"Insurmountable is a permadeath roguelike adventure game with a procedurally generated mountain climbing environment, dynamic weather system, and tough decisions that impact your climber's survival. Choose from three characters, each with unique skills and backgrounds, and scavenge for equipment while dealing with randomly generated events. As time passes, your climber will grow stronger through a sophisticated skill system, but one mistake could lead to your last."
Unique concept combining resource management and strategic decision-making in a mountain climbing setting.
Engaging gameplay with a good balance of challenge and exploration, providing a sense of accomplishment.
Beautiful visuals and atmospheric sound design that enhance the immersive experience.
Repetitive events and lack of variety can diminish replayability after a few runs.
Camera controls can be frustrating, making navigation difficult in certain situations.
The story feels underdeveloped and lacks meaningful progression, leaving players wanting more.
story
367 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
81%
4%
The game's story is often described as vague and underwhelming, with many players feeling it lacks depth and coherence, making it difficult to stay engaged. While some appreciate the unique elements and writing, others criticize the repetitive nature of missions and the disconnection between gameplay and narrative. Overall, the story serves more as a backdrop to the climbing mechanics rather than a compelling driving force, leading to mixed feelings about its relevance and execution.
“To be fair, the story is what kept me playing till the end; otherwise, I would have quit pretty early on.”
“At first, I thought it was just a mountain climbing game, but once you get into it, the story makes it much more interesting than just a thrilling climb to the top of a mountain for bragging rights; it's a fight for your life and your freedom.”
“They completely revamped how the game evolves, put in the story (writing is excellent), and re-balanced perks, skills, and equipment... all in all, it's a must-buy (probably one of the top 3 adventures ever made).”
“The story is very vague; even after playing to the end, it's somewhat up in the air what happens, up to you to decide. To be fair, I didn't expect this kind of storyline in the first place; I thought it'd just be climbing just because, so it was an interesting surprise.”
“But it feels like they wrote the plot and then forgot to put it in the game.”
“The story falls flat, as others say, eluding to a grand mystery, only for the game to shrug and say, 'actually, I guess nothing really interesting happened up here.' This makes the game feel unfinished and unsatisfying.”
gameplay
251 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
65%
6%
The gameplay of Insurmountable features a strategic resource management system as players navigate procedurally generated mountain terrains using hexagonal tiles, balancing five key resources. While the mechanics are generally easy to grasp and offer a unique blend of survival and exploration, many players find the gameplay loop repetitive and lacking depth, with some expressing a desire for more engaging content and quality-of-life improvements. Overall, the game is enjoyable for casual players but may not satisfy those seeking a more challenging or immersive mountaineering experience.
“Text adventure and exploration-driven gameplay married with survival and resource management makes for a unique and novel experience that I have yet to see, especially for mountaineering.”
“The mechanics are easy to grasp and fun as hell, and the variety of tools and skills is very engaging.”
“Interesting mechanics and gameplay keep it fresh and have me shooting to hit the next peak.”
“Sadly, the game mechanics don't come together to create an enjoyable experience.”
“The gameplay loop is far too repetitive and simply just tedious at some point.”
“But the gameplay is dull, the balance seems off, and the content is abyssimally shallow.”
replayability
78 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
77%
8%
The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating the variety offered by three distinct characters and their unique builds, while others feel that the overall content is limited and repetitive. Although there are elements like procedural generation and random events that enhance replay value, many reviewers express a desire for more diverse content and challenges to sustain long-term engagement. Overall, while there is potential for replayability, it currently varies significantly among players' experiences.
“The different characters, starting paths, and difficulties make for enjoyable variety and what I imagine will be plenty of replayability, and I can see opportunities for DLC or simply expanded updates in the future to boost that longevity even further.”
“This title offers a very high replay value, since the mountains are procedurally created with ever-changing environments from terrain, weather, and randomly generated events.”
“The game is pretty hard but surprisingly not frustrating, which makes it very replayable.”
“There is not so much content though, so replayability is not that big.”
“If once you beat the game you beat it, case closed, then I'm not sure how replayable this game will be.”
“Replayability is quite limited at the moment.”
graphics
70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
69%
27%
4%
The graphics of the game receive a mixed but generally positive reception, with many players praising the unique and beautiful visuals, particularly the use of hexagonal art styles that create stunning landscapes. While some critiques mention blandness and a lack of environmental storytelling, the overall atmosphere and aesthetic appeal are highlighted as strong points, making it immersive despite its simplistic art style. Players appreciate the crisp animations and the game's ability to evoke a sense of scale and atmosphere, though expectations for realism may vary.
“This game has some pretty stunning visuals.”
“The visuals and atmosphere are wonderful, haunting and at times breathtaking.”
“I love the graphics and how they made use of hexagonal blocks to create these vast mountains.”
“The visuals are bland, the sound design is lackluster, and there’s a general absence of the environmental storytelling that could have brought the game to life.”
“I personally had no issue 'immersing' myself into the game, however if you are expecting a Skyrim-type graphical experience you need to watch the videos provided and the images a bit more before purchasing.”
“So while not a visual feast, the graphics are decent enough especially if you love mountains like I do.”
atmosphere
56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
31%
5%
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its immersive and relaxing qualities, with many players highlighting the beautiful graphics and soundscapes that enhance the experience of mountain climbing. While some reviews express disappointment in the lack of atmosphere in certain areas, the overall sentiment leans towards a unique and awe-inspiring ambiance that effectively captures the essence of solitude and adventure. The game is recommended for those seeking a calming and atmospheric experience, despite some critiques regarding pacing and execution.
“Overall, I think I would recommend Insurmountable to any of my fellow mountaineers out there or to people who are looking for a very atmospheric and relaxing mountain experience.”
“The visuals and atmosphere are wonderful, haunting, and at times breathtaking.”
“A unique game with a relaxing and immersive atmosphere that you should definitely give a try.”
“Adding to the list of disappointments is the lack of atmosphere, which is crucial for this type of game.”
“However, Insurmountable fails to create any of this atmosphere.”
“They try to create atmosphere, but in the end all that remains of them is the question 'was that it?'”
music
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
66%
7%
The music in the game is described as calming and atmospheric, effectively complementing the visuals and enhancing the sense of loneliness and preservation. However, it is often noted to be muted and understated, with some players finding it repetitive after extended play. While the sound effects are serviceable, there are calls for more dynamic and tense music to better reflect the harshness of the environment.
“The music is very calming and soothing and adds a lot of polish to what the devs were going for.”
“The soundtrack and sound effects soundscape complement the game quite well.”
“I enjoyed the music and the environmental design, and I liked the integration of sanity, body temperature, energy, oxygen, and health and the subtle ways that they all influenced each other.”
“There's barely any music; the climbing animations take frustratingly long even at max speed.”
“The music is very muted; after turning it up some 200%, it's essentially just background mountain noises, which is fine, I guess.”
“The music and sound effects are rather understated and perhaps the least interesting part of the game, being rather quiet and unobtrusive, but they are by no means bad.”
grinding
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively repetitive and tedious, particularly due to the need for constant equipment swapping and the lack of unique gameplay options. While some enjoy the investment-to-payout style, the overall experience is marred by the grindy nature of achievements and the gameplay loop, leading to a recommendation against the game for those sensitive to such tedium.
“The gameplay loop is far too repetitive and simply just tedious at some point.”
“I guess I had enough fun playing it once to not feel ripped off, but it's a tedious slog and I can't recommend it due to that.”
“Swapping out equipment, especially shoes and hand tools, every few tiles to minimize stamina/energy cost got a bit tedious.”
stability
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
83%
The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant bugs, such as freezing and camera glitches, particularly when using specific shortcuts. While a few users report a generally stable experience, the recurring issues with freezing and janky camera behavior suggest that stability remains a concern for many players.
“Bug free, stable, and basically faultless.”
“For me, it freezes after some time and can't be properly closed then.”
“Every time I use the 'v' shortcut for the camera, it breaks the game as the screen freezes eternally.”
“The camera is a little bit janky and kind of locks and glitches sometimes. It's super cool to zoom in and get great shots, but at times it can be wonky.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game evokes a range of emotional responses, particularly through its immersive gameplay that simulates the experience of climbing a mountain. However, some players feel it misses deeper emotional nuances that the setting could offer. Overall, while it successfully elicits reactions, there is a desire for a more refined emotional depth.
“This game really made me feel like I was climbing a mountain.”
“Sure, the stimulus given by getting stuff never failed to incite at least some kind of an emotional reaction in me.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is noted for its simplicity and effectiveness, providing a funny narrative despite the nonsensical world-building. Players appreciate the comedic elements, even as they critique the coherence of the game's setting.
“It's funny just how efficiently one can summarize the construction of insurmountable.”
“While we have a funny and simple story, the world-building makes no sense at all.”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players have noted the presence of in-game ads, often finding it ironic that these ads promote games they already own on Steam. This has led to frustration regarding the monetization strategy employed in the game.
“There are ads in the game.”
“The irony is, I get ads for games I already own on Steam.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The game's optimization is generally praised for its excellent performance, even on lower-end hardware, allowing for smooth gameplay at high settings. However, the design requires frequent inventory management and gear switching, which may detract from the experience and become cumbersome, especially at higher difficulty levels.
“Performance-wise, it's excellent. I'm running it on 'high' settings on a low-end gaming laptop (1050m/3550h/16GB RAM) and having a very smooth time with this game.”
“The optimization in gameplay allows for a seamless experience, even on lower-end hardware, which is impressive.”
“The game's design encourages players to optimize their strategies, making resource management a key aspect of higher difficulty levels.”
“So, instead of queueing a long move order and waiting for it to finish, the actual gameplay consists of taking 2 steps, opening the inventory, switching two pieces of gear, closing the inventory, taking 2 steps, opening the inventory, switching two pieces of gear... Admittedly, that optimization probably wouldn't be necessary to beat the game on normal difficulty (given the complete non-relevance of resource management)... but this is bad design that will probably hit hard (by becoming mandatory) during higher difficulties.”