GNOG

Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.

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"Gnog" is a single-player computer puzzle game with compelling visuals and a beautiful soundtrack. Players explore monstrous virtual toys by poking, spinning, and pulling them to uncover secrets in 3D, hand-crafted worlds. The game features nine musical levels and a dynamic soundtrack. Reviewers describe it as "weird and wonderful," "joyful," and full of "style and verve." Play with optional VR support, seamlessly switching between VR and standard play.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Reviews

76%

Audience ScoreBased on 553 reviews

graphics80 positive mentions

story6 negative mentions

GNOG features charming visuals and a delightful soundtrack that enhance the overall experience.
The puzzles are engaging and intuitive, providing a satisfying sense of discovery as players interact with the colorful environments.
It's a relaxing and fun game that appeals to both kids and adults, making it a great choice for casual gaming sessions.

The game is quite short, typically taking around 2 hours to complete, which may leave players wanting more content.
Controls can be unintuitive, especially in VR, leading to frustration when interacting with certain elements like dials and knobs.
Some players feel that the puzzles lack depth and logic, often resorting to trial and error rather than thoughtful problem-solving.

graphics
162 mentions
49 % positive mentions
49 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique, colorful, and trippy art style, which many players find visually stunning and charming. While some users note that the bright colors can be overwhelming, the overall aesthetic is described as delightful and well-integrated with the game's sound design. The experience is particularly enhanced in VR, where the visuals are considered crisp and vibrant, making it a standout feature of the game.
- “The graphics are unique and fit the game perfectly, so does the soundtrack.”
- “The visuals are very striking (lots of solid colors and strong shapes), and the music and sounds are tied very nicely to your actions.”
- “Absolutely great calming game with fantastic graphic design and amazing music.”
- “The art style is unique, but the eye-searing colors get exhausting to look at.”
- “You should definitely play this in VR, as on a flat screen the visuals are not that impressive.”
- “I did run into a few graphical glitches.”
music
146 mentions
53 % positive mentions
45 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its calming and engaging qualities, often described as soothing and beautifully integrated with the gameplay. Reviewers highlight the unique sound design and how the soundtrack enhances the overall experience, making it feel more like a musical toy than a traditional puzzle game. Many players find themselves captivated by the music, with some even listening to it outside of gameplay, although a few noted that certain loops can become repetitive over time.
- “The art style is breathtaking and the music is tunes I could listen to for hours.”
- “The music is superb, the visual design was utterly charming, and the puzzles were always engaging, albeit not as challenging as I personally would have liked.”
- “This has some of the best music and visuals I've seen in any game, it's hypnotizing.”
- “Due to the above, the music went from relaxing to quite annoying after a while.”
- “The soundtrack is very well integrated into the game's interactive mechanisms, quite often reacting positively to player actions – fits the game nicely but does not offer any particularly memorable moment.”
- “But the quality of the puzzle itself is so poor, many times you will hit a dead end with no proper hint, for example, on the music stage where you can't see that you can unplug and then re-plug the jack into a middle slot.”
gameplay
56 mentions
21 % positive mentions
73 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Gnog is characterized as a unique and visually appealing puzzle experience, featuring diorama-inspired mechanics that encourage trial and error. However, many reviewers find the gameplay shallow, with limited solutions and a lack of emergent mechanics, leading to a perception of it being more of an interactive toy than a fully-fledged game. While the vibrant aesthetics and light-hearted core gameplay are praised, the overall value is questioned due to the short playtime and repetitive nature of some puzzles.
- “Gnog is a really unique and bizarre puzzle game where you try and solve a bunch of unique mechanical boxes.”
- “Amazing colors, unique gameplay, puzzling mechanics, and fun music.”
- “Although these diorama-inspired puzzles are, in general, fairly simple and intuitive, they vary significantly from one another, making each level feel unique despite sharing aesthetic and mechanical similarities.”
- “It's an okay game, even at $4.99 on sale, it's still way overpriced for only an hour of gameplay.”
- “Gameplay is pretty shallow as there is only ever one solution to any problem with no fail state, and too many of the puzzles involve inputting 'codes' revealed through environmental clues.”
- “There is no cross-pollination between mechanics within levels and no kinds of emergent factors from the puzzles - that is to say, they are very on-rails, rather than sandbox-like.”
story
14 mentions
21 % positive mentions
36 % neutral mentions
43 % negative mentions
The game features a minimal overarching story, with players expressing confusion about the narrative while appreciating the sense of exploration and distinct themes in each level. Although the self-contained levels allow for enjoyable short play sessions, many reviewers noted a desire for a more cohesive and expansive storyline. Overall, the lack of a central narrative is a common critique, alongside a wish for additional content.
- “It’s a point and click adventure game with a fantastic style, good music, and a captivating story.”
- “As for the story, I'm not sure exactly what’s going on, but there’s a cool sense of exploration and adventure with the level themes explored.”
- “With no main story arc, each self-contained level has its own distinct theme, making it easy to play in short bursts.”
- “There is no main story arc, which makes it difficult to engage with the game on a deeper level.”
- “I couldn't really get an overarching story, but maybe I'm just not understanding it.”
- “Other than the lack of a story, my biggest complaint is the length, as I really wanted more levels by the end.”
grinding
8 mentions
0 % positive mentions
25 % neutral mentions
75 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and repetitive, often requiring significant time investment to progress. Many express frustration with certain puzzles that lack clarity and variety, leading to a monotonous experience that detracts from the enjoyment of the game's artistic elements. Overall, the grinding is seen as a barrier to fully appreciating the content.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “I would love to see the rest of the puzzles just for the art, but the tedious process to get there is not worth it.”
- “The entire log puzzle is really tedious and repetitive; the last section of the lab puzzle makes no sense, and there are one or two 'code' segments throughout the game that are a bit indirect compared to everything else here.”
stability
8 mentions
25 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
75 % negative mentions
Overall, the game runs well, but users report issues with buggy touch controllers and occasional graphical glitches. Some players experienced nausea due to freezes and sudden shifts in position, indicating that stability could be improved.
- “Runs great.”
- “Runs great.”
- “Touch controllers (Rift) are buggy.”
- “I did run into a few graphical glitches.”
- “Plus, this was the first game that made me feel nauseous due to occasional freezes and other minor glitches like suddenly shifting your position.”
atmosphere
4 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its charm, enhanced by atmospheric sounds and an engaging soundtrack, as well as the delightful interactions with its characters. Overall, it creates an immersive and enchanting experience for players.
- “Everything about this game is charming, from its atmospheric sounds and original soundtrack to the little characters that you poke and interact with.”
humor
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Users find the game's humor unexpectedly delightful, often noting that their initial skepticism about its quirky nature transformed into enjoyment after giving it a chance, especially at a low price.
- “And the funny thing is, at first I didn't even want to buy it. I thought, what the hell is this weird game? But it was on sale for 2.04 euros, so in the end, I just added it to the cart, and I'm so glad I did that.”
replayability
2 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game is considered enjoyable, but many reviewers highlight its limited content and low replayability, suggesting it is only worth a low price point of $2-3.
- “It's a fun game to be sure, but I wouldn't recommend it at anything above $2-3 given its lack of content and replayability.”
optimization
2 mentions
150 % positive mentions
-50 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is praised for its stability and strong performance, with no significant technical issues reported. However, some users expressed a desire for more adjustable viewing distances, particularly noting that certain elements appeared too small in VR.
- “The performance was great and the game was stable with no other technical issues.”
- “I would have liked to be able to move the game slightly further or closer away.”
- “In the 'sub-01' level, the shapes on the red barrel were quite small on the Oculus Rift, for example.”
emotional
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players report that the game evokes strong emotional reactions, including feelings of nausea caused by technical issues like freezes and sudden position shifts, which detract from the overall experience.