Cylne

About

"Cylne" is a surreal, first-person art game and adventure that invites players to explore six chapters of immersive environments filled with enigmas and crystalline guitars. The game features active environmental mechanisms, platforming, and disorienting cutscenes, with no clear story but rather a collection of visual poems. Players must pay attention to their halo's feedback as they strive to achieve chapter 5, "The Choice," and unlock the optional chapter inspired by the Prometheus myth.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

49%

Audience ScoreBased on 96 reviews

graphics6 positive mentions

story4 negative mentions

The game offers a unique and surreal experience with beautiful artistic visuals that create a captivating atmosphere.
Players who enjoy exploration and abstract puzzle-solving may find the game intriguing and rewarding, especially when solving puzzles leads to new, stunning environments.
The developer shows a lot of effort in creating an artistic representation, and the sound design is appreciated by some players for enhancing the overall experience.

Many players found the gameplay confusing and frustrating, with a lack of clear narrative or direction, leading to feelings of aimlessness.
The graphics and technical performance were criticized for being poor, with rendering issues and a lack of polish that detracted from immersion.
Some players experienced nausea due to the visual effects and found the puzzle-solving mechanics to be obtuse and lacking in logic.

graphics
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
62%
15%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players noting significant rendering issues and outdated textures that detract from the overall experience. While some appreciate the artistic visuals and unique style, others find them disappointing and lacking in technical quality, leading to a loss of immersion. Overall, the game's visual presentation seems to be a major point of contention, with some players feeling it does not meet modern standards.
- “There are minor bits of jank, but the game attempts to do a lot with artistic visuals.”
- “It has very interesting visuals, some nice fitting music, and a unique overall style.”
- “Great visuals and puzzles as well.”
- “The graphics had a lot of rendering issues, not to mention the swirling, overwrought textures that got nauseating after thirty minutes.”
- “I was looking forward to a mysterious atmosphere and a beautiful world to explore, but the poor quality graphics ruined the immersion.”
- “Unfortunately, I found the graphics disappointing, especially the textures, which seemed several years out of date in their artistic quality.”
gameplay
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
50%
21%
The gameplay is described as intuitive and unique, with some players enjoying the experience despite its unusual mechanics. However, many found it confusing and frustrating, lacking meaningful challenges or engaging content, leading to a sense of emptiness in the environments. Overall, while some appreciate the novelty, others criticize the gameplay for being visually amateurish and lacking depth.
- “The gameplay is very intuitive, but you'll get the hang of it.”
- “I really enjoyed the unusual gameplay, and because of the helpfulness of the dev, I highly recommend this experience.”
- “Very unique gameplay.”
- “Visually amateurish, gameplay confusing and frustrating.”
- “Don't play this game expecting mechanical challenge or intrigue.”
- “No meaningful gameplay at all.”
atmosphere
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
20%
The game's atmosphere is generally praised for its beauty and philosophical depth, appealing particularly to fans of surreal art. However, some players feel that poor graphics detract from the immersive experience they were hoping for, leading to mixed feelings about the overall atmospheric quality.
- “Very atmospheric, mostly beautiful, and philosophical.”
- “Would certainly recommend to fans of surreal art, great atmosphere and definite challenges.”
- “I bought this in large part because it looked like it would be a beautiful, atmospheric world to explore.”
story
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's story is largely criticized for being nonexistent, leaving players feeling that the beautiful environments are ultimately empty and lacking purpose. Reviewers express disappointment over the absence of a discernible narrative or gameplay elements that provide context or direction, reducing the experience to mere puzzle-solving without meaningful engagement.
- “The environments could be surreal and interesting, but without anything gameplay-wise or story-wise in there, they end up being pretty but empty and pointless.”
- “There is no story at all, and I suspect the people who made it barely know how to code.”
- “I love puzzle games and was really excited about this game and how beautiful it looked, but there is no discernible story and no purpose except to solve the puzzles, which you don't know you're doing right or wrong until you get through it.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being poorly designed and tedious, with players experiencing frustrating moments such as getting stuck on a black screen, leading some to skip chapters entirely. Overall, it falls short compared to other games in the genre.
- “I don't recommend it; it's poorly made and tedious compared to others of the same genre.”
- “In one of the chapters, I even got a complete black screen and didn't know which direction to go back to. It was getting tedious, so I just jumped to the next chapter.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The game's music is praised for being fitting and enhancing the unique visual style, with many players expressing a strong desire for the soundtrack, which seems difficult to find. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's atmosphere.
- “It has very interesting visuals, some nice fitting music, and a unique overall style.”
- “The only game I want the soundtrack to, and I can't find it anywhere.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization has been heavily criticized, with players reporting nauseating visual effects and significant glitching and stuttering that rendered it unplayable.
- “The strange swirling static around your field of view was quite nauseating, and there was quite a lot of glitching and stuttering that made it unplayable in the end.”