Ever Forward

About

"Ever Forward" is a puzzle-adventure game that follows a young girl named Maya who is trapped in a dream-like world. Players must solve increasingly complex puzzles to help Maya uncover her memories and find a way back to reality. The game features atmospheric visuals and a thought-provoking narrative that explores themes of loss, growth, and self-discovery.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

90%

Audience ScoreBased on 112 reviews

story19 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

The game features beautiful graphics and an interesting art style that draws players in.
Puzzles are challenging and require creative thinking, providing a satisfying experience when solved.
The story, while sometimes disjointed, adds an emotional layer to the gameplay and keeps players engaged.

The game is quite short, with some players completing it in about an hour, leading to concerns about its value.
Performance issues, including frame drops and unresponsive controls, detract from the overall experience.
The story can feel disconnected from the gameplay, and some puzzles may be frustratingly difficult or tedious.

story
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
49%
7%
The game's story is described as intriguing and emotional, often presented through short animations after completing puzzles, which some players found relatable and engaging. However, opinions are mixed; while some appreciate the narrative depth and character development, others criticize it as thin or boring, with issues in pacing and coherence. Overall, the story enhances the puzzle experience for many, but it may not resonate with all players.
- “Very clever, beautiful, and challenging game with a touching story.”
- “The story segments you are shown after each puzzle is completed are emotional, from the perspective of the girl you play as, and are relatable while also slowly showing us what is going on in the world/story.”
- “A great puzzle game with an amazing story.”
- “Do not expect to live the story: you solve a puzzle, then you watch a short animation about the story.”
- “The story is paper-thin and boring.”
- “There's apparently also some kind of story thing in there, but it too feels disjointed and there's no investment whatsoever in this 'Maya' character, let alone care about whether she solves all of these puzzles or not.”
graphics
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
68%
23%
10%
The graphics of the game have received generally positive feedback, with many players praising its beautiful art style and world design, often comparing it to other visually appealing titles like "Rime" and the "Tales of" series. However, some users noted issues with optimization and performance, which detracted from the overall experience. While the visuals are captivating, opinions vary on their impact on gameplay, with some finding the graphics impressive and others feeling they lack depth.
- “I started playing the demo and while I am impressed by the graphics and how good the game looks, the gameplay gets boring pretty quickly, at least that was my experience.”
- “I've been playing for about an hour and a half and from the start I've been blown away by the world design and graphics.”
- “This is a beautiful game, it caught my eyes just when I saw the graphics like the 'Tales of' series, maybe because I'm addicted to Bandai anime games franchise developed since I was a child and played their games on PlayStation 2 and it looks like an anime game but without the RPG part of course.”
- “I almost bought this game right away for the looks and aesthetics, but I am glad I tried the demo first because I don't actually want to play the game.”
- “So I have been playing this game for a short time, and while the graphics are very beautiful, they are poorly optimized. The story is captivating, but the slow and wonky controls and poorly optimized graphics are a big downturn for me.”
- “Pretty and pretty rough on the graphics card though.”
gameplay
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
41%
18%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it engaging and thought-provoking, particularly praising the puzzle mechanics that build on previous knowledge. However, others have noted issues with clunky controls, frustrating difficulty spikes, and a lack of coherence in gameplay elements. Overall, while the art style and concept are appreciated, the gameplay experience can vary significantly from enjoyable to tedious.
- “From the gameplay to the lore, this game is for casual and hardcore gamers alike.”
- “The gameplay is interesting and forces me to think outside the box to come up with solutions, and I do like how new puzzles take what I've learned from previous puzzles and add onto that.”
- “Logical, intuitive, yet challenging - puzzle mechanics all show tremendous potential for the imminent main game.”
- “I started playing the demo and while I am impressed by the graphics and how good the game looks, the gameplay gets boring pretty quickly, at least that was my experience.”
- “If you are someone who can deal with clunky mechanics and the inability to control crouch in a game that requires a level of stealth, this is for you.”
- “Also, the last puzzle is rather frustrating because the immediate thing you think of (throwing) doesn't work and the actual solution mechanic was only ever shown to you once and it's super easy to miss.”
music
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
30%
30%
The music in the game is generally praised for its beauty and ability to enhance the immersive atmosphere, complementing the visuals and story well. However, some players have reported issues with the music cutting off unexpectedly, which detracts from the overall experience. While the soundtrack is appreciated, there are concerns about its volume and presence, with some players finding it too quiet.
- “The music matches the atmosphere nicely and makes it immersive.”
- “Challenging puzzles and beautiful story, good background music and heartwarming art style.”
- “The music is beautiful, the graphics were good even on a 2008 PC with an Athlon X640 processor and a 1650 GTX graphics card; it still ran smoothly on all settings set to high.”
- “Sometimes the music just cuts off randomly and it ruins the experience, for example, the water sound effects at the start of the game and the music that plays when you clear an area and the red thing goes away.”
- “Game was very quiet for me; I couldn't really hear the music or anything, so I hope that gets better because the sound can really make a game like this for me.”
- “Like other reviews say, the game is beautiful and the music is nice, but the puzzles are tedious and annoying to the point it ruins the game.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its emotional depth, featuring a touching and relatable story that unfolds through segments after each puzzle. Players appreciate the heartwarming atmosphere, beautiful art style, and the blend of challenging puzzles with a sense of mystery, all enhanced by evocative background music.
- “Very clever, beautiful, and challenging game with a touching story.”
- “The story segments you are shown after each puzzle is completed are emotional, from the perspective of the girl you play as, and are relatable while also slowly revealing what is going on in the world/story.”
- “Challenging puzzles and a beautiful story, good background music, and a heartwarming art style.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that while the game features beautiful visuals and pleasant music, the grinding aspect of solving puzzles is often seen as tedious and frustrating, detracting from the overall experience. Players feel that the repetitive nature of the puzzles leads to a decline in enjoyment, turning what could be engaging challenges into monotonous tasks.
- “Like other reviews say, the game is beautiful and the music is nice, but the puzzles are tedious and annoying to the point that it ruins the game.”
- “The beach hub world is nice to wander around in, but the puzzle worlds are tedious and repetitive, merely trying to use the three puzzle elements in different ways.”
- “Slowly, these puzzles degrade from interesting to merely tedious exercises in frustration as you try to figure out the one way to not die.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by a heartwarming and immersive experience, enhanced by well-matched music and appealing graphics. Players appreciate the blend of mystery and engaging puzzles, which contribute to a captivating overall ambiance.
- “You want puzzles with a heartwarming atmosphere and a little bit of mystery along with?”
- “The graphics and the gameplay (puzzles) are perfectly fine and are actually very good. The controls are smooth, and I haven't had any issues with them. The music matches the atmosphere nicely and makes it immersive.”
- “Great atmosphere with challenging yet simple puzzles.”
- “The atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking the depth needed to engage players.”
- “Despite the game's potential, the atmosphere is dull and fails to create any sense of immersion.”
- “The overall ambiance is forgettable, making it hard to connect with the game's world.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, users report a stable experience with no major glitches, aside from a specific one related to a hidden achievement. Controls are deemed satisfactory, contributing to a smooth gameplay experience.
- “Controls are okay, and I have not encountered any major glitches or anything.”
- “Glitches: there are none, other than the one needed for the hidden achievement.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
150%
Overall, the game is well-optimized, delivering good graphics even on lower-end hardware like an AMD A6 processor. However, some users report performance issues, particularly low framerates that fall short of the recommended specifications.
- “Aside from that, the graphics are pretty good and the game is pretty well optimized considering that my laptop only has an AMD A6 processor.”
- “Nice and simple puzzle game, but my only complaint is related to performance issues; the framerate is a bit too low for the recommended specs, in my opinion.”
- “The game has great potential, but the optimization is lacking, leading to frequent stutters and lag during gameplay.”
- “I love the concept, but the optimization needs serious work. It often feels sluggish, even on high-end hardware.”