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Fingerbones Game Cover

About Fingerbones

Fingerbones is a single player simulation game with horror and violence themes. It was developed by David Szymanski and was released on August 3, 2015. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

A short psychological horror game that focuses on storytelling and mystery, where you explore a mysterious abandoned building and find notes that paint a disturbing picture.

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Games Like Fingerbones

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Reviews

80%Audience ScoreBased on 2,906 reviews
story319 positive mentions
grinding15 negative mentions

  • Strong, disturbing psychological horror story with a dark narrative
  • Excellent atmosphere created by sound design, music, and lighting effects
  • Short and free game that effectively builds tension without jump scares
  • Gameplay is minimal and repetitive, mostly walking and typing passwords with excessive backtracking
  • Very slow movement speed detracts from player experience
  • Story is somewhat predictable and lacks depth, leaving some players dissatisfied
  • story

    1,212 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    26% positive mentions, 69% neutral mentions, 5% negative mentions

    The story of "Fingerbones" is a dark, disturbing, and psychological horror narrative told primarily through environmental storytelling and scattered notes. While it is praised for its chilling atmosphere, emotional impact, and ability to engage players' imagination, it is also critiqued for being minimalistic, vague, sometimes predictable, and lacking depth or polish in execution. Overall, it serves as a compelling, short interactive horror story rather than a traditional game, with strong storytelling as its main draw despite some flaws in presentation and gameplay.

    • ““fingerbones” manages to be a masterpiece that could stand alongside any short horror story written by your favorite horror writer.”
    • “Fingerbones is maintains a short runtime to optimize its story, and is still able to manage to build suspense through the entire story line, all the way to a sickening conclusion.”
    • “David Szymanski proves with each of his releases to be one of the best contemporary horror writers and this free to experience short story is no exception.”
    • “The story is minimal and basic, with poor pacing due to constant backtracking to progress the narrative, making it a tedious experience.”
    • “The story is disturbing, dealing with dark themes that some may find gratuitous, but ultimately lacks depth, polish, and psychological insight.”
    • “The plot is overly obvious, lacking suspense and originality, relying mainly on shock value without meaningful narrative development.”
  • atmosphere

    539 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    54% positive mentions, 44% neutral mentions, 2% negative mentions

    Reviews consistently praise the game's atmosphere as its standout feature, describing it as haunting, chilling, oppressive, and deeply unsettling, with effective use of sound design, music, lighting, and minimalistic visuals to build tension without relying on jump scares. While the gameplay and story receive mixed feedback, the immersive, eerie ambiance successfully evokes dread and psychological horror, making it a highly recommended experience for fans of atmospheric horror despite its short length and simple mechanics.

    • “The best thing about the game is the claustrophobic atmosphere of its dark enclosed rooms combined with the gradual escalation of disturbing sound effects.”
    • “Despite being beatable in under 20 minutes, this game packs more atmosphere into it than many games could hope to achieve in hours.”
    • “Incredibly dense atmosphere elevated by great ambience and fog effects, every moment of this game feels as if you're moving through a miasma.”
    • “The gameplay itself is quite dull though; there is not enough interactivity, nor is there enough atmosphere to compensate for its deficiency.”
    • “Unfortunately I found the atmosphere dull, the "puzzles" were a waste of time, and the story to be absolutely mediocre at best.”
    • “I found it somewhat irritating rather than moody: if you stand in one place too long trying to figure out what you're supposed to do - which, since you're given very little lead, is going to happen - I found it would just stay on one note, and the irritation that caused would pull me out of the puzzle I was working on, and therefore the atmosphere that the author was trying to build around me.”
  • graphics

    239 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    31% positive mentions, 59% neutral mentions, 10% negative mentions

    The game's graphics are minimalist and pixelated, often likened to Minecraft-style visuals, but they are effectively complemented by strong lighting effects and atmospheric details that enhance the eerie and unsettling mood. While the visuals are basic and sometimes described as rough or dated, this simplicity allows the focus to remain on the story and sound design, successfully creating a chilling and immersive horror experience despite the lack of high-end graphics. Overall, the graphics suit the game's tone and narrative, proving that impressive visuals are not essential for impactful psychological horror.

    • “The atmosphere was perfect, best use of these graphics I've seen in a long time.”
    • “Graphics are lo-fi but oppressive with great use of light and particle effects.”
    • “The graphics, despite not being the best, created the appropriate mood for me, and the music and sound effects contributed to making it actually quite terrifying.”
    • “The real issue here is with the graphical presentation.”
    • “Graphics worse than Minecraft, annoying go from A-B and write X, and a generic creepypasta story.”
    • “Poor graphics but the atmosphere, music, and story make up for it.”
  • gameplay

    230 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    13% positive mentions, 77% neutral mentions, 10% negative mentions

    The gameplay in this title is minimalistic and largely involves slow-paced walking, note reading, and simple puzzle-solving focused on entering passwords to progress. While mechanically basic and sometimes sluggish or repetitive, this simplicity serves to enhance the atmosphere and tension, though many found the gameplay unengaging and lacking depth. Overall, it functions mainly as a vehicle for storytelling rather than offering substantive interactive or challenging gameplay elements.

    • “Fingerbones is a mechanically very simple game, and yet it is one that will leave you unsettled, with ethical and moral questions unanswered.”
    • “Such an oppressive and suffocating atmosphere, mechanically there's not much aside from walking around and solving some puzzles but you always feel this sense of discomfort the whole way through.”
    • “Gameplay is never more complex than clicking the mouse or typing a few words in easily solved puzzles, and yet it is this lack of agency that helps build the tension.”
    • “It feels a little corny to me in regards to the story, or perhaps I've just seen too many similar things, but what really took me out was the mechanics: the crawling speed at which I have to walk, getting logged easily into chairs and then slowwwwwwly melting out of it so I can move again.”
    • “It's sluggish due to your unreasonably slow walk speed, and the "puzzles" are repetitive—the gameplay aspect is saved only by it being very brief and confined to a small area, and just barely at that.”
    • “The gameplay features a total of two maps and you have to do a whole lot of backtracking to solve incredibly basic puzzles which don't take much brainpower to figure out.”
  • music

    163 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    28% positive mentions, 66% neutral mentions, 6% negative mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its eerie, ambient, and tension-building qualities, effectively creating a dark and unsettling atmosphere that drives the horror experience without relying on jump scares. While some find the repetitive loops and minimalistic soundtrack somewhat grating, most agree that the soundtrack, along with subtle sound effects, significantly enhances the game's mood and narrative impact. Fans of atmospheric horror often recommend experiencing the game with its music on, and many suggest the developer’s other titles, like "The Music Machine," for a more polished audio experience.

    • “The adaptive music as you move through the areas really makes the atmosphere pop.”
    • “The 'music' contributes very well by being eerie but not overpowering, reminding me of a noise generator.”
    • “The soundtrack is fantastic and it makes the story even more compelling.”
    • “I felt generally tense all the way through, it did start to become annoying when the same two soundtracks were replayed over and over.”
    • “I found the music and sound design to be the weakest point of the game personally, as the soundtrack is basically an ambient drone playing at different pitches, and the sounds sound like they'd have come from a 'horror atmos' sample pack meant for student-level films or similar.”
    • “The music was terrible on the ears.”
  • emotional

    37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game delivers a deeply emotional and often unsettling experience, evoking feelings ranging from unease and sadness to profound reflection. Despite its short length and simple mechanics, many players found it touching, powerful, and emotionally impactful, with some moved to tears. Its psychological horror elements and complex, somber story leave a lasting impression, making it a memorable narrative-driven experience.

    • “The fact that this is a free-to-play game is honestly crazy because the feeling of the game is one of a kind; I love how it made me feel and this is one of the games that will forever change my mindset and personality.”
    • “I was surprised by how it made me feel by the end, despite the short length.”
    • “Fingerbones is a very creepy game that made me cry; I am one for not crying at certain things, but Fingerbones did it.”
  • grinding

    17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 12% neutral mentions, 88% negative mentions

    Grinding in the game is widely described as tedious and repetitive, with players frustrated by clunky controls, slow movement, and constant backtracking that disrupts pacing. This repetitive gameplay detracts from the overall experience, making progression feel more like a chore than engaging.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “The lack of a run button makes going back and forth between the three rooms in this game tedious, and the 'puzzles' consist of finding notes, hitting two in-game buttons, and entering passwords on a single keyboard contained in the first room.”
    • “The movement of the character shouldn't be a big deal at all if only it weren't for the fact that you have to repetitively go up and down a particular set of stairs and since your character can't 'run' the annoying movement only makes the entire experience tedious when it shouldn't be.”
  • replayability

    11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    18% positive mentions, 37% neutral mentions, 45% negative mentions

    The game is generally regarded as having low to no replayability, with users noting that once the main story is completed, there is little incentive to play again. Its appeal lies primarily in the initial experience and the story, making it memorable but not suitable for multiple playthroughs.

    • “The only replay value is making your friend play it and laugh to death watching them as they slowly skulk around terrified. I'd rate 10/10, would like to be fast again!”
    • “Not at all a replayable game, yet one to remember.”
    • “Unfortunately, it has low replayability, and once you have played through it, there's no point in playing it again unless you wait a while.”
    • “It's an okay game with an interesting story, but it has no replayability because the story is the only thing that carries it.”
    • “Apart from the one playthrough you will do, there's not much replay value.”
  • humor

    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    89% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 11% negative mentions

    Users generally find the game's humor to be silly and amusing, often laughing at the writing and playful elements like shouting "deez nutz." While some find the notes and nonsensical plot funny, the attempt at provoking reactions feels more comedic than serious. Overall, the humor is lighthearted but may not appeal as entertaining within the gameplay itself.

    • “Very good and it was funny when the guy shouts 'deez nutz'.”
    • “The plot felt promising at the start, reading disconnected notes out of order and getting some kind of picture but after the 'desires' note I couldn't see it as anything but funny in its attempt to provoke a reaction.”
    • “Bad writing, had me laughing at the notes the entire time.”
  • stability

    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    33% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 67% negative mentions

    The game is generally stable and free of major bugs, with only occasional minor glitches and slightly buggy movement mechanics that do not impede overall playability. Despite some small issues like getting caught on stairs or slow controls, it maintains a smooth, lag-free experience.

    • “The game is nicely put together, with a focus on a simple bug-free environment and atmosphere.”
    • “Not buggy.”
    • “The game offers some nice graphics and a nice aesthetic, although some ugly glitches appear here and there.”
    • “While it has its flaws (movement can be slow and buggy, it can be difficult to find certain objects like the flashlight), it still pulled me in enough to play through it all the way.”
    • “The game had good atmosphere and an interesting implied horrible situation, but it was very short and the controls were a little buggy at times (e.g., getting over a stack of low boxes to get close enough to a note).”
  • optimization

    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    75% positive mentions, 25% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game runs smoothly and maintains good performance, creating an enjoyable atmosphere despite modest graphics and short duration. Overall, its optimization is solid, especially considering it is a free and artistic title.

    • “It has a good atmosphere, runs smoothly, and is well optimized.”
    • “If the game were longer and more interesting with this performance, it would definitely feel good to play.”
    • “It's impressive that the game runs smoothly despite not focusing on high graphics or performance.”
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Play Times

2h Median play time
2h Average play time
2-2h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Fingerbones is a simulation game with horror and violence themes. Common tags for Fingerbones include first-person, indie, psychological, exploration, pixel graphics and others.

Fingerbones is available on PC, Mac OS and Windows.

On average players spend around 2 hours playing Fingerbones.

Fingerbones was released on August 3, 2015.

Fingerbones was developed by David Szymanski.

Fingerbones has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked Fingerbones for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Fingerbones is a single player game.

Similar games include Serena, We Went Back, The Park, The Moon Sliver, Home and others.