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Etherborn

Etherborn is a beautiful and innovative puzzle-platformer that can often be headache inducing, but even so it is very much worth your time.
70%Game Brain Score
story, graphics
grinding, optimization
69% User Score Based on 288 reviews
Critic Score 72%Based on 23 reviews

Platforms

PCPCXboxXboxXbox Series X|SXbox Series X|SPlaystation 5Playstation 5Playstation 4Playstation 4WindowsWindowsPlayStationPlayStationNintendo SwitchNintendo SwitchXbox OneXbox OneSteam DeckSteam Deck
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About

"Etherborn is a single-player kids' platformer game with beautiful graphics and wonderful music. Gravity-shifting puzzles and exploration are the core of the game, as you navigate perpendicular gravity structures to reach an ethereal voice and understand your existence. The game features surreal levels and a dynamic original soundtrack."

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
Etherborn screenshot
Etherborn screenshot
Etherborn screenshot
Etherborn screenshot
Etherborn screenshot
Etherborn screenshot
Etherborn screenshot
Etherborn screenshot
Etherborn screenshot
Etherborn screenshot
Etherborn screenshot
+10

69%
Audience ScoreBased on 288 reviews
story12 positive mentions
grinding12 negative mentions
  • Beautiful visuals and a captivating art style that enhances the overall experience.
  • Innovative gravity-shifting mechanics that challenge players' spatial awareness and puzzle-solving skills.
  • Relaxing soundtrack that complements the game's atmosphere and adds to the immersive experience.
  • Short gameplay length, with only a few levels that can be completed in under four hours.
  • Frustrating camera controls that can hinder navigation and make platforming difficult.
  • The narrative feels vague and pretentious, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the game.
  • story
    117 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it vague, pretentious, and disconnected from the gameplay. While some appreciate its philosophical undertones and subtle narration, others criticize it as forgettable and irrelevant, suggesting that the game would have been better off without a narrative. Overall, the consensus is that the story serves more as an atmospheric backdrop rather than a compelling element of the experience.

    • “The storytelling is subtle yet impactful, delivering a thought-provoking narrative that resonates long after you’ve finished the game.”
    • “The style and music in this game, along with the story, are ethereal, beautiful, and haunting.”
    • “It's beautifully done, with a deeply philosophical storyline and a lot of thinking and observing involved.”
    • “The story tries to be deep and philosophical but comes off as vague and forgettable.”
    • “The 'story' (if you can call it that) is literally just a soft-spoken voice that spouts some pseudo-philosophical nonsense to you to try and come off as deep and introspective, when in reality, it's as shallow as this game's mechanics.”
    • “The story is left very vague and even in the end, you can’t be sure what the main character is and what she is doing.”
  • graphics
    116 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the beautiful and calming art style, vibrant colors, and atmospheric visuals that enhance the gameplay experience. However, some players criticize the low-polygon aesthetic as simplistic or lazy, arguing that it detracts from the overall immersion. Despite these criticisms, the visuals are often described as captivating and integral to the game's meditative quality, making it appealing to fans of unique artistic styles.

    • “Etherborn is a breathtaking experience that combines stunning visuals with clever gameplay mechanics!”
    • “The art style is absolutely mesmerizing, creating a dreamlike world that you’ll want to explore endlessly.”
    • “The visuals and the levels are super.”
    • “The lack of textures is a method that lazy developers often use to disguise their lack of talent or interest in doing the graphics properly, trying to disguise it under the name of 'art' or 'we made it look bad on purpose', which really isn't something gamers should have to put up with.”
    • “So aesthetically unpleasing that I quit it in 5 minutes.”
    • “But it never drew me in, since it has aesthetics but is absent any manner of intrigue in storytelling or fleshed out game mechanics.”
  • music
    110 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty and ability to enhance the overall experience, with many reviewers noting its relaxing and atmospheric qualities that complement the visuals. The soundtrack is described as fantastic, with a blend of ambient and orchestral elements that create a meditative journey, although some find it repetitive. Overall, the combination of soothing music and striking art style contributes significantly to the game's appeal, making it a standout feature for players.

    • “The atmospheric soundtrack perfectly complements the experience, enhancing the emotional journey you undertake.”
    • “The music is very relaxing, and the visuals are beautiful.”
    • “The soundtrack is beautiful and the art style is eye-pleasing.”
    • “The music is mostly serviceable if a bit too repetitive for my taste, so I wouldn’t recommend spending the $10 it costs to buy the soundtrack on Steam.”
    • “Con (singular, not plural): that goddamn depressing piece of sh*t music in this game!”
    • “All the music really enhances the mysterious, beautiful and sad atmosphere the game exudes.”
  • gameplay
    103 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of Etherborn is centered around a unique gravity-shifting mechanic that allows players to navigate beautifully designed levels and solve puzzles. While the core concept is engaging and visually stunning, many players find the level design can become frustrating, with some criticizing the lack of new mechanics and the tediousness of certain gameplay elements. Overall, the game offers a solid puzzle experience but may leave some players wanting more depth and variety.

    • “Gameplay is unique, levels are pretty and puzzles challenging.”
    • “Etherborn is a breathtaking experience that combines stunning visuals with clever gameplay mechanics!”
    • “Great puzzle game about walking on walls and discovering unique landscapes and mechanics.”
    • “It feels like it needs more detailed lore/cutscenes/voiceovers to be a proper lore-game, more mechanics to be a puzzle game, more levels to be a platformer.”
    • “The gameplay is decent, and you'll have an acceptable game during the game's short runtime.”
    • “Unfortunately, the actual gameplay can't keep up with the general mood of the game.”
  • atmosphere
    24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its stunning visuals, ethereal art style, and an atmospheric soundtrack that enhances the emotional experience. Players appreciate the serene and beautiful ambiance, which complements the engaging puzzle mechanics, although some feel the narrative does not fully support the atmospheric depth. Overall, the game is described as a captivating experience that prioritizes atmosphere, making it a standout feature despite its simplicity.

    • “The atmospheric soundtrack perfectly complements the experience, enhancing the emotional journey you undertake.”
    • “Its nice use of colors and interesting aesthetic creates a very ethereal atmosphere indeed.”
    • “All the music really enhances the mysterious, beautiful and sad atmosphere the game exudes.”
    • “Etherborn is sold more as an 'experience' than a fleshed out game, but the story is pretentious drivel - the narrative serves the atmosphere instead of the atmosphere serving the story.”
    • “I also personally thought the voice actor in the English version didn't manage to add to the soothing and mysterious atmosphere as they should have.”
    • “The low-poly graphical style of this game doesn't take away from the atmosphere of the game at all.”
  • grinding
    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and frustrating, with slow movement and poorly designed mechanics contributing to a lack of enjoyment. Many reviews highlight that the game requires significant time investment for achievements and navigating levels, which detracts from the overall experience. The combination of slow pacing, imprecise controls, and repetitive tasks makes the gameplay feel more like a chore than an engaging challenge.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “Although it's a cool concept, there are a few mechanics that simply make the game tedious and boring.”
    • “I still wish there were ways to move around faster though, as moving around the map still feels really tedious and slow at times.”
    • “The audiovisual side is okay, but the gameplay is rather underwhelming, and the platforming mechanics are unnecessarily tedious due to constantly switching camera and unnecessarily precise jumping distance that, combined with the camera switches, makes jumping between platforms especially difficult.”
  • emotional
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players highlight the game's emotional depth, noting that the atmospheric soundtrack significantly enhances the overall experience. Many express feelings of comfort and connection, with some even reporting moments of deep emotional resonance, such as shedding tears during the credits, indicating a profound personal impact.

    • “The atmospheric soundtrack perfectly complements the experience, enhancing the emotional journey you undertake.”
    • “I just watched this game's credits for the last five minutes, and it soothed me. It made me feel loved; I don't know why, but this game is soothing to me and makes me feel like me, you know?”
    • “How did I almost shed a tear for this? Even writing this, I do not know.”
  • replayability
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while it features a New Game+ mode that alters the locations of puzzles, many players find the core platforming challenges remain unchanged, leading to a perception of limited replay value. The clever gravity-switching levels and rewarding puzzle-solving elements may entice some players to revisit, but others note that backtracking can be tedious and the game is relatively short.

    • “Great puzzle solver, encourages replayability.”
    • “Gravity-switching levels are clever, puzzle solving feels rewarding, stunning visuals and peaceful atmosphere. Game+ offers replayability for those interested.”
    • “There is a new game+ mode to add some replay value, though the only thing it changes is the locations of the polyhedral shapes, so all of the platforming challenges remain the same on your second run.”
    • “There is a New Game+ mode to add some scant replay value, though the only thing it changes is the locations of the polyhedral shapes, so all of the platforming challenges remain the same on your second run.”
    • “Backtracking can be tedious, low replayability, short.”
  • humor
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Users feel that the humor in the game is lacking, with some suggesting that the ability to skip unfunny moments would significantly enhance the overall experience.

  • optimization
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has raised concerns among users, as it can be demanding on hardware, even for machines that typically handle modern games well.

    • “Though I have to say that the game is at times worryingly taxing on my machine, which, even though it’s a few years old now, still offers respectable performance on a lot of modern games.”

72%Critics’ scoreBased on 23 critic reviews

Buy Etherborn

3h Median play time
3h Average play time
3-3h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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