Conarium

Conarium is short but enjoyable game with a gripping storyline and beautiful animation. But it's not much horror as it is Lovecraftian. If you are into plots in the style of the influential horror fiction author, you should probably check it out.

71%Game Brain Score

story, atmosphere

grinding, stability

75% User Score Based on 1,720 reviews

Critic Score 68%Based on 16 reviews

Platforms

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About

Conarium is a single player puzzle game with a horror theme. It was developed by Stormling Studios and was released on June 6, 2017. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

"Conarium is a single-player Horror Action game with an intriguing Lovecraftian story, masterful graphics, and fantastic music. As Frank Gilman, you explore an abandoned Antarctic base, opening your eyes to a chilling and vulnerably unfamiliar world. Despite some grinding and buggy aspects, the game provides an excellent atmosphere."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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75%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,720 reviews

story348 positive mentions

grinding48 negative mentions

Beautiful graphics and environments that create a strong Lovecraftian atmosphere.
Engaging story that captures the essence of Lovecraft's themes of cosmic horror and the unknown.
Puzzles are generally well-designed and rewarding, with a good balance of challenge.

Game is relatively short, taking only about 4-5 hours to complete.
Some puzzles can be confusing or lack clear hints, leading to unnecessary backtracking.
Voice acting and dialogue can be awkward and detract from immersion.

story
1,074 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
64%
4%
The story of "Conarium" is heavily inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's works, particularly "At the Mountains of Madness," and is characterized by a mix of atmospheric horror and cosmic dread. While some players appreciate the immersive storytelling and rich lore presented through environmental details and collectible documents, others find the narrative disjointed and confusing, with an abrupt ending that leaves much unresolved. Overall, the game offers a unique but polarizing experience, appealing primarily to fans of Lovecraftian themes and those who enjoy story-driven exploration.
- “The story itself develops slowly and you get to feel the tension rising as more and more of the mystery becomes apparent.”
- “Seamlessly blending elements from 'At the Mountains of Madness', 'The Whisperer in Darkness', 'Polaris', and 'The Dream Cycle', it tells a unique story that captures both the sense of dread and the sense of wonder found in Lovecraft's writing.”
- “The atmosphere is so thick you could cut it with a knife and the story is engaging.”
- “The story is mostly disjointed and the ending is very abrupt, so I can't say this really left a strong final impression on me, but the actual journey was enjoyable.”
- “You won't find much of a 'game' here, and the story it spins is one told many times before, in various variations, so what's left here isn't really much that is worth your time.”
- “It didn't completely manage to grab me, mostly due to the insistence on Myst-style incomprehensible puzzles, a wealth of 'extra stuff' that's only there for achievements, plus the story being extremely rambling and incoherent.”
atmosphere
650 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
34%
2%
The atmosphere in "Conarium" is widely praised for its immersive and haunting qualities, effectively capturing the essence of Lovecraftian horror through detailed environments, sound design, and a sense of dread. Many reviewers highlight the game's ability to create an eerie and unsettling ambiance, making it a compelling experience for fans of atmospheric storytelling, despite some criticisms regarding gameplay and puzzle design. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered its strongest aspect, drawing players into a mysterious and foreboding world.
- “The atmosphere is so thick you could cut it with a knife and the story is engaging.”
- “Conarium is a beautifully atmospheric and highly creepy psychological horror game that runs beautifully on Linux and is easily worth twice what is being asked for it.”
- “The atmosphere and storytelling is right in line with the classical writings of Lovecraft.”
- “Unfortunately, all that build up and atmosphere got halted right when the drawing puzzle showed up.”
- “However, despite its strong start, I must say that sadly the atmosphere doesn't really live up to the hype it created by making such amazing atmosphere in the start, becoming more tedious and puzzle-centric.”
- “The atmosphere was okay but simply not good enough, I like the Lovecraft stories that this game takes as archetypes, but instead of getting immersed in them like in 'The Rats in the Walls' or 'The Outsider' I simply felt let down here.”
graphics
416 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
42%
1%
The graphics of the game have received a largely positive reception, with many players praising the stunning visuals, atmospheric design, and effective use of Unreal Engine 4. While some noted issues with animations and occasional graphical glitches, the overall aesthetic successfully captures the Lovecraftian themes, creating an immersive experience that enhances the storytelling. However, a few reviews pointed out that certain elements, like character models and UI design, fell short of expectations, leading to a mixed but generally favorable view of the game's graphical quality.
- “The visuals are beautiful, eerie, and compelling.”
- “The graphics are beautiful, and I never dipped below 60 fps with everything maxed out.”
- “The graphics carry much of the game with moody, colorful environments rich in detail.”
- “Firstly, the visuals are headache inducing. I know they are going for a lucid out-of-body experience, but the static screen plus the wobbly movement really forced me to take frequent breaks throughout my play sessions.”
- “The graphics are rudimentary with many ugly textures and poorly done effects, yet it's AAA-title-level GPU intensive (at least on my system).”
- “The plot is weak, the graphics mediocre, the layouts uninteresting, and altogether not worth full price.”
gameplay
318 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
66%
14%
The gameplay in Aporia is primarily focused on exploration and puzzle-solving, often described as linear and simplistic, with many players finding the mechanics repetitive and frustrating. While the game features beautiful graphics and an immersive atmosphere, the lack of engaging gameplay elements, such as meaningful challenges and intuitive item interactions, detracts from the overall experience. Many reviews highlight that the gameplay feels more like a walking simulator with basic puzzles, leading to a mixed reception regarding its ability to maintain player interest.
- “The gameplay is primarily exploration and puzzles, which some might find boring, but I think this style of gameplay suits the Lovecraftian genre very well.”
- “Gameplay is varied, and puzzles are just the right difficulty without holding up progression for too long...provided you pay careful attention to clues in the environments.”
- “Great atmosphere, beautiful visuals, great gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is mostly walking and solving puzzles here and there.”
- “All in all, a very pretty game, but the unfortunate gameplay design choices made it a very short, linear and easy one, that does not satisfy as much as their older titles.”
- “I heard good things about this game, but the gameplay loop is terrible: all about locked doors and no hint of where to go.”
music
120 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
45%
3%
The music in the game is widely praised for its atmospheric and immersive qualities, with many reviewers highlighting the eerie and haunting soundtracks that enhance the overall experience. While some describe the soundtrack as serviceable or passable, others consider it a standout feature that effectively builds tension and complements the game's visuals. Overall, the sound design, including ambient noises and music, is noted as a significant contributor to the game's immersive and unsettling atmosphere.
- “The music, graphics, and color are all fantastic.”
- “A nice and dark soundtrack underlines the strange and unnatural atmosphere.”
- “Great atmosphere, beautiful world, and tension-building music that keeps you on your toes.”
- “There is background music even if you turn the music off.”
- “A nice looking game, but the worst kind of PC puzzle game with no hints, no logical puzzle progression, seemingly random encounters without explanation and a soundtrack that makes constant noises as if to spook the player, but provides no context to the noises.”
- “Because I always like to mention the music: the soundtrack is passable, but nothing truly special.”
grinding
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
5%
89%
The reviews highlight a pervasive sense of tedium associated with grinding in the game, particularly due to repetitive puzzles, excessive backtracking, and a slow pace that detracts from the initial engaging atmosphere. While the environments are praised for their beauty, many players found the gameplay to be frustratingly dull and unnecessarily complicated, leading to a lack of enjoyment as the game progressed. Overall, the grinding aspect is seen as a significant drawback, overshadowing the game's potential.
- “It should be fun and interesting, not tedious, meaningless, and unnecessarily frustrating.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “A lot of grinding.”
- “It is tedious, boring and full of constant backtracking.”
- “The game is slow to start... I would say the first 25% of the game is pretty tedious and not very fun.”
- “However, the pacing is just absolutely butchered by how unnecessarily tedious and difficult some of these puzzles are.”
stability
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
5%
79%
The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant bugs and crashes, particularly on certain systems like Mac. However, others report a smooth experience with minimal glitches and good performance on mid-range PCs. Overall, while some users find the game unplayable due to technical issues, others praise its stability and optimization.
- “The game runs great on my mid-range PC.”
- “Nailed the atmosphere for the game, runs great, and the puzzles, while interesting, were not overly complicated.”
- “Runs great performance-wise; won't win any beauty contests, but still looks good.”
- “I would love to recommend this game because it is in a genre that I love, but it is honestly too buggy for me to do that.”
- “Would have loved to try this one out, but it consistently crashes to desktop as soon as I load in, and after weeks of on-again, off-again troubleshooting, I have been unable to fix the issue.”
- “I encountered weird graphical glitches which make this game unplayable.”
optimization
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
47%
12%
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant performance issues, including struggles to maintain a stable framerate even on high-end machines. Conversely, others found the game well-optimized, running smoothly on older hardware without major bugs. Overall, while graphics are praised, the inconsistency in performance suggests that optimization may not be uniform across all systems.
- “Very well optimized, which not all UE4 games can claim.”
- “The game is well optimized such that it ran at a decent frame rate and without glitches on my relatively outdated PC.”
- “It's well optimized for my 970 to play on 1080p.”
- “It struggles to maintain a good framerate even when played on a massively overpowered machine; this seems to be an issue of optimization.”
- “All in all, it's poorly optimized.”
- “It feels like it was optimized for older hardware and struggles with modern cards.”
replayability
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
72%
19%
The game's replayability is mixed, with some players appreciating the presence of multiple endings and collectibles that encourage additional playthroughs, while others find it limited and short-lived, suggesting that once the secrets are uncovered, there is little incentive to replay. Overall, it offers decent replay value for achievement hunters and those interested in exploring different outcomes, but many feel it lacks substantial content to warrant multiple playthroughs.
- “It has some decent replayability due to multiple endings and different secrets and objects to find in your playthrough.”
- “I enjoyed this game; it had a decent amount of replayability, especially when I decided I would go through and collect all of the achievements.”
- “There’s a second ending to be witnessed, and a smattering of collectibles to scoop up if you’re so inclined, lending some replayability to this otherwise short-lived experience.”
- “The replayability is very low.”
- “Absolutely, go buy it and enjoy a little adventure but don't ever look up for the tips and solutions, if you do you will miss a once-in-a-lifetime experience as this game has no replayability.”
- “Replayability: 3/10”
character development
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The game has been criticized for its lack of character development, with many reviewers noting that the characters are forgettable and underdeveloped. In contrast, previous titles from the same developer showcased more depth and complexity in character backstories, making the current game's shortcomings more apparent. Overall, players feel that the character development is a significant area where the game falls short.
- “However, the game leaves much to be desired in terms of gameplay and character development.”
- “Unfortunately, the lack of character development makes the game's characters forgettable.”
- “Interestingly, while Zoetrope greatly developed characters in their previous games, allowing us to learn a lot about Howard Loreid, his family, and some side characters, you can't find such character development in this game.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is primarily driven by the voice acting, particularly the character Frank, which many players find hilarious. While the comedic elements are appreciated, some users feel that the overall game quality detracts from the experience, suggesting that improvements are needed.
- “The voice acting is so funny.”
- “I just think Frank is so funny.”
- “This is absolutely hilarious!”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The emotional aspect of the game is polarizing; while some players find it engaging, others criticize the storytelling as boring and lacking substance, leading to a feeling of missed potential. The gameplay primarily consists of walking and simple puzzles, which may detract from the emotional impact for some players.
- “The game is emotionally engaging.”
- “The narrative and atmosphere create a deeply emotional experience.”
- “Huge possibilities ruined by boring storytelling and, well, basically nothing going on!”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users feel that the monetization strategy, particularly through Steam ads, creates an impression of a more complex system than what is actually present in the game.