Decade

About

Decade is a single player puzzle game. It was developed by New Distortions and was released on May 27, 2025. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

Decade is an interactive fiction adventure where you send children back ten years to uncover how the world ended and shape multiple futures. Investigate documents, manage aging abilities, and make impactful choices across a deep narrative with over 50k words, 20 FMV endings, and unlockable themes featuring unique soundtracks.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

97%

Audience ScoreBased on 61 reviews

story8 positive mentions

replayability3 negative mentions

Decade features a unique and engaging narrative that explores deep philosophical themes and alternate histories, making it a thought-provoking experience.
The game's art style and atmosphere are distinctive, creating an immersive environment that enhances the storytelling and emotional impact.
Despite some technical issues, the game offers significant replayability with multiple endings and branching paths, encouraging players to explore different outcomes.

The gameplay can feel unintuitive and overwhelming at times, with too many options that may not lead to meaningful progress, leading to frustration.
Technical issues, including crashes and bugs, can disrupt the experience, making it difficult for players to fully enjoy the game.
Some narrative elements and character interactions may feel repetitive or lack depth, diminishing the overall immersion and engagement.

story
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
66%
9%
The story of the game is praised for its clever storytelling, rich world-building, and philosophical depth, engaging players through a non-linear narrative that explores themes of time manipulation and character relationships. While the plot starts off slowly, it becomes increasingly captivating, with meaningful player choices that impact the characters and their aging process. However, some players noted issues with the clarity of mission outcomes and the believability of character motivations, suggesting that while the narrative is strong, it could benefit from more consistent feedback and development.
- “Very clever and stylistic game, it's very easy to find yourself ingratiated to the three characters despite the non-linear (both on a narrative and meta level) gameplay/story.”
- “The way you explore the story is very intuitive and fun, the writing and worldbuilding exceeded my expectations, and the surreal style of the endings helps exude the kind of tone and vibes the game is going for!”
- “The most enthralled I've been with media in the last few years, and I'm desperately clawing through endings, dialogue, and political ideologies because of how incredible this story has been set up.”
- “Without getting into any spoilers, it feels like what would be the 'halfway' point of the plot was hastily converted into an ending.”
- “Sending these people on a mission where the result is 'I couldn't make any changes' feels pretty bad when they're 68 years old.”
- “One part of the story I didn’t understand is why these kids have such a strong loyalty to the character at such a young age; I feel like they are simply too young to have that conviction and self-awareness for it to carry over the first 10-year gap, and they sound older than they are when you first talk to them.”
graphics
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
25%
15%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique and immersive art style, which blends elements of experimental film and minimalist visuals to create a captivating aesthetic. Reviewers note the game's ability to evoke strong emotions through its striking visuals and sound design, despite some criticism of clunky gameplay mechanics. Overall, the distinctive art direction and atmospheric presentation contribute significantly to the game's engaging narrative and thematic depth.
- “Sympathetic characters, streamlined mechanics, and a beautiful and disturbing aesthetic that fully immerses you in this game's strange alternate histories.”
- “The fmv scenes styled like 1960s experimental euro film with the overexposed, oversaturated visuals range from really cool and eerie to drawn out and (unintentionally?) campy.”
- “Great writing, decent gameplay, and stellar visuals.”
- “The art style is very much 'crush the shit out of everything so they can't see how bad my art is,' but I think it works to its benefit.”
- “This game has a unique art style that I did not expect to implement so well; I cannot think of any art style that would fit better.”
- “With a game like this, do you evaluate it based on its aesthetic and cerebral value, or do you complain about the game design? For me personally, I enjoyed the experience a lot even though it was a bit broken and segmented at times.”
gameplay
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
58%
21%
The gameplay is characterized by a unique and engaging narrative structure, though it suffers from some clunky mechanics and visual clutter that can detract from the experience. While the interface is simple to learn and the aesthetic is captivating, players have noted inconsistencies in the choice-based mechanics that can lead to frustration. Overall, the game is praised for its storytelling and character development, with gameplay serving as a secondary focus.
- “Very clever and stylistic game, it's very easy to find yourself ingratiated to the three characters despite the non-linear (both on a narrative and meta level) gameplay/story.”
- “A simple to learn interface and gameplay leads to very interesting questions - are you doing the right thing by seeking to alter the past to create a better future?”
- “Very unique gameplay loop, with a very cool and distinctive art style.”
- “Come for the story, not the gameplay.”
- “The actual gameplay is a bit flawed; the game continuously presents you with a lot of options for how to approach the mission, but a lot of it is just visual clutter. Most of the possibilities are useless and do not provide any new feedback. Instead, you are looking for 2 or 3 specific actions, and even then, sometimes I felt the game did not follow its own rules regarding how specific it wants the prompts.”
- “The choice-based gameplay felt inconsistent and sometimes just didn’t follow the rules or patterns, so that was the biggest issue.”
music
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
37%
27%
The music in the game has received positive feedback for its ability to enhance the overall atmosphere, with many reviewers noting its eerie and psychedelic qualities that complement the narrative. While some players wished for more accessibility and variety, the custom soundtracks and sound effects effectively contribute to the game's unique aesthetic and immersive experience. Overall, the music is considered a standout feature that adds depth to the gameplay, despite some minor criticisms.
- “What really sold the game to me, besides the writing, was the music.”
- “The music, UI, and narrative all work really well together to create an oppressive, psychedelic vibe that feels really unique.”
- “The music is good, not great, but good.”
- “I wish the music of the game were a little more accessible.”
- “The game drips with an eerie atmosphere from the first tone of the soundtrack, with heavily edited sound effects, repeating text, and bright, contrasting colorscapes creating an almost spiritually disorienting experience in the context of the game's apocalypse and heady themes.”
atmosphere
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
14%
29%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its soulful and immersive qualities, featuring an eerie soundtrack and striking visuals that create a spiritually disorienting experience. Reviewers highlight the strong artistic elements and sound design, which contribute to an engaging and atmospheric gameplay experience, despite some minor flaws. Overall, the game is noted for its captivating and unique ambiance that resonates with players.
- “A very soulful, atmospheric, and interesting game, despite some flaws.”
- “It's quick and intuitive to get into, and immediately atmospheric and engrossing.”
- “The game drips with an eerie atmosphere from the first tone of the soundtrack, with heavily edited sound effects, repeating text, and bright, contrasting colorscapes creating an almost spiritually disorienting experience in the context of the game's apocalypse and heady themes.”
- “The game has very strong LSD vibes to it; if you like excessively artistic visuals and an ambient atmosphere, the cutscenes in this game were a real treat for me.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
75%
The game offers significant replayability due to its multiple endings and the depth of its story, encouraging players to explore various outcomes beyond a single playthrough. While relatively short, the diverse narrative paths provide ample incentive for repeated play.
- “One of the most impressive indie games that I played in 2025, definitely has a lot of depth and replayability.”
- “Relatively short, but with a decent amount of replayability due to the alternate endings.”
- “Relatively short, but with a decent amount of replayability with the alternate endings.”
- “The game has a lot of replay value to discover every aspect of the story.”
- “There are many more endings than you could possibly reach within a single playthrough, which adds a lot of replayability.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its blend of absurdity and dark themes, with players encountering endings that range from funny and surreal to horrifying and tragic. This mix creates a unique comedic experience that often juxtaposes lighthearted moments with more serious undertones.
- “The endings I've experienced have been funny, surreal, horrifying, sad, or deeply tragic.”
- “The time periods and endings take you to some wild, dark, and sometimes absurdly funny places.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by a stunning and tragic ending cutscene, complemented by impactful character dialogue and a heartbreaking letter that resonates deeply with players. Reviewers appreciate the writing for its broader exploration of human experience rather than solely focusing on emotional provocation, making it a unique narrative journey.
- “In my opinion, the ending cutscene of Descendants and the buildup to it (certain character dialogue, background info I found, and that letter, which was so heartbreaking and unlike anything I've read before) is stunning and fantastic as much as it is tragic.”
- “For the most part, I enjoyed the writing with a few small nitpicks. Unlike just about any narrative game out there, it’s not really about any one thing or just being emotionally provocative, but rather our world as a whole and our place within it.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has been reported to have significant stability issues, including bugs and crashes, particularly related to the save function. However, the solo developer is actively addressing these problems with frequent updates, which may warrant some leniency from players.
- “Some of the timeline transitions are kind of buggy.”
- “The game is pretty buggy; I experienced a number of nasty crashes related to the save function on release day. However, the project is a solo developer who is updating the game multiple times a day to hunt for bugs, so I think some slack is warranted.”