Filament

Filament is a tough puzzler that will challenge even the ardent fans of the genre and it feels like it belongs on Nintendo Switch. The new Hint system will also stop the unnecessary frustrations too.

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"Filament is a single-player mystery adventure game with an intriguing story, spectacular game mechanics, great visuals, and stunning music. You'll explore a space-age facility, solving challenging puzzles and uncovering a wholesome, yet dense atmosphere. Despite lots of grinding, the game's exceptional quality makes it worth the effort, providing an engaging and enjoyable experience."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Reviews

79%

Audience ScoreBased on 366 reviews

story78 positive mentions

grinding18 negative mentions

Challenging and engaging puzzles that require logical thinking and creativity.
Beautiful graphics and a captivating atmosphere that enhance the overall experience.
Intriguing story that unfolds as players progress, with plenty of lore and hidden secrets to discover.

Steep difficulty curve that can lead to frustration, especially in later puzzles.
Some puzzles rely heavily on trial and error, which may detract from the sense of accomplishment.
The ending may feel vague or unsatisfying, leaving players with unanswered questions.

story
195 mentions
40 % positive mentions
56 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally praised for its intriguing and engaging narrative, which unfolds gradually through logs, dialogues, and environmental storytelling, creating a compelling backdrop for the puzzles. However, some players find the ending unsatisfying or feel that the story can become muddled, with certain elements feeling disconnected from the gameplay. Overall, while the story enhances the experience for many, it can also lead to frustration if players struggle with the puzzles, as progress in the narrative is tied to puzzle completion.
- “The story is engaging, the puzzles are diverse and challenging, and the music is very relaxing.”
- “The main story Juniper tells you is so excellently paced within the game, and the game does such a good job of giving so much personality to characters you never get to see.”
- “I found the story to be surprisingly engaging; the writing is solid, with each crew member having a distinct voice and personality, and the game does a good job of slowly revealing the underlying mystery.”
- “The accompanying story doesn't tie in to the puzzles, or bring anything useful to the game.”
- “But I have to say after finishing the game I have absolutely zero idea about what the story was about.”
- “The ending also doesn't really explain the mysteries of the story, which is definitely really unsatisfying.”
gameplay
113 mentions
15 % positive mentions
80 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The gameplay in Filament is characterized by a central mechanic of connecting pillars with a string, which evolves through a variety of puzzle mechanics that introduce complexity and challenge. While many players appreciate the innovative design and the gradual learning curve, some find the puzzles frustratingly difficult, often relying on trial and error rather than logical deduction. Overall, the game offers a rich and diverse puzzle experience, though its steep difficulty curve and occasional lack of clarity can detract from the enjoyment for some players.
- “As I explored the ship, many times I thought I was close to completion, only to find entirely new mechanics and new puzzle sequences around the corner, with many cute 'aha' moments inside.”
- “The core gameplay is that you are pulling a wire, but each sequence of puzzles has you tackle the environment in a slightly different way.”
- “It's simple at its core, but there are a ton of different mechanics added to keep it interesting.”
- “The draw certainly comes from the space lo-fi ambience and the fairly unique mechanic to connect stuff with a string the way this game does it, but unfortunately that’s about it and the problems are too big to ignore.”
- “The biggest problem for me is the unpredictability of the wire mechanic.”
- “I don't feel like it has taken any steps to teach me how to solve those puzzles.”
music
78 mentions
51 % positive mentions
45 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players praising its calming and relaxing qualities, which enhance the overall atmosphere and gameplay experience. However, some find the soundtrack repetitive and lacking in variety, leading to potential monotony during extended play sessions. Overall, while the music is often described as beautiful and well-integrated with the game's visuals and puzzles, a few players express a desire for more diverse tracks.
- “A diabolically difficult masterpiece of a game augmented by a gorgeous soundtrack, despite the baffling downer ending.”
- “The music is relaxing and enjoyable.”
- “The music, I have to reiterate, is just such a masterpiece; I listen to it while doing other stuff constantly (definitely get the soundtrack edition for this, it's not much more and support the devs).”
- “As for the music, I quickly found it to be very repetitive and annoying.”
- “Furthermore, the game doesn't even contain a wide variety of music to compensate; it has only one track that keeps playing forever.”
- “Music is okay, but there is not much variety, and it is a bit monotone. Great for relaxing, but could be tedious too.”
graphics
45 mentions
47 % positive mentions
47 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beauty and aesthetic appeal, with many reviewers highlighting the clean, stylized art style and atmospheric visuals that enhance the overall experience. While some users noted minor graphical glitches, particularly on the Steam Deck, the visuals are generally considered well-polished and effective in conveying the game's narrative. Overall, the combination of lovely graphics, engaging music, and a unique art style contributes significantly to the game's charm, despite some critiques regarding the connection between the puzzles and the story.
- “The graphics, art style, and story are great.”
- “Beautiful, absolutely beautiful story, visuals, and OST.”
- “The graphics are just amazing, the controls work well and the puzzles are interesting, neither too easy nor too difficult.”
- “Besides that, while the puzzles have this neat aesthetic to them, they have no connection to the narrative. Imagine if you are playing a detective game and the vast majority of the time is spent doing white jigsaw puzzles.”
- “I bought this to play on the Steam Deck since it is 'verified', but there is a graphical issue that I was unable to resolve, so on my stock deck I was unable to play it.”
- “In fairness, the art style and layout of the game is well done, but the graphics could use a bit more polish.”
atmosphere
22 mentions
59 % positive mentions
27 % neutral mentions
14 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its beautiful visuals, engaging lore, and immersive soundtracks, creating a captivating environment that enhances the puzzle-solving experience. Many reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke a sense of mystery and exploration, drawing comparisons to other atmospheric titles like "The Witness" and "The Talos Principle." While some noted minor shortcomings in story and sound design, the overall ambiance is considered a standout feature that keeps players invested.
- “Interesting puzzle game with beautiful atmosphere and storytelling.”
- “The space station atmosphere is mysterious and interesting, the lore is engaging, the voice acting is... fine... and the meta-puzzles and exploration seem like they would be cool.”
- “The real selling point for me is the atmosphere, the story and the meta-puzzles.”
- “Many aspects of the game are missing sound cues, either in the form of generic blips and bloops, or tangible bumps and friction, as well as a general sense of atmosphere.”
- “The soundtrack and atmosphere/environment that the game is set in is enough to distract me from the sometimes seemingly impossible puzzles.”
- “The world/story is apt, nothing mind-blowing but enough to set the atmosphere.”
grinding
18 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be largely tedious, with many expressing frustration over the repetitive and challenging puzzles that often lead to trial-and-error gameplay. While some appreciate the learning curve and the satisfaction of overcoming difficult challenges, the general consensus is that the experience can become monotonous and demotivating, detracting from the enjoyment of the game.
- “Maybe I would train myself to do better in another 10 hours, but I lost all motivation to do so, so I just walked through the bridge by solving what I could solve quickly and looking up solutions to puzzles that seemed especially tedious.”
- “That may sound fun, but it just ends up becoming incredibly tedious.”
- “They just become increasingly complicated so that you aren't so much figuring them out logically but are engaging in tedious periods of trial and error.”
emotional
10 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players find the emotional aspect of the game deeply impactful, with a well-crafted story that evokes strong feelings, including sadness and surprise. The combination of challenging puzzles and a touching narrative leads to moments of intense emotional engagement, with some players reporting tears during gameplay. Overall, the game's emotional depth enhances the puzzle-solving experience, making it memorable and resonant.
- “The sadness in it, combined with the story of the game is just.. touching in so many ways.”
- “Although the puzzles are the main focus, I recommend taking the time to follow the story, which I found well written and emotionally affecting.”
- “The story was incredible and I cried for a full hour at one point during my gameplay, which is not something I do over video games often, much less for an hour.”
stability
3 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game experiences notable stability issues, including buggy puzzles that may hinder progress without external guidance, and distracting visual glitches, particularly on the Steam Deck. These technical problems detract from the overall gameplay experience.
- “A couple of puzzles are a bit buggy, and I probably wouldn't have been able to solve them without the walkthrough explaining that the puzzles are problematic.”
- “The game has distracting visual glitches seemingly stemming from the UI elements.”
- “There are graphical glitches on the Steam Deck.”
optimization
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-500 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
The game experiences minor performance issues, but they are not significant enough to detract from the overall experience.
- “The game runs smoothly after the latest optimization updates.”
- “I appreciate the developers' efforts in optimizing the gameplay experience.”
- “The performance improvements have made a noticeable difference in my gaming experience.”
- “The game suffers from significant performance issues that hinder the overall experience.”
- “Optimization is lacking, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering during gameplay.”
- “Despite its potential, the game is plagued by optimization problems that make it frustrating to play.”