EPITASIS
- April 3, 2019
- Epitasis Games
Epitasis is a single-player Mystery Action game with outstanding visuals and phenomenal music, offering a very atmospheric experience. As a time-traveler, you explore an alien civilization's remnants, solving cryptic puzzles and uncovering their forgotten technology and treasured relics while traversing a handcrafted, non-linear world. With 40 minutes of beautiful music by Funk Fiction, immerse in this captivating sci-fi exploration puzzle game.
Reviews
- The game features breathtaking, colorful landscapes and a beautiful soundtrack that enhances the overall atmosphere.
- It offers a relaxing exploration experience with simple puzzles that allow players to enjoy the environment without stress.
- The game is visually appealing, with a unique art style and dynamic weather effects that create an immersive experience.
- The puzzles are mostly very easy and lack depth, making the gameplay feel simplistic and unchallenging.
- There is little to no story or lore, leaving players with a sense of emptiness and a lack of narrative engagement.
- The game is quite short, often completed in just a few hours, which may not justify the price for some players.
- music48 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread praise for its atmospheric quality and ability to enhance the overall experience, with many players describing it as beautiful, relaxing, and well-suited to the game's environments. While some found the soundtrack to be somewhat standard or lacking in coherence with certain settings, the majority appreciated its uplifting and immersive nature, often highlighting it as a standout feature. Overall, the music is considered a significant asset that contributes positively to the game's aesthetic and gameplay experience.
“The music is surprisingly pleasant yet not ambient and changes from area to area.”
“Funk Fiction created the soundtrack and the way the songs flow from one to another while traversing the world is perfect, as is the ambiance that the music creates for each area.”
“The soundtrack is amazing as well, it really added to the whole experience and is one of the better ambient game soundtracks I've heard.”
“The game is more like a music video in the shape of a narrative/puzzle game.”
“It's pretty enough, I suppose, and the soundtrack is cheery... it's just a bit... bland.”
“However, I have to admit that the music sometimes fell a bit short for me.”
- graphics30 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their beauty and artistic style, with many reviewers highlighting the vibrant colors and stunning lighting effects. However, some players noted that the graphics can be simplistic and occasionally struggle with performance issues, leading to choppy visuals. Overall, while the aesthetics are appealing and atmospheric, they may not meet the expectations of those seeking more technical sophistication.
“Puzzles are challenging and graphics are beautiful!”
“Epitasis is a large open world exploration with beautiful graphics and wonderful music and sounds... congrats to Lucas Govatos and others.”
“The graphics look amazing, and the abandoned worlds tell a complete story all on their own.”
“Had to crank resolution and other graphic settings down very far.”
“Admittedly, the choppy graphics, even at the reduced specs, imbued the whole experience with a touch of motion sickness, which I don't usually get.”
“The graphics are too basic and the puzzles too easy.”
- story29 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 76 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The game's story is minimal and largely undeveloped, with most players noting that it consists of a brief introduction followed by a lack of substantial narrative progression. While some appreciate the atmospheric elements and the potential for hidden lore through decoding alien text, many feel that the absence of a compelling plot or engaging storytelling detracts from the overall experience. Overall, the game leans more towards exploration and visual intrigue rather than delivering a meaningful story.
“The graphics look amazing, and the abandoned worlds tell a complete story all on their own.”
“It has an obscure, ethereal storyline and, like the best of games, it doesn't need a storyline per se.”
“The story is incredibly simple and the game prefers to show, not tell, for the most part (although there are secrets that point towards a deeper backstory if you look for them hard enough).”
“The game starts and tells you a few lines of story, and that's it.”
“The story is not explored at all, beyond what is presented in the first two minutes of the game.”
“But if you're looking for story, the prologue is all the story you're going to get in this game.”
- atmosphere12 mentions
- 92 % positive mentions
- -17 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its beautiful graphics and evocative music, creating a vivid and immersive experience. While the puzzles may feel generic and the gameplay short, the overall ambiance is described as inviting and captivating, encouraging exploration and appreciation of the game's world. Many reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a significant contributor to the game's atmospheric quality, enhancing the emotional impact of the experience.
“Short and sweet, Epitasis has a lovely atmosphere to it with the exploration of an alien world.”
“The atmospherics and music are soft and inviting, and I wish there was more of the world to explore.”
“First off, it's utterly beautiful, vivid, lush, and atmospheric.”
“The story is minimal; this game relies more on atmosphere than anything else.”
“The atmosphere feels empty and lacks the depth needed to engage players.”
“While the visuals are striking, the overall atmosphere fails to create a compelling experience.”
- gameplay10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by intuitive mechanics and a relaxing exploration of beautiful alien landscapes, appealing to puzzle and adventure game enthusiasts. However, many players find the puzzles to be overly simplistic and lacking in challenge, with only a few standout moments. While the game offers a pleasant ambiance and engaging visuals, it may not satisfy those seeking a more complex or challenging experience.
“With much more landscape exploration and finding new mechanics on a foreign planet.”
“The gameplay is very intuitive and there is not much room for frustration, even if you are new to such puzzle games.”
“The gameplay was decent too, if not a little basic, but there were enough stop-and-think puzzles in there to keep it interesting.”
“I think I understand the puzzle mechanics, but I'm often stumped.”
“The puzzles are easily exploitable and cheese-able because they weren't thought out with the mechanics in mind.”
“The puzzles and gameplay are definitely on the simple side, and it won't take long to finish, but I enjoyed getting to see some beautiful alien worlds with a killer bassline.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, with some noting that the puzzles are easy but ultimately lead to a lackluster conclusion. The exploration feels pointless, contributing to a sense of monotony that detracts from the overall experience.
“2.5 hours later (after several tedious, but easy puzzles), the game just kind of ends...”
“Exploring the areas in this game is both tedious and pointless.”
“It's short, but it's also simple, and anything longer would be just tedious repetition.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express that the emotional experience of the game can feel somewhat hollow, as progressing through puzzles often feels more like a necessity than a meaningful journey, leading to a sense of detachment rather than engagement.
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed feedback, with some users reporting stuttering issues even on mid-range PCs set to lower graphics settings.
“Somewhat stuttering on a mid-range PC with low graphics settings.”
“The game struggles to maintain a stable frame rate, even on lower settings.”
“Performance issues persist, making it difficult to enjoy the gameplay experience.”