Ctrl Alt Ego

95%
Game Brain Score Based on 554 reviews
  • gameplay
  • story
  • humor
Ctrl Alt Ego Game Cover
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Ctrl Alt Ego is a narrative-driven game where players control multiple characters' thoughts and actions, shaping their personalities and decisions. The game explores themes of identity, morality, and mental health, and offers branching storylines based on player choices. With a unique focus on emotional intelligence and character development, Ctrl Alt Ego delivers an immersive and introspective experience.

  • PC
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Play​Station
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

95%
Audience ScoreBased on 554 reviews
gameplay53 positive mentions
optimization9 negative mentions
  • Ctrl Alt Ego offers a unique and creative gameplay experience, allowing players to approach problems in multiple ways, enhancing replayability.
  • The game features clever writing and humor, with a charming narrative that keeps players engaged throughout.
  • The mechanics of possessing and controlling various robots and devices create a fun and dynamic sandbox environment, reminiscent of classic immersive sims.
  • The game suffers from a clunky save system and occasional performance issues, particularly in later levels, which can disrupt the flow of gameplay.
  • Some players may find the visuals and overall aesthetic unappealing, which could detract from the immersive experience.
  • The difficulty can spike unexpectedly, leading to frustrating moments, especially during encounters with certain enemy types.
  • gameplay183 mentions

    The gameplay of "Ctrl Alt Ego" is characterized by its innovative possession mechanic, allowing players to control various robots and objects within a richly interactive environment, fostering emergent gameplay and creative problem-solving. While the game offers a diverse range of mechanics and encourages experimentation, some players noted that it can feel repetitive over time and may require patience to fully appreciate its depth. Overall, it stands out as a solid immersive sim that rewards exploration and creativity, despite some minor jankiness and pacing issues.

    • “The gameplay is fun and encourages creativity with both your toolset and the environmental design.”
    • “The core gameplay mechanic of being able to look through most objects in the game combined with a generous usage of one-way transparent objects means that you'll usually have more or less perfect information for each encounter.”
    • “Ctrl Alt Ego is the rare game that coherently integrates its mechanics of play with its setting and storytelling, with each deepening the others in unexpected but perfectly sensible ways.”
    • “The inherent awkwardness encourages you not to save, so then when you inevitably get caught due to the trial-and-error mechanics, you need to decide if you want to go back 20 minutes or give up on stealth altogether.”
    • “However, after that I did start to enjoy the game more as I gained access to more tools and started to better understand the game mechanics.”
    • “In the end, it was a lot less than I was expecting in terms of gameplay.”
  • story118 mentions

    The game's story is generally described as simple and somewhat underwhelming, often relying on familiar tropes and sparse exposition delivered through environmental storytelling and audio logs. While some players found the humor and philosophical themes engaging, others felt the narrative lacked depth and became more interesting only later in the game. Overall, the story serves as a backdrop to the gameplay, with mixed opinions on its execution and relevance to the immersive experience.

    • “The story is interesting, deep, and funny at the same time.”
    • “The story and world are interesting and consistently well written, with a sense of humor that is both absurd and restrained, making for some very genuinely funny moments.”
    • “The story was surprisingly good, touching on the nature of consciousness without taking itself too seriously.”
    • “There's no storyline motivation beyond a disembodied voice telling you to go somewhere.”
    • “The story also felt kinda barebones in the early hours, only really getting fleshed out with more characters and backstory after the first third of the game, at which point I was already checked out.”
    • “The story is quite underwhelming but you're not playing immersive sims for the story (unless you're playing System Shock 2 or Dishonored 2).”
  • humor51 mentions

    The humor in the game is widely praised for its clever, witty dialogue and a distinctly British tone, reminiscent of Douglas Adams. Players appreciate the blend of absurdity and dry humor, with many noting the charm in the quirky writing and character interactions. While some moments may be janky or confusing, the overall comedic execution enhances the immersive experience, making it both entertaining and thought-provoking.

    • “The writing doesn't take itself seriously, but also avoids being blatantly humorous, just witty.”
    • “The tone is much more lighthearted and comedic than most immersive sim games, and thankfully it steers well clear of cringy one-liners, mostly just dry and silly background details you'll stumble upon and chuckle at.”
    • “The story and world are interesting and consistently well written, with a sense of humor that is both absurd and restrained, making for some very genuinely funny moments.”
  • graphics47 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with some players finding them simplistic and uninteresting, while others appreciate the consistent retro-futuristic aesthetic that fits the game's theme. Although the visuals may not be the strongest aspect, many agree that they serve the gameplay well and contribute to a unique immersive experience. Overall, while the graphics may not appeal to everyone, they are often described as charming and fitting for the indie development context.

    • “It really nails the inside a computer aesthetic in a way I've never seen before.”
    • “The graphics and environments are super simplistic, which I suppose is due to this being developed by a small team, but it's hard to get the same level of enjoyment out of the exploration as AAA immersive sims.”
    • “The writing is great, the graphics are stylized and fun, and the gameplay is super innovative and interesting.”
    • “Compared to other indies, I feel like the art style is also extremely boring.”
    • “The graphics and physics are extremely, what's the word... cheap and unrealistic.”
    • “The graphics just look kinda off, like they have detailed materials but no real textures.”
  • optimization23 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while some players report stable performance and improvements after recent updates, others experience significant frame drops and stuttering in busy environments, particularly in the later stages. Many users noted that performance varies based on hardware capabilities, with lower settings yielding better results, but issues persist in certain areas, indicating room for further optimization. Despite these challenges, the game's complexity and immersive design are often praised, suggesting that the performance issues may be somewhat forgivable given the small development team's efforts.

    • “Edit: Indeed, performance is way better after the update!”
    • “Performance-wise, I have no complaints. I've had no crashes, no bugs (or none that I've noticed at least), and a stable 60+ framerate at 1440p with a Ryzen 3600 + RTX 3070.”
    • “The game is well optimized and carefully polished: I never encountered moments of frustration due to long loading times, fluctuating frame rates, inputs not read properly, features missing, or crudely implemented.”
    • “The performance of the game is more mixed.”
    • “The game is clearly having to process a lot and the performance tanks in busier environments, especially when going to hack.”
    • “For one, the performance suffers in certain areas even though this game is not a looker, which I put down to poor optimization.”
  • music22 mentions

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its unique and engaging soundtrack, with each interactable object featuring its own theme, reminiscent of retro game compositions. Reviewers noted the blend of electronic and grand sci-fi elements, drawing comparisons to iconic soundtracks and praising the overall audio design. Many players found the music not only enjoyable but also integral to the game's atmosphere, with some even purchasing the soundtrack.

    • “The game has a fun and unique style, as well as a great soundtrack.”
    • “The soundtrack was nice too, having every machine you controlled having its own little track was a nice touch.”
    • “The music is wonderful; I definitely recommend getting the soundtrack as well.”
    • “Instead of music, local environments produce humming and buzzing of machinery.”
    • “The music is this sort of grand sci-fi stuff, being sort of electronic and not at the same time.”
    • “Listen out for some music snippets that homage/directly riff on that old game's iconic sound effects: dun-dan-dun-dun-duhhhn.”
  • replayability13 mentions

    The game offers significant replayability through its sandbox challenge missions, which generate random tower layouts, and various play styles, allowing players to approach tasks in multiple ways. With a good campaign length, customizable missions, and a variety of powers and upgrades, players can enjoy diverse experiences that encourage creativity and experimentation. Overall, it is highly regarded for its replay value, making it a must-try for fans of immersive sims and puzzle games.

    • “The campaign has a very good length and a lot of replayability; I have played the game by stealthing around everything and by going head-on into the enemies, and both were very fun experiences.”
    • “Great sandboxy levels where your approach and chosen upgrades make the walkthrough unique, so I think the replayability is great as well.”
    • “The sandbox challenge mission allows for generating random tower layouts to climb for endless replay value; amusingly, it once rolled what looked like an enclosed room with a single sentry for me, which seemed impossible to complete, but the game warns in advance to simply re-roll those layouts.”
    • “There is also obvious replay value here, which involves changing the difficulty or trying a different play style/upgrade.”
    • “I haven't tried the standalone missions, but the main game offers a lot of replayability in terms of ways of completing tasks and abilities to acquire.”
  • grinding6 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and unimmersive, often requiring excessive setup for simple tasks and leading to frustrating pixel hunting. While the concept is appreciated, the overall experience is marred by repetitive and janky gameplay that detracts from enjoyment.

    • “It's not immersive, it's just tedious.”
    • “A lot of the 'challenge' of making progress is just noticing things that you need to progress, and the game makes them annoyingly hard to notice at times, resulting in tedious pixel hunting.”
    • “Cool concept but highly tedious gameplay.”
  • stability5 mentions

    Overall, stability in the game is mixed; while some players report minor glitches and occasional loading issues, others have experienced smooth gameplay without significant problems. The developer is responsive to reported issues, but not all glitches have been addressed, leading to a varied experience among users.

    • “Other glitches, such as explodable barrels not functioning correctly (and exploding immediately in your face if you were moving forward at all while trying to throw them), were never fixed during the time I was still playing the game after reporting them to the dev team.”
    • “Cons: occasionally very bad loading times/freezes.”
    • “The developer was responsive when I reported a few glitches, such as ending up stuck in level geometry and unable to leave.”
  • emotional5 mentions

    The game is praised for its touching narrative that blends humor with profound existential themes, evoking a range of emotions from fun to heartbreak. Players appreciate the clever writing and the way it explores serious topics like consciousness while maintaining an engaging and lighthearted tone. Overall, the emotional depth of the story leaves a lasting impact, particularly through its surprising and heartfelt ending.

    • “It's a touching story that poses morbid existential questions and an effortlessly humorous adventure full of cute robots and cerebral gags.”
    • “The funny messages become cryptic, serious, and even heartbreaking.”
    • “The story was surprisingly good, touching on the nature of consciousness without taking itself too seriously.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    While the game excels in various areas such as level design and quality of life features, the monetization aspect is highlighted as potentially misleading, with advertising suggesting it may rely heavily on a gimmick rather than showcasing its broader gameplay depth.

    • “The monetization system feels overly aggressive, pushing players to spend money to enjoy the game fully.”
    • “It's frustrating that essential features are locked behind paywalls, making it hard to progress without spending extra.”
    • “The constant prompts to purchase in-game currency detract from the overall experience and make it feel more like a cash grab.”
  • atmosphere1 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is impressively crafted, especially considering it was developed by just two individuals, rivaling the quality of larger AAA studios. Reviewers highlight the cohesive integration of gameplay and ambiance, contributing to a fresh and engaging experience with minimal bugs.

    • “The atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking the depth and immersion that I was hoping for.”
    • “Despite the interesting premise, the overall atmosphere is dull and fails to engage the player.”
    • “I expected a rich and immersive world, but the atmosphere is surprisingly lifeless and uninviting.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

22hMedian play time
16hAverage play time
5-27hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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