Firmament

About

Firmament is a single player puzzle game. It was developed by Cyan Worlds Inc and was released on May 18, 2023. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"Firmament is a single-player adventure game with a deep plot, outstanding visuals, and a spectacular soundtrack. Explore a steampunk-inspired world and solve puzzles using your "Adjunct" device, uncovering the mysteries of three unique realms. Despite some grinding, bugs, and optimization issues, the game boasts a delightful atmosphere and highly emotional narrative."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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69%

Audience ScoreBased on 575 reviews

story93 positive mentions

stability57 negative mentions

Beautiful graphics and immersive environments that evoke nostalgia for classic Cyan games.
Engaging puzzles that, while easier than previous titles, provide a satisfying challenge.
Interesting story with a surprising twist at the end that ties the narrative together.

Numerous bugs and glitches that can lead to game-breaking situations and frustration.
Limited narrative delivery, with most story elements revealed only at the end, lacking depth throughout gameplay.
Repetitive puzzle mechanics that often feel tedious, with a reliance on the Adjunct tool limiting interaction with the environment.

story
347 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
64%
9%
The story in "Firmament" has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its intriguing premise but criticizing its execution. While some appreciated the beautiful environments and the final plot twist, others found the narrative sparse, poorly integrated with gameplay, and reliant on exposition dumps at the end. Overall, the storytelling lacks the depth and environmental richness characteristic of previous Cyan titles like "Myst" and "Obduction," leaving many players feeling underwhelmed.
- “Beautifully rendered into a fully realized world that feels real and believable along with a deep and intriguing story with one heck of a twist right at the end... an astounding track by VNV Nation over the end credits just adds a whole new level of feeling and depth to the overall narrative.”
- “The environments are gorgeous and the story is captivating.”
- “I particularly found the story very compelling in its build-up and revelations towards the ending, which all felt very original.”
- “The story falls on its face right from the start and never recovers.”
- “There's so much limiting factors on what the narrative is, and the story is linear and not branchable.”
- “The story is barely worth mentioning.”
graphics
149 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
49%
46%
5%
The graphics in the game have received widespread acclaim for their stunning visuals and intricate world design, showcasing a beautiful steampunk aesthetic that immerses players in its environments. However, some users noted performance issues, including graphical glitches and high system requirements, which detracted from the overall experience. While the visuals are often described as breathtaking and on par with previous Cyan titles, there are mixed feelings about the depth of the story and gameplay mechanics.
- “The effort that goes into Cyan's world design is on full display here with a detailed steampunk aesthetic, featuring really unique industrial facilities built into large natural landscapes.”
- “The graphics are outstanding and the worlds are simply astonishing.”
- “Firmament has amazing visuals, atmosphere, world design, and puzzles.”
- “I can see what they were going for, but it really feels like they put most of the budget into the visuals and didn't bother fleshing out the script.”
- “The few and short vistas you visit are looking nice, but are constantly diminished by poorly optimized graphics, noisy particle effects, and a lot of things feel slightly off.”
- “Unfortunately, the game is very short again (around 5 hours if you can go straight through and depending on how used to cyan games you are), the visuals are a weird hit and miss (some stuff will be very highly detailed and beautiful, others will be completely flat, no modeling, etc.), but the real killer that kicked this down from 'recommended at the price' to 'not recommended' was the absolute bugginess of it.”
gameplay
108 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
70%
11%
The gameplay in "Firmament" has received mixed reviews, with players noting a reliance on a single mechanic—the adjunct tool—for puzzle-solving, which can lead to repetitive and tedious experiences. While the game features beautiful environments and some interesting puzzles, many players found the gameplay marred by bugs, backtracking, and a lack of depth compared to previous titles from Cyan. Overall, while the visuals and world-building are praised, the gameplay often feels shallow and frustrating, particularly for those familiar with the more intricate mechanics of earlier games like "Myst" and "Obduction."
- “Gameplay: you are in an open world environment that you can only manipulate via a tool called the adjunct, which basically allows you to link with various sockets that open doors, turn levers, etc. It's built for VR, but you can play without a headset.”
- “Notably, the game has undergone significant optimization since its original release, contributing to a smoother and more enjoyable gameplay experience.”
- “The puzzles have a real mechanical grandiosity to them; it feels like you're moving mountains around and redesigning the world about you.”
- “The entire mechanical gimmick, that you have a universal tool to interact with equipment, just makes the whole game feel very copy-paste, doing busywork or backtracking or running through painful unskippable cutscenes just to go to yet another node and hit Q or E.”
- “Gameplay-wise it's mostly walking with very few actual puzzles, a lot of back and forth, majority of the interactions are just turn this thing, watch a thing happen and go walk towards another thing that you can turn.”
- “Game-breaking bugs and crashes aside, the actual gameplay and story are both lacking.”
stability
60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
5%
95%
The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous players reporting a variety of bugs and glitches that detract from the overall experience. While some users noted that these issues were not game-breaking, many expressed frustration with the frequency and severity of the problems, including crashes, graphical glitches, and problematic interactions, particularly in VR mode. Despite the game's appealing visuals and story elements, the consensus is that it feels unpolished and rushed, leading to a recommendation for potential players to wait for patches before diving in.
- “I really enjoy the game, and it's so much better when it's bug-free.”
- “Runs great on VR.”
- “It's buggy, the environments are huge and empty, there is terrible signposting, the story is almost entirely conveyed through a ghost nagging you and being mysterious, then telling you that you're terrible with a reveal that's... not really much of a reveal?”
- “Game is extremely buggy - don't waste your time at this point, wait a few more months maybe at this rate.”
- “The game does have some issues, such as long scene loading times and occasional glitches when moving between vehicles, which hopefully the developers will address in future updates.”
music
41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
56%
7%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising its ambient qualities and ability to enhance the atmosphere, while others find it unremarkable and lacking in memorable themes. Many players appreciate the sound design and voice acting, though some note that the music does not reach the heights of previous Cyan games. Overall, the soundtrack is described as fitting and beautiful, but often sparse, leading to a reliance on ambient sounds rather than a more dynamic musical experience.
- “Each realm has its distinct looks and conveyed sentiments, and throughout your journey you are accompanied by a lovely soundtrack and the pre-recorded voice messages of your mentor.”
- “The ambient music was also excellent and a perfect complement to both the visuals and the story as it unfolded.”
- “Luring you further into this steampunk goodness is the lush tones of Firmament's musical score, composed by Maclaine Diemer.”
- “While the visuals are strong, the music is unremarkable.”
- “The music and sound effects in Firmament are so uninspired they may as well be free assets.”
- “There is barely any music and it turns out the character that is supposed to convey the backstory to you will barely speak due to a bug, so you'll be missing a very important part of the game.”
grinding
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, with many puzzles lacking creativity and often requiring repetitive, monotonous actions that detract from the enjoyment. While some puzzles are enjoyable, the majority are criticized for being simple and frustratingly slow, leading to a sense of boredom rather than challenge. The game's mechanics and puzzle design are frequently described as uninspired, making the experience feel more like a chore than an engaging gameplay experience.
- “I love challenging puzzle games, but this one is less challenging and more tedious to the point of testing your patience at every turn.”
- “The puzzles are tedious, uninspired, and more or less always based on the same principles.”
- “The mechanics are mind-numbingly tedious and unoriginal.”
optimization
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
44%
47%
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues, including stuttering, frame rate drops, and bugs that can disrupt gameplay. While some users noted improvements since the initial release, others still experienced rough performance, particularly on lower-end systems and in specific areas. Overall, the game appears to be in a technically challenging state, with a need for further optimization to enhance the experience.
- “Notably, the game has undergone significant optimization since its original release, contributing to a smoother and more enjoyable gameplay experience.”
- “Otherwise no stutters, good optimization and visual feast so far and yes, most importantly intro story is so much better than Obduction to me, real Myst vibes... worth every euro cent ... kudos Cyan!”
- “I played non-VR and didn't encounter any serious bugs or performance issues.”
- “Unfortunately, it has many game-breaking bugs and is optimized very poorly.”
- “There is a general lack of polish, and performance varied wildly for me, from 80 fps to 20 fps in certain areas.”
- “The game is still in a bit of a rough state technically right now, with numerous bugs and performance issues across 2D and VR versions.”
atmosphere
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71%
19%
10%
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its beauty, immersive world design, and engaging soundscapes, reminiscent of Cyan's previous works. However, some players feel that the atmosphere is occasionally undermined by excessive dialogue, sparse interactions, and a lack of intricate puzzles. Overall, it is considered a relaxing and atmospheric experience, appealing to fans of exploration and narrative-driven gameplay.
- “This leads to a highly relaxing atmosphere where you get to immerse yourself in the vistas, soundscapes, and emotions rather than focusing on a puzzle and tuning out the environment.”
- “Cyan makes some of the most beautiful, atmospheric worlds in gaming.”
- “A solo adventure at your own pace filled with mystery, beautiful surroundings and atmospheric music.”
- “The game immediately ruins its atmosphere by speaking gibberish to you right out of the gate, and that never improves; the game will yap over every potential moment of awe or intrigue, never giving you a moment to first take in your surroundings and be a little mystified.”
- “Beautiful graphics and interesting atmosphere let down by lackluster writing and threadbare mechanics/puzzle work.”
- “This isn't a final release, it's an alpha version with countless game-breaking or atmosphere-breaking bugs that are very easy to reproduce.”
emotional
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
91%
9%
The emotional aspect of the game is mixed; while some players found the ending and character arcs deeply impactful, others felt the overall narrative lacked emotional depth and connection. The final scenes elicited strong feelings for some, highlighting a poignant twist and character sacrifice, but many criticized the storytelling for being more tell than show, diminishing the emotional resonance. Overall, the game has moments of emotional weight, but it struggles to maintain consistent engagement throughout.
- “Avoiding spoilers, when I donned the bulwark suit at the end and the door opened, the result was quite emotional.”
- “I loved the ending and the twist made me feel my effort was worth it.”
- “And then the ending happened and suddenly everything clicked into place and the emotional impact of it was tremendous compared to the level of investment I felt in it before.”
- “I do not recommend Firmament. Even if they iron out all the bugs and make it run smoothly, I still wouldn’t recommend it because it is a boring game with a boring story. If you are new to the Cyan franchise, you should spend your money on Myst or Riven.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
75%
The game offers a short experience that, while enjoyable, lacks significant replay value due to the absence of alternate endings or branching paths. Many players feel that, despite improvements over time, the game ultimately leaves them wanting more for its price.
- “The game offers a variety of choices that significantly change the outcome, making each playthrough feel fresh and exciting.”
- “With multiple endings and diverse character paths, I find myself coming back to explore every possibility.”
- “The random events and procedural generation keep the gameplay dynamic, ensuring that no two sessions are ever the same.”
- “For a game with basically no replay value (no alternate endings or bad ends even), I don't know that it's worth the price of admission.”
- “Tldr: for the price, it's a good short little experience but it leaves you wanting more than you get, and has practically no replay value.”
- “For the price, it's a good short little experience but it leaves you wanting more than you get, and has practically no replay value.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that the monetization strategy of the game is reminiscent of repetitive TV ads, with a strong presence of ads and potential microtransactions. However, some players appreciate that the developers, Cyan, have remained true to their creative vision, avoiding excessive loot boxes and microtransactions, despite concerns about the use of AI-generated content.
- “I got a real solid reminder of the ads you'd hear from TVs in electronics or Best Buy, on loop every 15 minutes.”
- “In the era of braindead games filled with loot boxes and microtransactions, Cyan stayed faithful to their heritage and creative vision.”
- “Shame on Cyan for not advertising that half of this game is AI-generated.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is appreciated by some players, particularly when expectations are lowered, leading to an enjoyable experience despite minor bugs. One player found a game-breaking bug amusing, highlighting the quirky nature of the puzzles and the unexpected comedic moments that arise during gameplay.
- “Most of the puzzles were fun, and I didn't run into very many bugs—only one that was game-breaking but was also pretty funny.”
- “Hilariously, it's actually possible to get back to 115 volts in a single pylon move upon returning to the first puzzle, mercifully letting the realm end quickly if you make the right move.”
- “I can understand some others' disappointment, but funny enough, since my expectations were lowered going into it, I ended up enjoying it quite a bit and was driven to complete it just to find out the mystery of the world they place you in.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
While the story features an intriguing plot and a satisfying conclusion, the character development is considered somewhat lacking, with a narrative that doesn't fully explore the characters' growth.
- “The story is intriguing and has a fantastic ending that pulls the pieces together very well, though overall the character development and narrative are on the thinner side.”