Corpse of Discovery

59%
Game Brain Score Based on 251 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Corpse of Discovery Game Cover
A thought provoking homage to classic science fiction on procedurally generated worlds that is frustrating, pleasing and enjoyable all at once.
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"Corpse of Discovery" is a first-person narrative-driven adventure game. As a space explorer, you'll face challenging planetary environments and make tough decisions that affect the story's outcome. The game also explores themes of isolation, mental health, and the impact of corporate interests in space exploration.

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

59%
Audience ScoreBased on 251 reviews
story62 positive mentions
optimization16 negative mentions
  • The game features a thought-provoking story that resonates deeply, particularly for parents, exploring themes of regret and the importance of family.
  • The visuals and atmosphere are engaging, with unique alien worlds that enhance the exploration experience.
  • The voice acting, especially from the AI companion AVA, adds depth and humor to the narrative, making the journey more enjoyable.
  • The game suffers from poor optimization, leading to significant frame rate drops and graphical glitches that detract from the experience.
  • Gameplay can feel repetitive and drawn-out, with a lack of meaningful objectives that may lead to boredom.
  • The narrative delivery is often heavy-handed and can feel like a lecture, undermining the overall impact of the story.
  • story282 mentions

    The story of the game revolves around an astronaut explorer who embarks on missions for a corporate entity, driven by the hope of returning home to his family after achieving financial security. While some players appreciate the underlying themes of regret and the critique of corporate life, many criticize the narrative for being repetitive, shallow, and lacking depth, with a predictable and unsatisfying conclusion. Overall, the story is seen as a mixed bag, with intriguing elements overshadowed by execution flaws and a lack of engaging gameplay.

    • “On the surface, the story is about an explorer (employed by the Corps of Discovery) - you - and each 'chapter' is you waking up on a planet, and you have to find 5 map markers.”
    • “There are also extra pink markers that, despite being on alien planets (that all look different, despite having the same name), refer back to your normal life on Earth - they will be a pizza, or some sort of coffee beverage, or a stroller, etc. Before you start each mission, you have a message from your family (a wife and 3 kids) that essentially all say 'we miss you, when are you coming home, we haven't heard from you, please contact us, we love you, come home.' So your journey starts out as 'working' one mission for the company with the expectation of a huge payday and retirement to set up you and your family financially, to eventually just trying to find a way home.”
    • “The story is nice and makes you wonder about possible futures of the human race, space/time travel, and humanity/human nature, but the game itself... it was a bit awkward, not very much stuff that you can do other than jetpacking from place to place and listening to Ava blab in your ears.”
    • “The story is non-existent, it literally is just about you being a worthless human sent here to do work and it doesn't matter if you die, etc.”
    • “The story is supposed to be a metaphor for corporate overlords, wasting your time working, you just being a worthless slave, stuff like that; however, it's more than just a metaphor... that's all the dialogue is about.”
    • “The story lays out a lot of possible threads but never follows up on most.”
  • gameplay98 mentions

    The gameplay of "Corpse of Discovery" has been widely criticized for its repetitive and bland mechanics, primarily revolving around traveling from point A to B and interacting with items on various planets. While the game incorporates some platforming elements and a jet pack to add verticality, many players found the exploration tedious and lacking in innovation, leading to a frustrating experience that detracted from its otherwise engaging narrative. Overall, the gameplay is described as simplistic and drawn-out, making it difficult for players to remain invested.

    • “The gameplay segments I found the most evocative were listening to the player character’s messages from his family during the intro spacestation segments before each planet.”
    • “Gameplay-wise you will, as an astronaut (in 3D platforming style), explore the surfaces of mysterious alien planets and the lifeforms on them, aided by an AI drone, a jet pack, and waypoints.”
    • “This is spiced up with the addition of a jet pack and platforming elements which bring in a nice verticality to the usual 'walking simulator' mechanic.”
    • “Unfortunately, once you are on the planets, the exploration gameplay element can feel very drawn-out and bland.”
    • “Very few titles can boast of gameplay repetitive to such a magnitude that it causes physical and psychological pain.”
    • “Gameplay 3/10 - extremely dull, even mocks you at a few points at how repetitive and meaningless what you are doing is.”
  • graphics52 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the beautiful art style and overall visual quality, while others point out significant technical issues such as graphical glitches, poor draw distance, and framerate problems. Despite these shortcomings, many players find the visuals engaging and fitting for the surreal narrative, contributing to an enjoyable experience overall. However, there are consistent mentions of the need for improved performance and polish to fully realize the game's potential.

    • “Beautiful graphics, nice music, touching story with good voice acting and a bit of humor.”
    • “It's a wonderful literary experience, accompanied by a beautiful soundtrack, a very distinct art style and a writing that has its own personality, much like games by The Chinese Room.”
    • “I was really excited for the first 15 minutes when I saw the impressive graphics of the living quarters.”
    • “Poor graphics.”
    • “The graphics performance needs to be drastically improved before I could recommend anyone purchasing this game.”
    • “I had a handful of frustrating moments when I would clip through the floor to my death or get caught in a graphics hole.”
  • optimization36 mentions

    The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with many players reporting issues such as memory leaks, stuttering, and inconsistent frame rates, particularly on lower-end systems. While some users note improvements following patches, the overall consensus is that the optimization remains subpar, making it difficult to recommend until further enhancements are made.

    • “Earlier reviews complain of performance problems, but it looks like performance is perfectly acceptable now that it's been patched a couple of times.”
    • “As of writing this, optimization still isn't quite up to snuff, and you'll most likely run into some stuttering issues every now and then, but it's noticeably improved since release.”
    • “The game picks up slowly and is poorly optimized, but the payoff is seriously incredible.”
    • “Very badly optimized walking simulator with a memory leak that causes crashes, sounds jumping in and out of existence, and jittery and stuttering FPS.”
    • “I did have a few performance issues; however, the game frequently dropped below 60 FPS and had really bad pop-up. I run a 980 Titan, and a game of this visual fidelity should not run this poorly. I should be able to expect a consistent 144 FPS.”
    • “The graphics performance needs to be drastically improved before I could recommend anyone purchasing this game.”
  • music34 mentions

    The music in the game is generally praised for its quality and emotional depth, with many reviewers highlighting the beautiful soundtrack and effective voice acting that enhance the overall experience. However, some players noted issues with repetitiveness and occasional interruptions that detracted from immersion. Overall, the audio direction is considered a strong aspect, contributing significantly to the game's atmosphere and narrative.

    • “The music and audio direction are both fantastic, with some pleasant surprises.”
    • “The music and atmosphere of the game are fantastic.”
    • “It's a wonderful literary experience, accompanied by a beautiful soundtrack, a very distinct art style and a writing that has its own personality, much like games by The Chinese Room.”
    • “It's irrelevant in combination with the soft piano music.”
    • “To make it worse, the gameplay consists of nothing but moving from point A to point B to the soundtrack of grating, strained heavy breathing of the main character.”
    • “Sound 5/10 - average quality music, very repetitive.”
  • stability18 mentions

    The game is widely criticized for its instability, with numerous reports of bugs and glitches, including issues like resetting mouse sensitivity and graphical problems. While some players experienced no crashes and found it playable on certain hardware, the overall consensus highlights a frustratingly buggy experience that detracts from gameplay.

    • “The game runs great on my AMD 6-core with an NVIDIA GTX 750 Ti.”
    • “However, it's a buggy mess. The most annoying issue was resetting to default mouse sensitivity every now and then, sometimes as soon as you used the jetpack.”
    • “It's really, really buggy though.”
    • “- Graphics are a bit of a mixed bag. While the levels look decent to nice, the draw distance is bad, and there are some noticeable graphical glitches. The framerate can also be dodgy at times.”
  • atmosphere16 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive and evocative qualities, featuring a blend of loneliness and creepiness that enhances the storytelling experience. Players appreciate the beautiful visuals and music, which contribute to a compelling mood, making the short gameplay feel impactful. Overall, the atmospheric design effectively compensates for the limited gameplay mechanics, creating a memorable narrative experience.

    • “The music and atmosphere of the game are fantastic.”
    • “Yes, it is short but in terms of mood and atmosphere, it works.”
    • “It's an interactive story, a narrative museum or, as the common term these days is, a 'walking simulator,' in that its focus is on story and creating a certain atmosphere to create a narrative experience with limited gameplay mechanics.”
    • “But the atmosphere makes up for it!”
  • emotional14 mentions

    The game is praised for its emotional depth, with players highlighting its heart-wrenching moments, touching story, and impressive voice acting that evoke strong feelings. Many reviewers noted the game's ability to inspire introspection and emotional immersion, making it a memorable experience despite its short gameplay duration. Overall, it is recommended for its beautiful graphics and emotional resonance, though some expressed concerns about its price relative to the length of play.

    • “I highly recommend this game; never have I been so emotionally driven by a game, and this one sure will pull the feels. Overall, I enjoyed the fantastic worlds and the emotional pull the game pushes you through. Again, loved this one and would highly recommend.”
    • “My wife watched me play, and we both really felt the emotional impact moments from the game.”
    • “Beautiful graphics, nice music, touching story with good voice acting and a bit of humor.”
  • humor14 mentions

    The game features a blend of great humor, including dark and vitriolic elements that provoke both laughter and reflection. Players appreciate its creativity and the genuine comedic moments, although those seeking a straightforward gameplay experience may find it less suitable. Overall, the humor is a standout aspect, enhancing the game's emotional depth and engagement.

    • “It's surprisingly humorous as well, in the darkest of ways.”
    • “The game was genuinely funny at points, which wins them bonus points.”
    • “There's a good amount of dark and vitriolic humor that makes you both smile and think.”
  • replayability8 mentions

    The game offers minimal replayability, primarily appealing to those interested in exploring its narrative or sharing the experience with others. While it may be worth the low price for a short playthrough, players should not expect significant value in replaying the game beyond discovering missed objectives.

    • “The game is worth a $5 purchase for those looking for a short (approximately 3 hour) walking sim with an interesting, albeit depressing narrative, and aren't looking for games with replayability in mind.”
    • “As with most games in its genre, there's little replay value, unless you want to see if you missed any secondary objectives.”
    • “There is next to no replayability unless you are some kind of theorist fanatic or have a friend sit down and play it while you look for their thoughts and reactions.”
  • grinding6 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, as progressing from one objective to another feels more like a checklist than an engaging experience. The repetitive nature of the tasks detracts from the intended atmosphere of loneliness, and the dialogue lacks authenticity, contributing to the overall sense of monotony.

    • “Getting from one objective to the other gets tedious and does not further the feeling of loneliness but feels like being in a game ticking boxes.”
    • “It can be a little grindy with objective after objective.”
    • “Her passive aggressive lines aren't well written and feel just as ingenuine and soulless as her initial encouraging lines, making her more tedious than anything else.”
  • character development2 mentions

    The game is criticized for its minimal character development and weak plot, leaving players feeling disconnected from the characters and their journeys.

    • “The game lacked any real character development or plot.”
    • “The game lacked any real character development or plot.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

75% average critic score

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Play time

4hMedian play time
4hAverage play time
4-4hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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