and aiming controls can feel clunky or lack polish.

gameplay
159 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
59%
3%
The gameplay is widely praised for its engaging mechanics, rich building and crafting systems, diverse playstyles, and rewarding exploration, offering a deep and enjoyable experience especially for fans of survival, roguelites, and open-world sandbox games. While some note occasional repetitiveness, grind, and minor mechanical or UI issues, the overall gameplay loop is satisfying, flexible, and supported by regular content updates that keep it fresh. Combat, character variety, and customization receive positive attention, though some find certain aspects like combat or difficulty balance slightly rough but still fun.
- “The strongest point is undoubtedly the freedom and quantity of assets available to build and decorate comfy homes, which is simply epic for those who enjoy this gameplay.”
- “Do you like the feeling of flight in your survival games, exploring new totally different areas, having your character skills having visual and gameplay differences, destroying monster, man and beast alike or being able to shape the world (and terrain) around you so you can make your base into whatever you want? Or if you don't like building you can just take over an already well built up place of interest. Then this is a game you will like.”
- “The gameplay is deep – you can craft weapons and armor, build your base, and choose different playstyles thanks to the new archetype system.”
- “The combat could use more updates, as it's a bit janky and ranged gameplay like bows and magic consists of just holding left-click and slowly inching backwards.”
- “The gameplay repetitive and makes no sense; you just keep doing same repetitive quests in different biomes to get newer gear that does not even feel different or rewarding.”
- “Gameplay is too open ended, there are many useless features, and slow progression makes playing a chore at times.”
story
141 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
62%
8%
The story in the game is praised for its passion, atmosphere, and dark, immersive narrative that unfolds organically through exploration and environmental clues. While some find it cryptic or sparse, many appreciate the engaging quests and meaningful lore that complement the survival and building gameplay. However, a few players desire more direct storytelling, polish, and variety in quests to fully realize the game's potential narrative depth.
- “There is clearly so much passion and love put into the environments that exist, the different story quests and side missions that take you all over the world and there will still be more unexplored spaces.”
- “The story unfolds organically through exploration, environmental details, and progression, which made the world feel lived-in and worth paying attention to.”
- “But apart from the incredibly amazing gameplay loop and character designs, the story, which mind you is almost unimportant in-game, is one of the most tragic pieces of fiction I've read that came out of story logs with brief explanation in it. You have to piece enough together and accompany it with the lore of the first game to fully realize its story, that will also be updated with future DLCs. It is my favorite aspect of the game.”
- “Couple complaints: the story wasn't really present in the game (you rarely notice you have a purpose in the game).”
- “Progression is wack, the story is horrible, they didn't properly port the controls over to PC (no mouse wheel for hotbar) and the characters won't stop with their quirky lines!”
- “I would not recommend buying this game, unless you want 8 hours of dark, unfun comeback, jank, and a generic 'find da kid' story.”
graphics
81 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
51%
5%
The graphics are generally praised for being beautiful, stylized, and immersive with detailed environments, lighting effects, and charming art styles. However, some users report performance issues, occasional glitches, and a few janky or outdated visual elements. Overall, the visuals contribute strongly to the game's appeal despite some optimization and polish shortcomings.
- “The graphical details are very immersive; when it rains your clothes get wet (and you get the debuff), when you put a torch on the outside wall of your base(s), the rain makes it extinguish and the vistas are breathtaking.”
- “The visuals are good and they have a unique style. The furriness in it is something I really value and hold dear, and I generally love (cute animals as characters basically). The overall roguelike aspect is awesome and the game keeps getting updates, so it's really good!”
- “A very enjoyable (light) survival game with excellent graphics and outstanding base building mechanics.”
- “Now regardless of graphical settings - it is completely unable to break 40 fps with average lows of 12-20 fps.”
- “The game is unfortunately a downgrade from how it used to be a couple years back, stability issues and graphical glitches are far more common after the console and PC engines were merged.”
- “First it's really not well optimized, come on guys I have a RTX2080 Super, 16 GB of RAM, and an i7 and I'm struggling in 1440p which brings me to the second big negative point; the graphics and the whole game design is pretty poor ... pretty sad in 2020 but well it's an alpha so let's wait!”
optimization
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
65%
19%
Optimization for the game remains a significant issue according to users, with many experiencing poor and inconsistent performance even on mid to high-end hardware, including frequent frame drops and high GPU usage. Although some improvements have been noted compared to earlier builds, the game struggles with demanding requirements, limited upscaler options, and choppy multiplayer performance, making it less playable on lower-end systems. Overall, optimization is a major area needing attention before the game can deliver smoother, more stable gameplay.
- “Performance wise, it's absolutely improved; I refunded it last July and decided to try it again, and it is much better, but not perfect.”
- “The game stands out with its immersive atmosphere and smooth performance.”
- “Been playing on an i5-12400f and RX 6650XT, and I get playable performance on the balanced setting.”
- “I know it's early access, but there definitely needs to be some work done to the optimization because after lots of setting tweaking and researching to no success, I know I'm not the only person having performance issues with this game.”
- “Do not play, insanely poor optimization. I play the game with everything set to medium settings with a 4070 Ti and this game pulls 100% of my GPU, it pulled so much that it actually caused my PC to crash.”
- “Right now, if you have an older machine, you might wait until they do some performance upgrades to the engine, because playing on the lowest settings just drains the aesthetic and you'll likely only be getting 30-40 fps looking at the potato scenery.”
stability
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
83%
The game's stability is hampered by numerous bugs, glitches, and occasional lag spikes that impact gameplay and multiplayer experience, with frequent crashes and control issues reported. While it runs smoothly on some systems and offers enjoyable mechanics like the buggy and AI behaviors, inconsistent performance and persistent bugs detract from the overall experience. Despite being fun and promising, stability remains a significant concern, especially outside of standard resolutions and on console ports.
- “Fun and the game runs great as well!”
- “Runs great on Linux, too.”
- “Barely requires any form of specs, looks great, runs great.”
- “Buggy mess with the worst 3c controls I have seen in a long time.”
- “Game is a buggy piece of junk that constantly lurches and crashes; this isn't early access, this is you shouldn't be exposing people to your current coding skill level.”
- “The game is unfortunately a downgrade from how it used to be a couple years back; stability issues and graphical glitches are far more common after the console and PC engines were merged.”
grinding
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is a significant aspect, with many players noting it can be time-consuming, sometimes tedious, and occasionally overwhelming due to the need for repeated farming and progression through multiple difficulty tiers. However, some find the grind addictive and enjoyable, especially given the variety of weapons, crafting, and multiplayer features that give purpose to the time invested. Overall, grinding is often seen as substantial but necessary for full progression and unlocking content, with mixed opinions on its impact on the game's pace and enjoyment.
- “After 16 attempts at normal difficulty, with no modifications and several hours farming materials to create hundreds of stun and explosive arrows, barrels, multiple food buffs, and spending almost 150 skill points, the game revealed heavy grinding.”
- “This game has fundamentally 4 difficulties which you need to complete in order; it forces you to replay the game repeatedly to whittle down your talent tree and overcome challenging sections, making grinding a core necessity.”
- “Progression can be slow, tedious, and boring, with many core mechanics feeling more grindy and less enjoyable compared to the first game.”
humor
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
92%
8%
The game's humor shines through its quirky, often absurd moments, blending hilarious bugs, running gags (like forgetting your kidnapped son), and chaotic co-op antics that enhance the fun and camaraderie. This lighthearted approach balances the intense survival experience, with funny achievements, playful character interactions, and unexpected comedic situations making the gameplay entertaining and memorable.
- “Playing solo is intense, but playing co-op with friends takes it to a whole new level — laughing one minute, screaming the next.”
- “- Crash. Wake up to your son being kidnapped by a naked guy. I didn't see anything. Wake up, with whiplash. Loot everything you see. Eat all the somehow unscathed plane food you see. Grab some sort of passenger list. Forget about it. Find some drugs. Use the drugs. See the axe that's stuck inside the flight attendant. Pull out the axe (the way King Arthur would have done it). Jump out the back of the plane and break open some suitcases. Start cutting some trees. Realize that you're the Hulk by carrying two logs at once. Open the oh-so-handy survival book that you just so happen to have. Start building a log cabin. Realize that it's going to take forever to build it. Abandon the building site. Find a new site and start building a new, smaller house. Continue cutting trees for the rest of the day. Hear weird noises during the night. Rustling in the bushes, someone laughing. Take a closer look. See the naked man. The naked man sees you. The naked man runs at you. Regret your decision. Panic. Run, fast. Faster. Eat, replenish your stamina. Climb the mountain. Jump into a lake. Swim, swim, swim till daylight. Run back to camp. Change pants. Calm down. Go back to building defense. Remember that you have a son. Decide that you want to live. 10/10 would forget about Timmy again.”
- “I giggled when the 'worst father' achievement popped up with a bittersweet taste but it was funny, the entire run revolved into the running gag that we were parents that forgot they had a kid at some point.”
- “You're not funny!”
music
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
61%
26%
13%
The game's music is generally praised for its quality, fitting atmosphere, and memorable soundtrack, with some calling it one of the best in gaming and highlighting its dynamic integration with gameplay. However, a few users find it repetitive or overly loud, and some believe it could be better produced. Overall, the soundtrack significantly enhances the gaming experience and is considered a standout feature.
- “One standout of this game is the soundtrack; go on Spotify and listen to it, it is genuinely one of the best game soundtracks.”
- “The soundtrack is phenomenal and adapts to match your environment and mob interaction.”
- “Graphics and style are magnificent, music is glorious, and the gameplay is stunning, challenging, and interesting.”
- “The music could be done a bit better, but it's not too bad.”
- “But I don't like that stupid music, which is repetitive for infinite time, so I have to turn it off.”
- “-generic story, music and enemy designs taken straight out of a free mobile game-”
replayability
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
74%
10%
16%
Replayability is generally rated highly, with many players praising the variety of characters, skills, and weapons that make multiple playthroughs enjoyable and satisfying. Some note that while the game offers strong replay value through experimentation and unique builds, it may not be infinitely replayable once all content is unlocked. However, the overall sentiment highlights fun, fast-paced gameplay that remains engaging over many sessions, particularly for fans of roguelikes and open-world survival genres.
- “You start slow by unlocking items, trying new survivors and their powers, getting familiar with maps, layouts and mechanics (all the necessary information is right in the logbook). Then you start experimenting with builds and artifacts, looking for secrets, exploring, and finally you start pushing the limits, becoming so incredibly strong that it feels bad to end the run as it's been several hours straight. Fantastic experience with limitless replayability!”
- “Great replayability with 13 unique characters with different playstyles (you get 4 more with DLC). Just fun, cheap, easy to run, great time killer of a game. As someone who's not really a fan of roguelike games, this game is definitely worth the try. 8/10”
- “Cute characters, fun and sometimes wacky weapon choices, lots of replayability, good solo (either truly solo or with a robot team) or with a group of up to 3 other people.”
- “Replayability: it's a one-time experience, only for achievements, or if you wait a few months/years to replay.”
- “Replayability: one and done, maybe worth a second run after a year.”
- “There's not really any reason that a game like this shouldn’t be more playable on deck.”
atmosphere
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
43%
19%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive, dynamic, and haunting qualities, effectively blending creepy tension with moments of calm. Rich environmental storytelling, stunning visuals—especially in caves and at sunrise—and a strong sense of mystery enhance player engagement. Whether playing solo or cooperatively, the atmospheric experience deeply enriches the survival gameplay, making the world feel alive and memorable.
- “The atmosphere during sunrise, in dark caves, or in the shroud itself looks amazing and gives the game a lot of personality.”
- “The atmosphere, the soundtrack, the storytelling through environmental clues — it's all done masterfully.”
- “It's the kind of game that breathes life back into what is possible and does a good job immersing you into its fantasy; dashing like a mad man through the shroud at night, trying to find an exit before you succumb to the toxins is great fun, the atmosphere is perfect.”
- “In fact, I doubt they've consumed much media at all, as the entire atmosphere feels like a reference conjured by a schizophrenic who has only passively picked up bits and pieces of cultural knowledge.”
- “The dark atmosphere and non-linear storyline, revealed in fragments, create a strong sense of mystery and danger.”
- “Creepy atmosphere, tense nights, unexpected encounters in caves, and a constant struggle for resources.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
Character development is praised for its compelling and tragic lore that players uncover through story logs and connections to the first game, making it a favorite aspect. While character designs are generally cute and feature impressive builds, some are seen as having missed potential with less innovative concepts or kits. Overall, the narrative depth complements the engaging gameplay loop well.
- “I have also been very happy with the lore and character development.”
- “But apart from the incredibly amazing gameplay loop and character designs, the story—which mind you is almost unimportant in-game—is one of the most tragic pieces of fiction I've read that came out of story logs with brief explanation in it. You have to piece enough together and accompany it with the lore of the first game to fully realize its story, which will also be updated with future DLCs. It is my favorite aspect of the game.”
- “Cute character designs, insane builds.”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The game has no microtransactions and only requires payment for the base game and occasionally released DLCs, which mainly add new characters and weapons. However, some users view it as a low-effort cash grab with questionable review authenticity, and it is generally only deemed worth purchasing on sale. Overall, the monetization is straightforward but may not justify the price for many players.
- “There are no microtransactions; you pay for the game and eventual DLCs if you want to, which provide new characters and weapons mostly and are not released very often.”
- “It's obviously a lazy, minimum viable product cash grab.”
- “Slightly pay-to-progress, pay-to-win, more shops than gameplay, casino simulator.”
- “All reviews appear at almost exactly the same time after launch, written in broken English or AI-generated slop, indicating fake reviews for asset flips and cash grabs.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game evokes a rollercoaster of emotions, blending cozy base-building with intense, terrifying encounters and chaotic co-op moments. Players experience a mix of peaceful survival, panic, and humor, though some feel conflicted about the ending and certain gameplay frustrations. Overall, it's described as addictive, scary, and darkly funny.
- “One moment you're building a cozy log cabin, the next you're getting jumped by a family of mutants who didn't appreciate your home renovation project. What I loved: building bases that start cute and end up looking like medieval fortresses, the creepy caves (I was not emotionally prepared for those), that mix of peaceful survival and absolute panic, co-op chaos — it's all fun until someone accidentally destroys the base. It's one of those games that's terrifying, hilarious, and addictive all at once.”