Elegy for a Dead World

Elegy for a Dead World is a game so unique that there is no point of reference for it. Nothing like this has been done before, and it fills a niche that many gamers will appreciate. It's basically a sort of writing community and writing aid, all built into one, enabling you to channel your creative vision through its art and atmosphere, and lending a helping hand to those who don't know how to start. It's more of a place than a game, a place where you can go and enjoy other people's writing, and to see other people's different perception of the things you witnessed and saw in a certain way, and to get inspired by them and write some more. It's both weird and wonderful, satisfying and incomplete, and it's definitely something that you should consider if you're into writing and reading. However, it's also lacking a certain something that would have made it seem like more than just an experiment. It somehow seems just too indie, from the small worlds to the way your stories are shown, perhaps feeling too primitive compared to what it could have been with the proper resources. It's a different experience alright, and if you're into writing, especially if you're not as picky as I am, and are struggling to find your footing, you just might find it on the three deserted planets Elegy for a Dead World urges you to explore.

65%Game Brain Score

story, graphics

gameplay, replayability

64% User Score Based on 261 reviews

Critic Score 70%Based on 4 reviews

Platforms

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About

"Elegy for a Dead World" is a game that allows players to write their own stories as they explore mysterious, abandoned planets. Players journey through hand-painted landscapes, using written prompts to inspire their narratives. The game provides a unique platform for creative expression, blending elements of adventure and writing in a visually striking setting.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

64%

Audience ScoreBased on 265 reviews

story18 positive mentions

gameplay6 negative mentions

Elegy for a Dead World provides a unique and beautiful environment that inspires creativity and writing, making it a great tool for aspiring writers.
The game allows for both guided writing through prompts and freeform writing, giving players the freedom to express their creativity in various ways.
The visuals and atmospheric sound design enhance the experience, immersing players in the alien worlds and encouraging imaginative storytelling.

The game suffers from a lack of content, with only three short worlds to explore, which can lead to a feeling of repetitiveness and limited replayability.
Many features, such as the ability to read and share stories, are poorly implemented, making it difficult for players to engage with the community or find interesting content.
The game is not a traditional game experience, which may disappoint players looking for more interactive gameplay or challenges.

story
148 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
85%
3%
The game's story aspect revolves around players creating their own narratives inspired by beautifully illustrated worlds, using prompts and interactive elements to guide their writing. While many users appreciate the creative freedom and the potential for unique storytelling, they also express frustration with technical issues, such as crashes and difficulties in accessing or reading others' stories. Overall, the experience is seen as a blend of writing tool and exploration, appealing primarily to those who enjoy creative writing, though the execution has room for improvement.
- “The game lays out three planets with different backgrounds and sounds and requires you to fill in the blanks to create the story from what you see and hear.”
- “Each world creates a unique atmosphere and each one can make an interesting story, along with the unique prompts and situations.”
- “This is a very interesting indie game, there is no goal in this game, but to write a good story satisfactory to your own perspective, followed by good animated art, sound effects and visual effects.”
- “I'm a writer, so I thought I'd love it. The prompts were great, but when I went to read someone else's story, the game crashed. I tried it again (uninstall, reinstall), and it froze at trying to read someone else's story again, so I guess the servers are dead.”
- “Trying to read existing stories or publish a story of your own locks the game up.”
- “Publishing your stories and reading and voting on other people's stories is confusing; it's difficult to search through other people's writing (there's basically no tools for doing so, just one view showing most recent works and one view showing most voted for works); there are bugs and/or just poor behavior (like being shown the same story again and again even after voting on it).”
graphics
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
26%
7%
The graphics in the game are widely praised for their stunning and unique art style, which effectively evokes a cosmic and atmospheric feel, enhancing the overall experience. However, some users note that the limited content and gameplay detract from the potential of these visuals, with a few expressing concerns about the sound design being overly loud or distracting. Overall, while the artwork is considered beautiful and inspiring, the game's lack of depth and features leaves some players wanting more.
- “It has a beautiful, unique art style and hits that odd sci-fi feel perfectly.”
- “I loved the gorgeous visuals that greeted me when the game launched.”
- “Elegy for a dead world is a game that gives you great visuals and haunting audio.”
- “The graphics are simplistic, the colors are garish, the sounds are annoying, the prompts are uninspired and childish.”
- “Graphically you are given a soft and colorful world, devoid of any body, minus you.”
- “Aesthetically, they remind me of Banner Saga, as the layers of two-dimensional artwork slowly pass by while you walk and enjoy the environments.”
gameplay
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
75%
17%
The gameplay of the game has been widely criticized for its lack of depth and engaging mechanics, with many reviewers noting that it primarily consists of moving between writing prompts without any substantial interaction or challenge. While the concept of using the game as a creative writing tool is appreciated, the execution falls flat due to limited environments and repetitive actions, leading to a general consensus that it does not justify its price. Overall, players feel that the game lacks the essential elements of traditional gameplay, making it more of a walking simulator than a true game experience.
- “The gameplay consists of walking right along a beautiful background and making up what happens. If you are free-forming it, then you can place story marks anywhere you like, and when you come around to reading it, whatever is in the background where the marker is, you will see a small snapshot of it.”
- “There are some potential limitations in gameplay replay if there are only the three worlds, which are rather short to play through, but the writing possibilities with the many different prompts available are varied and deep.”
- “It's not a large expense and it breaks most game design conventions, but it does provide a fulfilling experience and a similar feeling of achievement that traditional gameplay elements would.”
- “At this point, I'm shocked that the game is still on sale at all given that the main mechanic is completely broken.”
- “There's no gameplay here either, it's just moving around between writing prompts.”
- “There is no final goal to achieve, there is no failure state and there are only barebones in terms of its mechanics.”
music
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
53%
12%
The music in the game is described as atmospheric and haunting, enhancing the overall experience with its eerie yet vibrant tones that complement the unique visuals of the different planets. While some players appreciate the minimalistic and stimulating soundtrack, others feel it lacks variety and doesn't always fit the scenery, leading to mixed opinions on its effectiveness. Overall, the music serves as a backdrop that can inspire creativity, though some users suggest the option to import personal playlists for a more tailored experience.
- “You walk around on 3 different beautiful planets (2D side scroller), each with their own unique art and soundtrack, and write about what you see.”
- “Diverse backdrops and story prompts, mixed with a rich soundtrack, create an overall wonderful experience that's one of a kind.”
- “The art and music are minimalistic yet stimulating.”
- “The soundtrack didn't really fit the sceneries and made it more tense than inspired.”
- “Its minimalistic approach is fine, but it's lacking content and inspiring visual and musical themes.”
- “Unfortunately, I’m a better musician than a writer, so I personally probably won’t get as much out of this as someone who is looking to get into writing as a means to creatively express themselves.”
atmosphere
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
13%
20%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and unique qualities, enhanced by cosmic visuals and a haunting ambient soundtrack that evoke a sense of mystery and inspiration. While some players find the prompts limiting and the audio repetitive, the overall design and vivid imagery successfully encourage creative expression within a beautifully crafted world. However, certain features, like the simulated book pages for reading stories, detract from the immersive experience.
- “Each world creates a unique atmosphere, and each one can make an interesting story, along with the unique prompts and situations.”
- “The audio crept up on me, mysterious, subtle, haunting, but never too overwhelming, which helps to evoke the atmosphere of the world.”
- “With an atmosphere that will instantly hook you, 'Elegy for a Dead World' is a delightfully novel way to approach creative writing.”
- “Another gripe I have is that when reading other stories, you only get simulated book pages instead of the interactive walkthrough of the story experience, which takes away so much of the atmosphere, especially since the pictures in the book cannot be controlled in their shapes, sizes, and the like.”
- “I believe it's that way to help add to the atmosphere of where you are and allow you to think about what the next piece of the story will be.”
- “Through vivid imagery and carefully developed atmospheres, players are encouraged to write and share their science fiction-themed creations with the community.”
replayability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
28%
43%
The game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some users appreciate the structured prompts that offer variety within the limited worlds, others feel that the overall content is lacking, leading to a low replay value. Enhancements such as more prompts and worlds could significantly improve the game's longevity and enjoyment.
- “It's a wonderful game with infinite replay value.”
- “Each also has several prompts, providing structures for your writing from prose to poetry to comedy songs, so even though there are only three worlds, there's plenty of replay value in each.”
- “I feel as though this game would have more replay value if there were more to it -- more prompts, more worlds, and perhaps, more space in which to write.”
- “Replayability is nearly nonexistent, so I quickly uninstalled the game.”
- “Replay value: 1/10”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted through its mad libs-like mode, where players can create and share stories that often lead to unexpected hilarity. While some users find the humor hit-or-miss, the ability to fill in prompts with random words can result in genuinely funny outcomes, making it a delightful experience for those who enjoy creative writing. Overall, the game offers a mix of humorous and serious writing prompts, catering to a variety of comedic tastes.
- “A mad libs mode with a few people would be hilarious.”
- “Reading other people's stories is a delight as well, and some of them can be exceptionally funny.”
- “I didn't know what to write, so I just started filling in blanks with random things like aardvarks, and a few minutes later I had a story that had me laughing out loud.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, frequently freezing when users attempt to publish or access their stories, which hampers the overall experience. While there are no major glitches reported, the persistent freezing and buggy controls detract from its intended purpose as a source of inspiration.
- “Seems like an interesting game, but it freezes every time I try to publish or access my stories.”
- “When I tried to publish a story, the game froze, and now it freezes whenever I try to access any of my written stories.”
- “The game is buggy, and the first story I wrote ended up with me being trapped and not able to complete the story.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, particularly due to the lack of sorting and rating options, which makes discovering engaging content a frustrating experience. Many suggest that improvements to the interface and accessibility of stories are necessary to enhance user experience.
- “Tedious as hell.”
- “However, it is so tedious.”
- “In my honest opinion, the interface and the accessibility of other stories overall should be improved, since a mere list with titles is quite tedious to go through.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the emotional aspect of the game particularly poignant, especially in the context of current global challenges, with many expressing that it evokes deep feelings and connections, such as the heartfelt story of a dog that resonates on a personal level.
- “Now, having played it, in the midst of global health and economic collapse, it is more heart-wrenching than ever.”
- “I wrote a story about a dog, and it made me feel something inside.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
100%
The monetization model for "Elegy for a Dead World" is straightforward, as it requires a one-time purchase with no additional in-game purchases or microtransactions, making it accessible for players who prefer a complete experience without ongoing costs.
- “I purchased 'Elegy for a Dead World', even though I had never bought any games or in-game purchases before.”
- “I had to purchase 'Elegy for a Dead World', even though I had never bought any games or in-game purchases before.”
- “In-game purchases: none.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
300%
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some users praising its smooth performance and efficient resource management, while others report issues such as frame rate drops and long loading times. Overall, the game's optimization appears to vary significantly across different hardware configurations.
- “The optimization in this game is outstanding, allowing for smooth gameplay even on lower-end systems.”
- “I appreciate how the developers have fine-tuned the performance, making it accessible for a wider range of players.”
- “The game's optimization ensures that frame rates remain consistent, providing a seamless experience throughout.”
- “The game runs poorly on even high-end systems, making it frustrating to play.”
- “I experienced frequent frame drops and stuttering, which ruined the immersion.”
- “The optimization is so bad that loading times are unacceptably long, even for simple tasks.”

70%Critics’ scoreBased on 4 critic reviews

Buy Elegy for a Dead World

6h Median play time

4h Average play time

1-7h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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