Leaves: The Journey

82%
Game Brain Score Based on 248 reviews
  • graphics
  • story
  • music
Leaves: The Journey Game Cover
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"Leaves: The Journey" is a narrative-driven adventure game where you play as a curious caterpillar. Explore a vibrant forest, solve puzzles, and interact with other creatures to uncover the secrets of the forest. With its charming art style and emotional story, Leaves offers a unique and memorable gaming experience.

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Reviews

82%
Audience ScoreBased on 248 reviews
graphics47 positive mentions
story5 negative mentions
  • The game features stunning, surreal artwork that creates a captivating atmosphere, reminiscent of the styles of Salvador Dali and Amanita Design.
  • Puzzles are varied and creatively designed, providing a good mix of challenge without being overly frustrating, making it enjoyable for both casual and experienced players.
  • The game offers a relaxing experience with charming characters and a whimsical world, making it a delightful escape for players.
  • The user interface can be clunky, with navigation arrows sometimes disappearing, leading to confusion and frustration during gameplay.
  • Some puzzles can feel tedious or overly obscure, requiring excessive backtracking and pixel hunting, which may detract from the overall experience.
  • Technical issues, such as high resource usage and bugs that can break puzzles, have been reported, which can hinder the enjoyment of the game.
  • graphics90 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique and surreal art style, reminiscent of artists like Salvador Dali and H.R. Giger, creating visually stunning and imaginative environments. While many players appreciate the beautiful artwork and its whimsical, quirky designs, some criticize the simplistic 2D visuals and lack of substantial graphical enhancements. Overall, the game's aesthetic is described as both captivating and creatively rich, contributing significantly to the overall experience.

    • “I absolutely can't get enough of the art style, the dreamy surreal landscapes and objects that feel like something recovered from a forgotten quirky artist's overgrown garden.”
    • “The graphics are stunning, the gameplay challenging, and the music is lovely.”
    • “The artwork is a hybrid cross between H.R. Giger and Salvador Dali, giving the world a very surreal perspective.”
    • “While there are options to change the resolution for the game, all this does is scale up the simplistic 2D art assets used to make the game, which makes little or no difference to the graphics quality.”
    • “Without any other substantial graphics tweaks, it's not possible for gamers to improve the lackluster 2D visuals.”
    • “Looks and feels older than it is; I suspect the lack of eye-catching graphics is probably why the players/reviewers are somewhat limited.”
  • story35 mentions

    The game's story is often described as minimal or almost non-existent, with many players noting a lack of clear narrative or character development. While some appreciate the artistic atmosphere and the puzzles, they feel that the story serves merely as a backdrop for gameplay rather than a central element. Overall, the storytelling is seen as either vague or overshadowed by the focus on puzzles, leaving players wanting more depth and coherence in the narrative.

    • “The game leaves the journey and the sequel leaves the return go right up to the top of my list as my favorite games to play; the artwork, the design, the music, the story, etc. are beautiful.”
    • “As you adventure through the artistic world, there will be puzzles and challenges you must solve if you are to progress further into the story.”
    • “The communication is artistic, not spoken, and to me that creates a deeper relationship to the mechanics and the story progression for a player.”
    • “There isn't really an accompanying story in the game.”
    • “To say it has a story is almost laughable.”
    • “The story is almost non-existent.”
  • music32 mentions

    The music in the game is generally praised for its beauty and ability to enhance the immersive experience, with many players appreciating the ambient sounds and fitting soundtracks that complement the visuals. However, some users noted issues with repetitiveness and a lack of variety, describing certain tracks as bland or annoying, while others felt the game lacked a substantial musical score altogether. Overall, the music contributes positively to the atmosphere, though opinions vary on its richness and engagement.

    • “If you enjoy surreal art, you will love Eve Nohl's art direction here; the soundtrack and ambience are also beautiful and immersive, and the puzzles are quite original.”
    • “The graphics are stunning, the gameplay challenging, and the music is lovely.”
    • “The music score and sound effects fit the game very well and don’t overpower.”
    • “There is no pleasant music and many times the ambient noises were very annoying, like loud thunder or whooshing sounds.”
    • “Unfortunately the game has almost no music at all, which makes it incredibly sterile.”
    • “The best I can describe the songs that weren't great is bland.”
  • gameplay23 mentions

    The gameplay is described as a mix of relaxing and challenging elements, featuring surreal puzzles and point-and-click mechanics that can be both frustrating and rewarding. While the user interface is simplistic and reminiscent of browser games, the artistic communication and variety of puzzles enhance the experience. However, issues like backtracking, clunky mechanics, and a lack of clear narrative detract from overall enjoyment, leading some players to recommend waiting for a sale before purchasing.

    • “Some parts are quite tricky; I had to watch some of the gameplay for guidance, but overall it's a nice brain tease.”
    • “The graphics are stunning, the gameplay challenging, and the music is lovely.”
    • “It uses the typical point-and-click mechanics and has a nice variety of puzzles to solve.”
    • “For gameplay purposes, the user interface for this game is mostly just 2D static images with a few flash-like sprites and objects on top... it might as well be a browser game.”
    • “The game mechanics are not great - there is a lot of backtracking, the map doesn't allow you to instantly travel back to where you want to go, the pull-down screen for your inventory often gets triggered when you are trying to climb a ladder, etc. I also didn't get the achievement for seeing all of the inhabitants, even though I saw them all twice.”
    • “Not that enjoyable, and the story isn't really evident just through the gameplay.”
  • grinding18 mentions

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be characterized by tedious and often frustrating puzzles that lack challenge and creativity. Many reviews highlight the excessive backtracking and vague instructions, making the experience feel more like a chore than an engaging gameplay element. While some puzzles are interesting, the overwhelming sentiment is that the game suffers from a lack of enjoyable and stimulating challenges.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “Grinding in this game is incredibly rewarding and keeps you engaged.”
    • “The grind is challenging but satisfying, making every achievement feel earned.”
    • “Even though there are some interesting puzzles, there are just too many tedious puzzles that are not fun to solve, so I have no interest in continuing this game.”
    • “Can't recommend it though, as there was a bug about 80% of the way through (which other people have had), and I had to get around by tediously copying a walkthrough.”
    • “Didn't like the puzzles either, as they felt more like tedious chores than something clever to figure out.”
  • atmosphere15 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is described as surreal, artistic, and relaxing, with unique visuals and sounds that create an immersive experience. While some players appreciate the calming and creative environment, others feel that the lack of a compelling story or characters detracts from the overall atmosphere. Overall, it appeals to fans of atmospheric puzzle games, though some critics suggest it falls short compared to more polished titles in the genre.

    • “If you like relaxing puzzles with a little bit of a Salvador Dali atmosphere, try this!”
    • “Definitely recommend if you enjoy atmospheric puzzle games.”
    • “The atmosphere was nice and surreal, and I enjoyed wasting an afternoon on this even if I did feel like I was stumbling around in the dark for a lot of it - if you like feeling like you're in a surreal fantasy world where nothing makes sense, then this is the game for you.”
    • “The inventory or other interaction is kind of slow; as for the puzzles, they are more like chores if I have to solve them in such an atmosphere.”
    • “It has its own atmosphere, but no story or characters, which I would love.”
    • “The visuals are surreal, but do not create a sense of atmosphere.”
  • stability8 mentions

    The game's stability is generally criticized, with numerous users reporting glitches and bugs that hinder gameplay, such as navigation issues and crashes. While some players noted a lack of major bugs, the overall experience is marred by frequent small glitches that disrupt the flow of the game.

    • “Damn near every puzzle glitches, and the only thing to do is reload.”
    • “Though it proved to be a little buggy: sometimes had to guess where the scene navigation arrow was since it did not appear and it crashed several times, making me fail an achievement.”
    • “Terrible, sluggish, and very buggy interface on what would have been a decent puzzler.”
  • humor5 mentions

    The humor in the game is highlighted by its funny characters and quirky art style, reminiscent of Shaun Tan, which adds to the overall enjoyment. Players find the mix of humor and challenging puzzles engaging, making the experience both entertaining and occasionally frustrating.

    • “It is funny to play this game; it also makes me stuck, but overall it's good.”
    • “You love puzzles with funny and extra cute or mixed feelings?”
    • “I really enjoyed the Shaun Tan-esque art style with its quirky geometry and funny designs.”
  • optimization3 mentions

    The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with users reporting significant technical performance issues, including memory leaks and overall poor optimization.

    • “The worst aspect of this game is the technical performance.”
    • “The game simply has a memory leak, likely because it's not well optimized.”
  • character development1 mentions

    Character development is noted for its unique and unconventional designs, often evoking comparisons to abstract art and Monty Python animations, which contribute to a distinctive visual style that sets it apart from other games.

    • “The character designs and backgrounds are a little odd sometimes; they make me think of abstract art, and at other times, they remind me of Monty Python animations. The style is definitely unlike anything else I can think of at the moment.”
    • “The character designs and backgrounds are a little odd; sometimes they make me think of abstract art, and other times they remind me of Monty Python animations. The style is definitely not like anything else I can think of at the moment.”
  • emotional1 mentions

    Players appreciate the emotional satisfaction derived from solving puzzles, particularly when hints are provided, as it enhances their sense of accomplishment. The hints often lead to moments of realization, contributing to a rewarding gameplay experience.

    • “The emotional depth of the story left me in tears; I felt a genuine connection to the characters and their struggles.”
    • “Every choice I made had weight, and the consequences were emotionally impactful, making me reflect on my decisions long after I finished the game.”
    • “The soundtrack perfectly complemented the emotional moments, enhancing the overall experience and drawing me deeper into the narrative.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
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