Full Bore

About

Full Bore is a nostalgic, open-world puzzle game where you play as a boar explorer in a richly designed underground world. With over 150 areas and countless secrets, the game encourages exploration and experimentation to understand the behavior of blocks and reveal the world's story. Featuring unique lighting and an original bluesy soundtrack, Full Bore delivers a captivating and atmospheric experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

+14

85%

Audience ScoreBased on 191 reviews

story29 positive mentions

grinding6 negative mentions

Charming and engaging puzzles that provide a satisfying sense of accomplishment.
Adorable pixel art and a great soundtrack that enhance the overall experience.
Open-world exploration with a variety of secrets and collectibles to discover.

The game can feel overwhelming due to its large world and lack of clear direction.
Some puzzles may rely on trial and error rather than logic, leading to frustration.
The rewind feature can be unreliable, sometimes causing players to lose progress unexpectedly.

story
85 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
62%
4%
The game's story is described as surprisingly engaging and intricately woven into the gameplay, with a mix of charming writing and dark, surreal lore that unfolds gradually through exploration and interaction with characters and environmental storytelling. While some players found the narrative to be incoherent or simplistic, many appreciated the depth and complexity revealed through hidden logs and character interactions, making it a rewarding experience for those who invest time in uncovering its secrets. Overall, the story complements the puzzle mechanics well, offering a unique backdrop that enhances the overall enjoyment of the game.
- “A lovely little puzzle game with an interesting background story that you have to look for to really figure out what's going on in this uniquely constructed world where boars mine the earth.”
- “A surprisingly deep story is revealed as you discover new areas and talk to a variety of interesting characters.”
- “The story is brilliantly told through background art and computer terminals hidden throughout the various levels.”
- “The story is incoherent and did nothing to really engage me.”
- “The story, while certainly promising, isn't that good.”
- “The digging animations are needlessly padded, and the introductory story is so painfully trite that I was unable to complete it before closing the game in disgust.”
gameplay
59 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
78%
5%
The gameplay in "Full Bore" is characterized by its open-world 2D puzzle mechanics centered around digging and solving environmental challenges, offering a mix of exploration and clever puzzle design that keeps players engaged. While some players find the gameplay can become repetitive and certain mechanics, like the time-rewind feature, can be frustrating, the overall experience is enhanced by charming visuals, a captivating story, and a well-balanced difficulty curve. The game encourages exploration and experimentation, providing a satisfying blend of challenge and creativity for puzzle enthusiasts.
- “Full Bore is an open-world 2D puzzle game with mechanics that revolve around digging through different kinds of blocks.”
- “The world is massive and tightly connected like a Metroid game, and the puzzles are really clever, using a wide variety of interesting mechanics.”
- “At its core, there is extremely fun and solid gameplay, and rounding everything out are gorgeous production values.”
- “The title to this game should have been 'Full Boring' because after what felt like an hour of gameplay, there was still nothing challenging.”
- “Initial gameplay can be a bit confusing - while the controls are easy and the puzzles are easy enough initially, growing in difficulty as you progress, the open-world nature of the map tends to make you feel rather lost.”
- “However, some puzzles rely more on experimentation than logic (which can get frustrating at times) and most of the 'hidden' stuff is too cryptic with mechanics that are never explained, requiring external help or real patience in trying many different things until one works.”
music
57 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
23%
11%
The music in the game is widely praised for its catchy and engaging quality, enhancing the overall atmosphere and gameplay experience. While many reviewers appreciate the diverse and well-composed soundtrack, some note that certain tracks can become repetitive over time. Overall, the music is considered a strong point, contributing positively to the game's charm and immersion.
- “A charming puzzle platformer with an interesting story and a great soundtrack.”
- “The music is also very good, catchy and varied, with the theme reflecting the mood of the location.”
- “The puzzles are surprisingly challenging, the exploration has just the right amount of depth, and the soundtrack is awesome.”
- “The music is depressing.”
- “As a side note and unrelated to my overall experience of the game (because I turned it off), the music was god awful.”
- “Furthermore, the music is a tad bit on the repetitive side and sometimes doesn't work well when you need to think straight.”
graphics
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
40%
7%
The graphics of the game have been widely praised for their charming pixel art style, enhanced by modern lighting effects that create a captivating atmosphere. Many reviewers noted the visuals as cute and well-crafted, contributing positively to the overall gameplay experience, despite some occasional confusion in design. Overall, the combination of retro aesthetics and thoughtful artistic choices has resonated well with players, making the graphics a standout feature of the game.
- “The art style is great, combining a retro pixel art look with modern touches like dynamic lighting and water effects.”
- “The puzzles, the aesthetics; it feels like 'the new Fez' because it shares many aesthetics, and because it comes up with devilishly difficult puzzles with a relatively simple mechanic.”
- “Full Bore has lovely 2D 16-bit pixelated graphics that not only add a retro feel, but also a degree of both humor and charm to the title.”
- “The visuals get a bit confusing here.”
- “It looks great sometimes, but sometimes it looks like prerendered graphics from the late 16-bit early 32-bit era.”
- “The actual art assets aren't anything to write home about -- the visuals are simple, and the soundtrack is a bit repetitive if nicely funky -- but both are used to great effect, and work together to build a real sense of unease and mystery.”
atmosphere
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
13%
20%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its engaging and distinctive qualities, blending elements of chill and creepiness that enhance the overall experience. Players appreciate the well-crafted pixel art, lighting, and sound design, which create a superbly dark and sometimes oppressive ambiance, complemented by a diverse soundtrack. While some aspects may feel repetitive or odd, the atmosphere effectively supports exploration and storytelling, making it a standout feature of the game.
- “And the atmosphere and bizarre story are engaging and distinctive, with just the right amount of creepy.”
- “The pixel art, lighting, and sound create a superb dark and sometimes foreboding atmosphere.”
- “This creates moments in the game where the atmosphere is oppressive and uncertain because you keep descending into deeper layers of this world with no way to return.”
- “The soundtrack can get repetitive at times, and it is definitely quite odd, but I think it works well with the atmosphere.”
- “At least there is no music spoiling the atmosphere in the game.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly during fights and navigation between areas. While some puzzles can be challenging, they are not frequent enough to detract significantly from the overall experience. However, the final boss battle is noted as particularly tedious, despite a portal system that alleviates some travel frustrations.
- “Looking at YouTube, the actual fight is equally tedious and frustrating, so it's not worth it to me.”
- “Navigation from area to area can be quite tedious and confusing though.”
- “Or [spoiler]fighting the final/only boss[/spoiler], which is tricky in its first part, rough in its second, and downright tedious and not very fun at all in its last.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is described as subtle yet effective, complementing its aesthetic and enhancing the exploration experience. Players find the interactions with characters and objects, as well as the unfolding story, to be both intriguing and amusing, with specific moments, like a boar's antics, eliciting laughter. Overall, the humor is a standout feature that adds to the enjoyment of the game.
- “Developer is pretty subtle in their humor and on point with the aesthetic they are trying to create.”
- “As you explore, you'll come across computer control panels, books, and characters, all of which you can interact with to progress the game's story, offer information, and some funny jokes.”
- “I can't continue playing; the boar smashing its little face into the floor is just too funny.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Overall, users report minor glitches and typos that do not significantly impact gameplay, indicating a generally stable experience.
- “I encountered several glitches that disrupted my gameplay experience.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it hard to enjoy.”
- “There are numerous bugs that affect stability, leading to frustrating moments.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express frustration with the emotional impact of the game's checkpoint system, as getting stuck on a puzzle can lead to a sense of helplessness, forcing them to quit and reload to explore alternative paths. This design choice detracts from the overall emotional engagement with the open-world experience.
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game has low replayability due to its nature as a puzzle game, which typically offers limited variation in gameplay after the initial experience.
- “It also has very low replay value, being a puzzle game and all.”
- “Once you've solved the puzzles, there's little incentive to play again.”
- “The lack of variety in challenges makes it hard to justify multiple playthroughs.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The character design is highly praised, indicating that the visual representation of the characters contributes positively to their overall development and appeal.