Emberhold

About

Emberhold is a single player action game. It received positive reviews from players.

Emberhold is an atmospheric survival game with building mechanics set in a massive cave once used for excavations. Now, it stands as a realm of stone, darkness, and a solitary survivor. You will delve into the underground world, gather materials, build shelters, and adapt to the harsh environment of the depths. The cave walls conceal threats, yet within them lies the chance to survive. In this so…

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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82%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,149 reviews

story112 positive mentions

grinding34 negative mentions

Engaging and addictive gameplay with a good balance of strategy and fun.
Beautiful art style and well-designed environments that create a pleasant and immersive experience.
Strong multiplayer and co-op modes that enhance replayability and enjoyment with friends.

Some issues with balancing and difficulty scaling leading to occasional trivial or frustrating fights.
Combat can feel clunky or repetitive, with some janky controls or camera issues.
Certain UI/UX aspects and story pacing can be awkward or slow, impacting immersion.

story
378 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
64%
6%
The story in these games is generally described as engaging or interesting, with some praising its depth, atmosphere, and character development, though it may be overshadowed by gameplay or grind. Many note that storytelling is often non-linear, cryptic, or simple, with occasional weak or rushed endings, and some consider it secondary to the action or crafting elements. Overall, the narrative provides a solid backdrop that enhances immersion without being the main focus for all players.
- “Kinda a gothic style game but you take on missions into randomly generated forests, dungeons and such. You can do random quests on the mission board or take on the campaign missions that keep the story going and you gain access to new areas and gear. It's still early in development but there is lots to do and good combat. Fun, thumbs up!”
- “Well written story even if you have to dig a bit to find out about it since it isn't linear storytelling too often.”
- “The characters I interacted with the most ended up being endearing as hell, so the conclusion to the story felt very satisfying to me.”
- “The story gives you an aneurism at the end because it's so bad.”
- “That's why it's such a shame that the story is so barebone (since the game kind of built up some sort of story with the opening cinematic and did not develop it any further than that) and the available modes are not that interesting.”
- “That final story moment was pretty bad, very unsatisfying, didn't make a good bit of sense, and the writing and underlying idea for it honestly felt like a lazy excuse to contrive something, a very unsatisfying ending, and not just a 'in it's a bad one you don't want', but as in it pulls you out of the game and makes you feel like the game itself is not well made there and kinda just sucks, so yeah, really bad feeling.”
gameplay
305 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
60%
5%
The gameplay is generally praised for its engaging mechanics, including strategic combat, character variety, and unique systems like combos, parries, and resource management, offering an addictive and rewarding roguelike experience. However, some critique notes unbalanced mechanics, repetitive gameplay loops, and occasional control or difficulty inconsistencies, with the overall consensus being a solid, fun gameplay foundation that could benefit from refinement and deeper complexity.
- “Gameplay is great: being able to switch weapons, armor, trinkets, mutations and other things on the go makes for a unique experience every time you leave your base and complete your next quest.”
- “The first character runs two main mechanics: overheat and radiation. While others can take advantage of the radiation mechanic, the starter has an additional ability to take advantage of radiation. The second character is probably the strongest of the three and her mechanics are: counterattacks, life steal, and healing plus random card effects (10 heal, 10 damage, or 10 armor). The third character is sort of unique in that she has four main mechanics.”
- “The gameplay loop and progression is extremely satisfying and caused so many late nights because I just had to do one or two more things.”
- “My only complaints are surrounding the movement: in general the movement is a bit slow for my taste, and the climbing mechanic is too slow and a bit rigid (I would be fine if the devs simply sped up the animations at the expense of realism).”
- “What makes it boring: collectibles are always in the same spots, which invites taking the same routes over and over again, not a lot of enemy variety, very easy puzzles, pretty rigid gameplay routines (aka gameplay loop); what makes it frustrating: mainly how it feels to control the player character.”
- “From uninspired gameplay, to a boring story, almost linear level design and terrible voice acting, the game has it all.”
graphics
200 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
50%
6%
The game's graphics feature a distinctive and often praised art style, with beautiful, colorful, and cell-shaded visuals that create immersive and peaceful environments, though the style may be a divisive hit or miss for some players. Technical aspects vary, including some rough character creation sequences, occasional clipping, and graphical inconsistencies between promotional art and in-game models. Overall, graphics are generally good and well-optimized for lower-end systems, delivering a visually pleasing experience despite some minor flaws.
- “The graphics are pretty good as well as the movement.”
- “The art style is gorgeous, the world design is beautiful, the 'friend relationship system' is fresh and fun, the daily cycle system is clever and addicting, the combat is well done (but if you're wanting hardcore/perfect fighting mechanics then it might not be for you), the puzzles are largely intriguing.”
- “Concept is unique and entertaining, graphics are beautiful and immersive, every map is detailed and features unique mechanics, and there are soooo many levels already for an early access game.”
- “Graphics are just tragic... Nintendo 64 in 2022, come on.”
- “I think I speak for multiple people here when I say that while the promotional art is not the only thing that appealed to me, I was definitely disappointed by the visual disconnect between how the goblins look in-game and what they look like in artwork. Forget artstyle, the proportions are not even close. It's a completely different artstyle and facial proportions, and the sheer disconnect between the two makes the current 'goblin' maid faces just look androgynous and... safe, is the best way I can put it.”
- “But also, the 3D graphics here aren't great, the scenarios are poorly made and the effects are not particularly nice.”
music
69 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
56%
6%
The game's music is generally praised for its calming, atmospheric, and ambient qualities, often enhancing exploration and immersion with a blend of electronic and chill styles. However, some users find the music repetitive, lacking variety, or not fitting certain combat scenarios, with particular criticism aimed at the main menu theme. Overall, the soundtrack contributes positively to the game's ambiance but could benefit from more diversity and polish.
- “The music, artstyle, & general environment just make the game so peaceful to explore.”
- “The music really captures the sense of getting lost in a beautiful vacation spot, and the whimsical sense of going on an RPG adventure.”
- “Music is lovely, calming and relaxing.”
- “Just be aware the battle music is terrible (just turn it off in settings and queue up your own music).”
- “The music is very forgettable and the visual design is so-so.”
- “Music was very lackluster; while the songs themselves are okay, they needed way more music rather than just repeating the same songs for every single boss.”
grinding
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
92%
The game features a moderate to heavy grind that some players find tedious, especially toward the end or for certain achievements, but it remains enjoyable overall, particularly in multiplayer. Grinding is generally manageable with helpful tools and can be a satisfying experience for fans of loot-driven roguelikes, though solo play and repetitive enemies may feel dull or frustrating at times.
- “Isn't necessary to progress, so grinding won't hold you back or feel like a chore.”
- “Nothing to grind, which means you can enjoy the game without repetitive tasks.”
- “Good grind: challenging enough to keep players engaged without feeling overwhelming.”
- “I also found I was getting bored by the end of the game and rushing through the last few dungeons, but again I am too efficient; every day I tended to clear the entire region I visited for all the monster parts and elements I could get, which got quite grindy.”
- “It's good for if you want a mind-numbingly simple game to play with your friend, but overall the story is very meh and it's very grindy. The saving grace for this game is the fact that there are snowmobiles on the second to last story island and drifting in them is insanely easy.”
- “On the higher difficulty you deal less damage and take more, getting one-shot feels great, but wailing on the lowest tier enemies for a minute becomes tedious instantly.”
stability
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
94%
The game is generally enjoyable but suffers from frequent bugs, occasional glitches, and performance dips, especially related to combat mechanics, loading times, and co-op play, typical for an early access title. While stability issues like freezes, softlocks, and occasional crashes can be frustrating, patches and updates are actively addressing these problems. Overall, despite its bugs, the game remains fun with promising potential as development progresses.
- “No bugs so far, about 3 hours in, and it runs great.”
- “The game runs great on the Steam Deck, so even low-powered hardware won't have an issue running it.”
- “Way too buggy; when playing solo, it's too tedious, and when playing co-op, softlocks are guaranteed.”
- “The game is fun but it lags really badly when loading a map. I have a high-end PC and the game freezes for a bit when I select a level and sometimes when I enter an area on some maps. I guess it's just loading that section and the map, but it's a bit annoying.”
- “I have faced some minor issues like game freezes or lags between battles or in the store select screens.”
optimization
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
32%
50%
Optimization in the game is generally praised for being lightweight and well-optimized, with smooth performance on various devices including PCs and the Steam Deck. However, some users report occasional stuttering, performance dips, and bugs, particularly due to early access status, indicating room for improvement. Overall, while performance is solid for many, further optimization and fixes are expected as development progresses.
- “Super lightweight download and really well optimized.”
- “I've had no stuttering or framerate issues.”
- “I've not had any performance issues, though with it being early access I'd expect a few hiccups (even with minor issues, it's still better optimized than Borderlands 4, though that's not hard). Overall, it is a super fun game and I'm excited to see how it progresses and evolves!”
- “The map design, optimization, and enemy AI need some serious improvements but I think it's doable.”
- “I've never been hit with more performance issues and lack of new player experience so bad.”
- “Stuttering and object pop-in all over the place.”
humor
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is generally well-received, described as funny, creative, and charming with witty writing and amusing dialogue. Players appreciate moments of comedic timing, quirky mechanics, and ragdoll physics that add lightheartedness, though some repetitive or trolling elements can become less amusing over time. Overall, the humor contributes positively to the game's enjoyable and family-friendly atmosphere.
- “I love this game; it's amazing and family-friendly for parent and child bonding. It is very funny and creative to play.”
- “And it's got a charming art style and sweet lo-fi soundtrack, with smart, funny writing, an interesting narrative, and weirdly relatable characters.”
- “The game features great character design and a sense of humor that stands out, especially for those picky about game writing.”
replayability
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
50%
17%
The game offers strong replayability through multiple unlockable challenges, diverse character abilities, and varied playstyles that encourage experimentation. While some note it may not match the replay depth of titles like Slay the Spire, its balanced gameplay, multiple endings, and additional modes provide ample incentive for repeated play. Overall, it maintains engaging replay value without overstaying its welcome.
- “This is a really replayable game; there's loads of things to unlock.”
- “When you master the basic run, you unlock increasingly harder difficulties for the standard story mode, which adds to replayability.”
- “Each character boasts unique abilities and playstyles, allowing for endless experimentation and replayability.”
- “Overall a decent game, but seemingly not as challenging or replayable as Slay the Spire or Dream Quest.”
- “It would give the game even more replay value, which I can imagine the game probably gets stale after 50-100 hours of the same thing...”
- “I guess it adds to replay value.”
atmosphere
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
33%
20%
The game's atmosphere is consistently praised for being calming, immersive, and distinct from typical settings, with music and level design contributing to a cozy, otherworldly vibe. While combat provides a contrasting excitement, some timed challenges and limited visual variety slightly detract from fully enjoying the environment. Overall, the atmosphere effectively supports the story and exploration, creating a peaceful yet engaging experience.
- “The music is pleasantly atmospheric, and I can't help but feel a little of myself in the main character's struggle to find herself whilst being in such a huge rush.”
- “Between a sincere interaction with the few NPCs, the lack of romance of any kind, and the overall well made atmosphere, this game offers a real peace and quiet moment.”
- “The atmosphere in this game manages to emulate FromSoftware's pretty well despite the different setting.”
- “It rarely contributed to the atmosphere.”
- “There's not enough variety in visual level design, which impacts the atmosphere negatively.”
- “The atmosphere feels relaxed to the point of being vacation-like, which may not appeal to everyone.”
emotional
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
90%
10%
The game offers a wholesome and emotionally resonant experience through its blend of combat, exploration, puzzles, and light social interactions that foster character growth and meaningful relationships. Many players found its touching stories and serene moments particularly comforting during difficult times. However, some criticisms mention uninspired gameplay, linear design, and lackluster voice acting, which detract from the overall emotional impact for a few.
- “It is a mixture of combat, exploring (both inside and outside of dungeons) and puzzle solving, mixed in with a light social element that lets you get to know the people of the small village you're staying with, as well as helping your character grow both emotionally and in game mechanics.”
- “It's been my companion during many evenings in a moment that's pretty tough for me, and it helped me have both moments of evasion and touching conversations that made me feel better.”
- “Instead of one dungeon a day, I did one checkpoint a day, which let me also advance further in relationships - the meditations at the scenic spots were so touching, and I resonated with them hard.”
character development
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Character development in the game is mixed, with some praising the unique and well-done character designs and humor, while others find many designs bland or forced. The dialogue sometimes conflicts with character portrayal, and overall, the development feels inconsistent and less engaging.
- “Great character design, and sense of humor.”
- “Character designs for your characters and enemies are well done.”
- “Neoverse is a good time, despite some less-than-tasteful character design.”
- “Very few character design choices and most of them, you're old, yet the dialogue in the game keeps referring to you as being young.”
- “Furthermore, the character designs are certainly "unique" (but typically not for the better) with many designs being either exceptionally bland or only mildly interesting.”
- “Even the Persona-style social link character development falls flat due to how forced it all feels.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of the game is heavily criticized for being overly aggressive, with pervasive pay-to-play elements, excessive DLC, and intrusive ads. Many users feel it resembles a cash-grab mobile app rather than a quality game, leading to a frustrating and cluttered experience.
- “The game bizarrely is DLC bloated, making this seem a lot like a cash grab mobile app that you have to pay for just to play.”
- “Worst UI I've ever seen in a game, pay to play on every menu, game takes 30 buttons to even see a play button, ads everywhere, AI in almost everything, game just sucks now.”
- “This game looks like a horrible Facebook advertisement game, like a game such as League of Angels.”