Gloom
- April 13, 2017
- Hunchback Studio
- 4h median play time
Get on Steam"Gloom" is a single-player action game with an intriguing HP Lovecraft-inspired story, presented through procedural levels and challenging combat. The game offers a wide array of weapons, items, and foes for unique scenarios, and a permadeath system similar to modern roguelike titles. Its delightful pixel art and outstanding soundtrack create a unique atmosphere .
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- Gloom offers a unique blend of roguelike and Souls-like mechanics, providing a challenging yet rewarding gameplay experience.
- The game's atmosphere is enhanced by its dark, monochromatic art style and an engaging soundtrack that complements the eerie setting.
- The combat system is satisfying, requiring players to learn enemy patterns and manage stamina effectively, which adds depth to the gameplay.
- The game suffers from a lack of content, with only a few areas and enemy types, leading to repetitive gameplay over time.
- There are issues with controls, including clunky mechanics and unresponsive actions that can frustrate players during combat.
- The absence of checkpoints or persistent progression can make the game feel punishing, as players must restart from the beginning after each death.
- gameplay107 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Gloom is a blend of roguelite and souls-like mechanics, featuring smooth yet sometimes clunky combat that emphasizes stamina management, dodging, and parrying. While the game offers a variety of items and strategies, it can feel heavily reliant on RNG, leading to frustration during runs. Despite its challenges and some design flaws, many players find the atmosphere, lore, and addictive nature of the gameplay engaging, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of the genre.
“The actual gameplay is very much souls-inspired with dodge rolls, a parry system, and it's even got guns and melee that feels pulled straight out of Bloodborne.”
“Great atmosphere, top-notch soundtrack, pretty fun gameplay that didn't feel repetitive, controls are tight, you can and must experiment with different builds and play styles because items are RNG generated, enemies and bosses are intuitive and fun.”
“Gloom is extremely difficult; however, each death makes you more determined to keep playing because of how strategic and patterned the gameplay is.”
“The gameplay is linear and tedious, the music is mediocre at best and the enemies are boring.”
“The stamina mechanic is garbage and makes the game slower than it needs to be.”
“Gameplay is a bit stiff sometimes but is mostly good and has that Binding of Isaac quality of getting the perfect run and feeling very powerful but still not being so powerful that it guarantees success.”
- music88 mentions
- 64 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received a mixed reception, with many praising its atmospheric quality and ability to enhance the overall experience, while others find it repetitive or bland. Some reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature that complements the game's dark aesthetic, creating an immersive environment, while a few criticize it as mediocre or dull. Overall, the music is often described as fitting well with the game's themes, contributing positively to the gameplay experience.
“The OST is amazing, truly gets you in the right mood for anything that you come across or happens in the game.”
“The music perfectly matches the look & feel of Gloom and its world: it's dark, depressing, somber, yet atmospheric and gorgeous.”
“One of the best games I have played so far, amazing music, gameplay is difficult and fun, and the lore is just breathtaking.”
“The atmosphere and music is so drab and dull that it's so tiring to play even after just 10 minutes.”
“The music is bad.”
“The gameplay is linear and tedious, the music is mediocre at best and the enemies are boring.”
- graphics83 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 51 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are characterized by a simple yet effective art style that complements its dark and atmospheric themes, often drawing comparisons to titles like "Limbo" and "Bloodborne." While many players appreciate the unique aesthetic and well-designed enemies, some critique the visuals as minimalistic or lacking in detail, with a few suggesting that the combat animations could be improved. Overall, the visuals are generally well-received for their ability to enhance the game's mood, despite some mixed opinions on their originality and execution.
“The graphics are amazing and I can't find anything I don't like about this game.”
“The art style is great and is what makes me sad that the mechanics weren’t to my liking.”
“The graphics are simple yet fit the dark and mysterious atmosphere, there's plenty of intriguing lore to discover and piece together, and the combat is rather satisfying.”
“The 8-bit black and white graphics are uninspired and terrible to look at.”
“This was unnecessary as the ugly cop-out 'art' being used as a substitute for proper graphics is plenty to put gamers off ever touching this.”
“It can be pretty unforgiving, and the monochromatic and simple graphics may turn some people away.”
- story65 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story is intricately woven through item descriptions and lore, requiring players to piece together the narrative themselves, reminiscent of the storytelling style found in titles like Dark Souls and Bloodborne. While some players appreciate the depth and uniqueness of the lore, others find the presentation vague and lacking in direct narrative engagement. Overall, the story is praised for its eldritch themes and atmospheric setting, though it may not appeal to those seeking a more traditional storytelling approach.
“The reimagined version of Lovecraft’s dreamlands crafted by Aleksi Sirviö is a monochromatic delight, complete with an engaging storyline and phenomenal music.”
“The story is its best aspect, and I found myself enjoying reading the Necronomicon more than anything else in the game.”
“The game's story, hidden in its item descriptions and the depictions of its characters, is genuinely fascinating and one of the more interesting settings I've had the pleasure to glimpse into.”
“The developer was unable to come up with decent level design or game/story flow/plot, so they opted to try to use samey repetitive procedural generation as a substitute for adding content to the game.”
“Still, there isn't much to look at, or listen to, and the story is hard to get into as it goes for the 'vague lore' formula, but doesn't seem to make too much sense or give the player much to care or be curious about, so I wouldn't call it a strong fit.”
“Even the story is uncreative and generally amateurish; it's barely even told to the player, but these days poor plot telling has become a trend.”
- atmosphere52 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is consistently described as dark, gloomy, and immersive, with strong Lovecraftian influences that enhance the overall experience. While some players find the atmosphere to be exhausting or dull, many appreciate the combination of visuals, music, and lore that create a captivating and intense environment. Overall, the game's atmosphere is a standout feature, contributing significantly to its appeal and gameplay experience.
“The dark and eerie atmosphere drips with intensity.”
“The atmosphere and soundtrack is top-notch.”
“The lore, atmosphere, visuals, music are top notch.”
“The atmosphere and music are so drab and dull that it's tiring to play even after just 10 minutes.”
“You feel exhausted and strained before the gameplay even starts, and since this game seems to be about living through nightmares and dreams, perhaps that's what the intended atmosphere was; however, it just doesn't translate well into the gameplay.”
“Ultimately, I do still recommend this on the atmosphere and lore alone, but if you're like me and find Sekiro's core gameplay fundamentally boring, you're probably not going to get past the second level either.”
- replayability14 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players find it enjoyable and addictive due to varied buffs and relics, others criticize it for repetitive environments and limited enemy variety. Many appreciate the roguelite elements that encourage experimentation and learning, but some feel that once the game is completed a few times, it lacks sufficient content to maintain long-term interest. Overall, it offers decent replay value, particularly for fans of the genre, but may not satisfy those seeking extensive replayability.
“An enjoyable game with a surprising amount of replay value.”
“The varied buffs and relics you can get add a ton of addictive replayability, always debating which ones to grab and what kind of combinations you can create out of them.”
“Rogue-likes live and die based on their replayability, and I can see Gloom staying fresh and fun for a long time to come.”
“It's an alright game that is burdened by a lot of minor flaws; it especially struggles with replayability, as all the rooms are the same and each floor only has 4-5 enemies.”
“Since if the player beats the game, they likely won't need to play it anymore since it has no replay value, so it just artificially stops them from winning.”
“While this game is delightful, it still feels a bit young compared to its de facto parents, having neither the difficulty of Dark Souls-style games nor the sheer content and replayability of The Binding of Isaac.”
- grinding9 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while it can initially feel tedious and repetitive, especially when trying to unlock specific synergies or items, it becomes more engaging as players learn the mechanics and aim for boss challenges. The linear gameplay and lack of persistent unlocks contribute to a grindy feel, but some players appreciate the addictive nature that develops once they understand the game's systems. Overall, the grinding can be both a barrier and a motivator, depending on individual player preferences.
“Then it becomes a little tedious, even grindy.”
“Needless to say, some synergies are stronger than others, and you're going to find yourself grinding for the one for a bit of time, since the game is pretty challenging.”
“At first, I was grinding run after run trying to get good, so I was starting to lose interest.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including clunky and slow combat that causes character movements to freeze momentarily, as well as poorly designed and buggy menus. Users express frustration with these problems, indicating that the overall experience is negatively impacted.
“I only paid $3 for this and it's not even worth that; combat is clunky and slow; every movement you make 'freezes' your character for half a second, so even if you react quickly enough, your character doesn't.”
“The menus are buggy and very poorly designed.”
“Fortunately, you can change those settings, but the menu to do so is buggy.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is perceived as lacking substance, with some players feeling that it relies too heavily on jokes about its difficulty rather than delivering genuine comedic value. This has led to criticism that the game's positive reception may be overstated due to its humor rather than its gameplay quality.
- optimization2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is criticized for poor controller support on Linux, requiring Proton for functionality, which in turn results in significantly reduced performance. Players have reported severe performance issues, particularly during critical moments like boss fights, leading to frustrating slow-motion gameplay.
“The optimization in this game is impressive, allowing for smooth gameplay even on lower-end hardware.”
“I appreciate how the developers have fine-tuned the game, resulting in minimal loading times and a seamless experience.”
“The game runs beautifully after the latest patch, showcasing the developers' commitment to optimization.”
“Controllers don't work on Linux unless Proton is used, and using Proton gives absolutely abysmal performance in the game.”
“I had some performance issues during my abyss boss fights, leading to me playing that boss fight in slow motion.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the emotional impact of the game is undermined by its reliance on subpar graphics, which detracts from the overall experience and may alienate players.
