InFlux

About

InFlux is a single player casual action adventure game. It was developed by Joe Wintergreen and was released on September 18, 2013. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

InFlux is a puzzle game that mixes exploration and puzzle platforming in a series of beautiful natural and abstract environments. You are a mysterious metal sphere which falls from the sky, traversing an apparently deserted island dotted with cubic structures of glass and steel. Each glasshouse is a puzzle to be solved.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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69%

Audience ScoreBased on 156 reviews

graphics20 positive mentions

story4 negative mentions

Beautiful graphics and serene environments create a calming atmosphere.
Decent puzzles that provide a moderate challenge without being overly frustrating.
Relaxing gameplay that allows for exploration and a unique experience.

Poor optimization leads to performance issues, including stuttering and lag.
Controls can feel sluggish and imprecise, making platforming frustrating.
Short length and lack of depth in content, with minimal story or replayability.

graphics
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
45%
7%
The graphics in the game are generally praised for their beauty and pleasing aesthetics, with many players enjoying the lush environments and artistic design. However, there are notable concerns regarding performance issues, graphical bugs, and a lack of polish, particularly on lower-end hardware. While the visuals are appealing, some players feel they do not meet modern standards, comparing them to older console graphics.
- “Thankfully, the soundscapes and visuals are exceedingly pleasing to the eyes and ears, and the landscapes are a joy to roll through in a zen-like way.”
- “The graphics are amazing, the puzzles are inventive and challenging, and with an open world environment, you truly get a feeling of freedom from the enclosed spaces of puzzles.”
- “Very nice game, great graphics, and the sound gives the game a good vibe, nice to chill out to.”
- “I encountered graphical bugs from the start, and alt-tabbing seemed to cause the ground to turn invisible.”
- “The game tries to focus itself around visuals and fails.”
- “The explore sections are clearly supposed to be *ooo look at the visuals* but it’s more like *oo look at the visuals that look like they are from a game 4 years ago and half-assed*.”
gameplay
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
62%
16%
Gameplay reviews highlight a mix of innovative mechanics and frustrating execution. While some players appreciate the unique concepts like the attract/repel mechanic and the gradual introduction of new puzzle elements, many criticize the controls for being slow and unresponsive, leading to a lack of depth and enjoyment. Overall, the game offers a casual experience with moments of fun, but is marred by technical issues and a sense of missed potential.
- “The gameplay is smooth, simple, and solid, though it keeps along a similar theme.”
- “This game is so much fun; it has great gameplay and it really gets you thinking!”
- “Its originality in terms of both puzzles and overall gameplay really gives off a great vibe, and in my opinion, it feels like the developers really knew what they wanted from this game.”
- “A short length and oddly implemented mechanics keep the proverbial ball from getting rolling.”
- “Controls are slow and unresponsive; backgrounds are sad, gameplay is sad and pathetic.”
- “But ultimately it became clear that there was no one thing that was so abhorrent as to destroy the game, but a long list of mediocre mechanics, frustrating moments, and missed potential stacked upon each other to create a game that is not fun to play.”
music
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
23%
10%
The music in the game has received widespread praise for its beautiful, relaxing, and ambient qualities, enhancing the overall experience and atmosphere. Many players noted that the soundtrack evolves alongside the gameplay, contributing to a serene and immersive environment that complements the stunning visuals. Overall, the combination of melodic music and engaging puzzles creates a calming and enjoyable experience for players.
- “The soundtrack is beautiful, relaxing, and fitting to the game.”
- “Influx offers a serene ambience with melodic music that produces a peaceful environment that is calming.”
- “The music and graphics are great, and the whole time the scenery kept my interest.”
- “Some people claim 'the music makes everything!' uh... have you listened to the music?”
- “The background music is faint and pleasant, even in the glasshouses where it changes; it only serves to set a mood, and it does very well.”
- “Not too sure on what the story (if there is one) seems to be, but the level design, music, and just general flowing style of play make this game really cool.”
story
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
67%
19%
The game's story is largely criticized for being vague, minimal, and at times non-existent, leaving players confused about their objectives and the game's purpose. While some appreciate the bizarre and organic storytelling elements woven into the gameplay, many feel that the lack of a clear narrative detracts from the overall experience. Overall, the story is seen as a secondary concern, with players expressing hope for future updates that might expand on the narrative.
- “The 'story' is pretty bizarre and I love it for that.”
- “Influx is the story of a small ball and its adventure to complete mazes, explore an island, and collect orbs.”
- “It has a small story being told organically through the world, and it's just a really satisfying time.”
- “It has semi clunky controls and no story of any sort.”
- “If you want a story about why you're a ball, what your goal is, why these puzzle places are around, I'm afraid the game gives nothing on that front, which is too bad.”
- “Regardless, it is never made clear exactly what the story or plot really is; you roll around the level, entering puzzles that seem to take you to another dimension, finish them and eventually leave the entire location.”
atmosphere
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
79%
21%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its beautiful graphics, calming music, and immersive environments, reminiscent of the Myst series. Players appreciate the seamless integration of art and gameplay, creating a dream-like experience that enhances the puzzle-solving elements. However, some critiques mention a lack of narrative explanation that could further enrich the atmospheric experience.
- “The art and settings are nice, gameplay is fairly smooth, and the music fits the mood into a nicely relaxed atmosphere.”
- “At the end of the day, this is a fantastic game with an amazing atmosphere that keeps you coming back for more; and honestly, that is the kind of result you want from a problem-solving game of this caliber.”
- “Without spoiling anything (or too much anyways), at first glance you would figure this combination to clash with the original atmosphere of the game, but it's quite the opposite; the transfers are done so seamlessly that the player remains undisturbed, and continues to flow through the calm, dream-like gameplay that is influx.”
- “It has an incredibly calm atmosphere, lush graphics, ridiculously smooth gameplay, and aims to bring a new light to problem-solving and virtual puzzles.”
- “I'm pretty smart! On another topic, this is a very 'artsy' game, and the atmosphere has to be (and is definitely) executed beautifully.”
optimization
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
37%
45%
The optimization of the game has received significant criticism, with many players reporting severe performance issues such as lag, stuttering, and frame drops, even on high-end systems and at low settings. While some users noted minor bugs and occasional performance hiccups, the overall consensus is that the game's optimization is poor, detracting from the overall experience.
- “It has a couple of minor performance issues here and there but nothing to seriously detract from a very good game.”
- “The game is beautiful, runs smoothly and works fine at first.”
- “I like marble games, but this is just so poorly optimized that I can barely play it on low settings with my RTX 2060.”
- “The optimization is poor; I had all effects off, changed to a lower screen resolution, but the game is still stuttering.”
- “Running this on a machine on the higher end of their recommended specs (with which I can play a lot of AAA games just fine), and even at the lowest possible graphics settings, I'm having serious performance issues.”
stability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
86%
The game's stability has received mixed feedback, with many players noting a variety of glitches, including screen tearing, frame stutters, and occasional clipping through objects. While some found these issues to be minor annoyances that didn't detract significantly from the overall experience, others described the gameplay as frustratingly buggy, impacting control responsiveness and immersion. Overall, the game runs well on most systems, but players should be prepared for some technical hiccups.
- “This original game runs great on most computers these days.”
- “Its a pretty short game. A few glitches that occurred were even with VSync on, it still had a little bit of screen tearing, a few frame stutters, and sometimes you will find floating grass. A few times, I phased into something like a rock (luckily it let me roll right out the few times that it happened, which made it a mere annoyance rather than anything else).”
- “Buggy and not very fluid gameplay.”
- “I really liked the idea of this game, but it started to punch me in the face as soon as I discovered how many glitches there are.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that the grinding aspect of the game is largely viewed as tedious and unfulfilling, with many players finding the puzzles monotonous and poorly designed. While some appreciate the challenge of the puzzles, the overall sentiment leans towards frustration due to a lack of engaging content and repetitive gameplay.
- “I felt it was tedious, boring, and pointless.”
- “The puzzles themselves are tedious and monotonous.”
- “What appears to be an average, but solid physics-based ball puzzle game is instead an amalgamation of poor design decisions and tedious level designs.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has been criticized for its lack of content and minimal replayability, with some users feeling that it does not justify any cost due to its short duration and limited engagement for players.
- “It was fun, and I did enjoy it, but to pay anything at all for a game that doesn't even have enough content to last one hour, and offers zero replayability for anyone that doesn't have dementia is not something I can recommend.”
- “Not too much replay value though.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is generally appreciated, with players finding it funny and enjoyable, though some feel it leans towards simplicity and lacks depth. While the puzzles are engaging, the humor does not consistently deliver strong laughs, and the physics can detract from the overall comedic experience.
- “A good puzzle game, playable and funny, but a bit too simple.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a deep emotional investment in the game's characters and elements, particularly highlighting a strong connection to a ball and a whale, which suggests that the narrative and gameplay evoke significant feelings.
- “I got so emotionally invested in a ball (and a whale).”