Glitchspace

About

Glitchspace is a single player platformer game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by SpaceBudgie and was released on February 1, 2014. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

Glitchspace is a single-player Science Fiction Platformer game, set in a beautiful reprogrammable world. Use visual programming to edit environmental geometry and solve puzzles, while learning key programming concepts. With a reprogrammable toolbox and intriguing Brian Eno-inspired score, this game promises to offer a unique and bewildering experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

73%

Audience ScoreBased on 291 reviews

gameplay39 positive mentions

story14 negative mentions

Glitchspace offers a unique and engaging concept of programming your environment to solve puzzles, reminiscent of games like Portal.
The game features challenging puzzles that gradually introduce programming concepts, making it a good learning tool for beginners.
Visually, the game has a minimalist aesthetic that some players find appealing, and the atmosphere can be immersive.

The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches that can make it frustrating and sometimes unplayable, including issues with the node editor and respawn mechanics.
Many players feel the game is too short and lacks depth, with some puzzles being overly simplistic or repetitive.
The sound design has been criticized for being headache-inducing, detracting from the overall experience.

gameplay
86 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
50%
5%
The gameplay of the game is characterized by its unique programming mechanics and puzzle-solving elements, which many players find entertaining and innovative. However, issues such as glitches, frame drops, and a lack of challenging content detract from the overall experience, leading to mixed feelings about its execution. While the minimalist design and potential for deeper gameplay are appreciated, many players express a desire for more levels and a more polished experience.
- “Extremely excellent concept and mechanics with huge potential.”
- “The gameplay is very fun.”
- “Excellent challenge, excellent gameplay and minimalist art style make the game very 'building-blocky' which is fitting for its nature.”
- “The visual design in this case directly clashes with the actual game mechanics, leading to a very confusing, frustrating experience.”
- “With the mechanics being so bad and seeing so many annoying glitches so quickly, I lost any desire to continue, and definitely don’t think the game is worth much in its current state.”
- “The entire game seemed like a big tutorial, introducing all the different game mechanics.”
story
70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
66%
20%
The game's story mode is widely criticized for its lack of a coherent narrative, feeling more like a tutorial for the sandbox mode than a fully developed experience. Players express disappointment over the absence of engaging story elements, music, and a meaningful progression, with many noting that the mode is overly short and simplistic. Overall, the story is seen as an unfinished concept that detracts from the potential of the gameplay mechanics.
- “With better pacing, a story, and some different scenery/palettes, this could have been an excellent game.”
- “It's very enjoyable, though the main story is short.”
- “The game ultimately feels unfinished; a proof of concept with no story.”
- “It's interesting, but it seems incomplete and the story is practically non-existent: no intro to explain the situation, completing the final challenge sends you into what appears to be a flat with a desktop computer, rolling the credits when you look at the screen.”
- “There's no story to speak of, just pure puzzles within the 'object manipulation' environment.”
graphics
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
63%
7%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a minimalist and simplistic style, which some players find beautiful and fitting for the gameplay, while others consider them dull and lacking depth. The visuals create a mysterious atmosphere, often described as dark and gritty, and are generally low in graphic demands, making them accessible for a variety of systems. Overall, the aesthetic is functional and clean, though opinions vary on its appeal and execution.
- “But it's a good puzzle game with beautiful simplistic stylish visuals.”
- “The visuals are dark, in a sort of gritty cyberpunk way.”
- “So first off: I love the graphics.”
- “Besides the above, there is obviously no story, and the graphics of the game are nothing special at all.”
- “Visuals are beyond boring, gameplay should not have the word game in it.”
- “-simplistic graphics leaves the place looking like a digitized world suspended in space.”
music
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
66%
9%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its soothing and ambient qualities that enhance the overall atmosphere, while others find it jarring and repetitive. Many users express a desire for more variety in the soundtrack, as well as a narrative to keep them engaged. Overall, the soundtrack is appreciated for its calming effect, but there are calls for improvement in its diversity and integration with gameplay.
- “So, in a final farewell and thanks, they have generously made this game and its accompanying soundtrack completely free for people to play and listen to.”
- “The background song is soothing to the soul as much as the game.”
- “The simplistic world around you and the calming ambience of the in-game music slipping into your ears are rather delightfully pleasant.”
- “The music and sound effects are nerve grating.”
- “The music is also a bit weird, as it's screechy static the whole way through.”
- “Also, a couple looping soundtracks wouldn't kill me either; it gets boring hearing either nothing or bouncing noises and nothing else really.”
stability
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game "Glitchspace" is plagued by numerous bugs and glitches, some of which are nearly game-breaking, leading to a frustrating experience for players. Issues with the node editor, awkward mechanics, and a sparse tutorial contribute to a lack of stability, causing players to lose interest quickly. While some minor glitches may be tolerable, the overall instability significantly detracts from the game's potential enjoyment.
- “True to its name, however, Glitchspace suffers from tons of weird bugs and glitches, some of which are nearly game-breaking, and the implementation of certain basic concepts like 'if' statements was... weird and clunky at best.”
- “The node editor is awkward to use, buggy, and I even managed to do cuboid transformations that were different than programmed (i.e. I asked to stretch the object in x, but it got stretched in y, despite me not having the ability to stretch the object in y on this level; but at the same time, this was the only way to progress).”
- “With the mechanics being so bad and seeing so many annoying glitches so quickly, I lost any desire to continue, and definitely don’t think the game is worth much in its current state.”
atmosphere
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
68%
14%
The game's atmosphere is described as mysterious and immersive, enhanced by a pleasant aesthetic and ambient soundtrack that invites exploration and creativity in solving puzzles. While the graphics are simple, they contribute to a sci-fi feel reminiscent of certain levels in Assassin's Creed II. However, some players note that the atmosphere can be disrupted by poorly designed puzzles that lack clear guidance, leading to feelings of frustration and disconnect.
- “The atmosphere is lovely, the puzzles gradually teach you the logic of coding and the overall aesthetic of the title feels pleasant - especially due to the ambience and the soundtrack.”
- “The game in itself has a sort of atmosphere to it, and delivers more than just a simple 'this goes there and this goes here', and it will let you get lost in its atmosphere if you let it.”
- “Pretty fun, very atmospheric, but due to the game being in alpha 2.2 as of when I am writing this, very short.”
- “The atmosphere can easily be broken because some puzzles leave you with little to no information on what to do.”
- “This once again leaves you with a feeling of unfulfillment and/or an unfinished game, which disconnects you from the atmosphere.”
- “It lacks in story, but it makes up for that in atmosphere, I think.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
33%
50%
Users have expressed disappointment with the game's optimization, particularly in VR mode, where the mouse cursor fails to function properly, hindering interaction with the node system. Many believe that interface optimization could significantly reduce the number of clicks required for navigation, while the overall experience, including falling mechanics, remains unsatisfactory in VR.
- “I'm absolutely sure that some optimization of the interface would save 50% of the clicks...”
- “I think that now that it's VR optimized, the mouse cursor doesn't work right - you can't really interact with the nodes system anymore, which is extremely disappointing.”
- “I'm absolutely sure that some optimization of the interface would save 50% of the clicks.”
- “I can stomach non-VR-optimized FPS controls in VR now, but falling still feels awful in VR for me.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is generally viewed as tedious, especially towards the end, though it may appeal to fans of logic puzzles and coding. Users also find the management of the nodal scripting interface to be cumbersome, contributing to the overall sense of monotony.
- “Not really that interesting and pretty tedious.”
- “Starts to feel tedious by the end, but you'll love it if you like logic puzzles or coding for fun.”
- “The ergonomics of the (very complete) nodal scripting interface are really tedious to manage.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the humor in the game is inconsistent; while some players found moments of genuine laughter and enjoyment, particularly in the later levels, others felt that the repetitive gameplay and lack of a cohesive story diminished the comedic impact. Comparisons to Portal highlight a deficiency in humor and engaging puzzles, leading to a mixed reception regarding the game's comedic elements.
- “But I loved the last 5-6 levels so much, I was laughing and smiling as I raced through puzzles and really loved that.”