Life Tastes Like Cardboard

About

Life Tastes Like Cardboard is a single player role playing game. It was developed by demensa and was released on September 22, 2019. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

"Life Tastes Like Cardboard" is a first-person exploration game that simulates the experience of various psychiatric disorders. Players navigate surreal environments that represent different symptoms, such as delusions and hallucinations. The game aims to educate players about mental illness and reduce stigma, while also providing an immersive and thought-provoking gaming experience. Note: This game contains mature themes and is not recommended for sensitive audiences.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

96%

Audience ScoreBased on 268 reviews

music25 positive mentions

grinding2 negative mentions

The game offers a deeply personal and emotional narrative that resonates with players, exploring themes of depression and isolation in a raw and relatable manner.
The unique art style and haunting soundtrack effectively enhance the game's atmosphere, creating a memorable and immersive experience.
Players appreciate the game's ability to evoke strong emotions and reflections on their own lives, making it a powerful piece of interactive art.

The gameplay is minimal and can feel tedious, with some players finding the navigation confusing and the pacing slow.
The crude visuals and amateur presentation may deter some players, leading them to underestimate the game's depth and emotional impact.
The heavy themes and intense emotional content may not be suitable for all players, particularly those sensitive to discussions of mental health and depression.

music
60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
53%
5%
The music in the game is widely praised for its emotional depth and haunting quality, effectively complementing the themes of depression and personal struggle. Users appreciate the unique blend of ambient sounds, sparse piano, and chaotic yet beautiful compositions that enhance the overall narrative experience. The soundtrack is described as both impactful and relatable, contributing significantly to the game's atmosphere and emotional resonance.
- “The music is gorgeous and haunting.”
- “The art style and soundtrack make for a unique experience.”
- “Ambient noise replaces traditional background music, amplifying the sense of emptiness.”
- “When music does appear, it’s sparse and haunting, simple piano or distant drones that feel like echoes of emotion long forgotten.”
- “At some points the music felt so horrifying it left a sick feeling in my stomach, one that I only really get when very anxious.”
graphics
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
60%
7%
The graphics of "Life Tastes Like Cardboard" have received mixed reviews, with some players criticizing the simplistic, MS Paint-style visuals as lacking polish, while others appreciate the intentionality behind the art, noting its ability to convey deep emotional themes such as depression and loneliness. The game features a variety of art styles that evolve throughout the narrative, creating a unique aesthetic experience that resonates with players on a personal level. Overall, while the visuals may appear crude at first glance, they are often described as surprisingly effective and integral to the game's emotional impact.
- “I absolutely adore the symbolism and artwork.”
- “The art style is almost hairy and richly glitchy, expanding and contracting based on the character's mental state.”
- “While the visuals may appear crude, the style and sheer variety of visual expression on display is at times truly breathtaking.”
- “In terms of visuals, this features really godawful MS Paint tier 'art' instead of real graphics.”
- “The deplorably bad visuals here come across as an insult to gamers.”
- “Graphics are so shitty, yet so perfect and the effects are actually good.”
emotional
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game "Life Tastes Like Cardboard" is described as a deeply emotional experience that explores themes of mental health and emotional emptiness, resonating strongly with players. Its fragmented dialogue and deliberate pacing reflect the protagonist's struggles, while the art and soundtrack enhance the emotional impact, leading many to cry and feel a profound connection to the narrative. Despite some technical issues and a non-traditional structure, it is praised for its raw, heartfelt storytelling and ability to evoke strong feelings, making it a significant piece in the realm of emotionally driven games.
- “The lack of traditional progression might frustrate some players, but it’s deliberate: the pacing mirrors the protagonist’s emotional stagnation.”
- “This is undoubtedly the most touching game I have ever experienced, and one of the most strangely beautiful. I don't quite have the words to describe my thoughts on it, but if you are considering playing, yes.”
- “Life tastes like cardboard does what few other games do: it shows its audience the deepest, most disturbing thoughts and feelings of its creator, unfiltered and emotionally driven, from their own unique perspective.”
story
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
66%
10%
The story is a deeply moving exploration of themes such as depression, loneliness, and self-hatred, presented through a series of melancholic moments and character-driven dialogue that resonates with many players. While it lacks a traditional narrative structure, its unique art styles and haunting soundtrack enhance the emotional impact, making it a compelling character study that leaves a lasting impression. Some players found it relatable and cathartic, though opinions on its effectiveness varied, with a few feeling it fell short of its potential.
- “The story unfolds through small, melancholy moments, where routine becomes reflection and emptiness takes center stage.”
- “A beautiful and haunting piece, dealing with topics about hatred of oneself, loneliness, and depression, quite a personal story for the developer with lots of cathartic commentary within it, and the soundtrack is just beautiful with its distorted chiptunes and ambient pieces.”
- “The art styles used in line with the music really drove the story in ways I would not have expected... like this game really hits different, and it hits hard... the plot is amazing and all I can really say is that I will always and forever recommend this game.”
- “The story had the potential to be hard-hitting and emotionally compelling, but it just fell flat for me.”
- “Presented in a sort of disjointed, dreamlike manner, it's more a character study than a story, but it's pulled off in a genuinely heartfelt manner and with all the quality that the rest of the game's presentation implies.”
- “I found the story to be deeply moving as well, although I can imagine that it might not have the same effect for everyone.”
gameplay
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
62%
19%
The gameplay is largely minimalistic and often criticized for lacking depth, with many describing it as more of an interactive e-book or visual experience than a traditional game. Players primarily engage in walking around and clicking on items, with only a few shallow gameplay elements and occasional minigames. However, those who invest in the experience may find it emotionally resonant, despite its simplistic mechanics and reliance on narrative over gameplay.
- “I totally love the slow gameplay that doesn't push you forward and lets you enjoy the moment for as long as you wish.”
- “The gameplay is simple, and what you get out of the game relies on your willingness and ability to get into it: if you don't want to get into it, it won't engage you, but if you go for it, it can keep your attention even though it's a simple walk-explory-findy-things-to-look-at kind of deal.”
- “The sound is incredible for what it does, the minimalist art style is very well suited, and the gameplay itself is worth the download.”
- “Not much in the way of gameplay; it's mostly just clicking through incredibly cringey teenage goth poetry tier writing that, instead of improving your mental health, may worsen it (you deserve better than this kind of amateur garbage).”
- “The crux of this is to push some very low quality, badly done fan-fiction tier writing, where we see once more a developer fail to understand the importance of 'show, don't tell', and for whatever reason, weren't able to convey their narrative through gameplay, giving us endless lines of badly written e-book text instead.”
- “It has no gameplay; it's just a visual experience, not even a visual novel.”
humor
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its dry wit and authenticity, effectively balancing the bleak themes of mental health with moments of levity and absurdity. Players appreciate the blend of awkward conversations and personal reflections that evoke both laughter and introspection, creating a unique emotional experience that resonates deeply. Overall, the humor serves as a poignant counterpoint to the game's heavier themes, making it both relatable and impactful.
- “The characters’ detached conversations, awkward silences, and dry humor all build a sense of authenticity that’s rare in games exploring mental health.”
- “From the MS Paint art style to the home-produced music, this whole game is one deeply personal and vulnerable journey that, while bleak, has a surprisingly fun sense of humor and balanced tone.”
- “This game bluntly showcases the ugly, upsetting, and unhinged parts of depression and yet somehow balances them perfectly against equally funny and bright scenes of weirdness and levity.”
atmosphere
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
43%
The atmosphere of the game is described as deeply immersive and emotionally charged, evoking a dreamlike tension where everything feels unsettling yet impactful. Players appreciate the powerful design and characterization, noting how it effectively explores themes of mental illness and emotional connection. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered a standout feature, enhancing the player's experience and engagement.
- “The atmosphere of the game is fantastic: really experimental with the visuals.”
- “It’s insane how atmospheric the game is.”
- “The atmosphere carries the same tension as a dream where nothing happens but everything feels wrong.”
- “I gradually felt an atmosphere that was hard to leave, perhaps from the corridor through the pillars where I ran into Olive, the perfect character who, even though he had his own hurts, was still willing to take Jon to his dreamy world and who, instead of constantly questioning him like a bad psychiatrist, chatted to him until he wanted to bare his heart, which I think is exactly what Jon wanted.”
- “This game is all about putting you into moods and atmospheres.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is central to its design, creating a mix of anticipation and relief as players navigate through tedious tasks. While some may find the repetitive nature of walking and interacting tedious, others appreciate it as a relaxing experience.
- “A grinding, trudging element is the main focus of the game design -- you feel anticipation and fear but also relief when something interrupts the drudgery of moving your poor, depressed legs.”
- “This may not be everyone's cup of tea with the tedious task of walking around to interact with things, but I didn't mind as I found it relaxing.”

Skip Game Offers

Buy Life Tastes Like Cardboard

3h Median play time

3h Average play time

3-4h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs

Skip Videos

Videos

Skip Games Like Life Tastes Like Cardboard

96%11.1kreviews

Missed Messages

2019

Casual Simulation

94%991reviews

Pleh!

2023

Simulation

88%7.7kreviews

Until Then

2024

Action

93%4.7kreviews

The Cat Lady

2013

Arcade Quiz

94%94.7kreviews

Omori

2020

Role Playing

+10

More games like Life Tastes Like Cardboard

Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Life Tastes Like Cardboard is a role playing game.

Life Tastes Like Cardboard is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 3 hours playing Life Tastes Like Cardboard.

Life Tastes Like Cardboard was released on September 22, 2019.

Life Tastes Like Cardboard was developed by demensa.

Life Tastes Like Cardboard has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its music but disliked it for its gameplay.

Life Tastes Like Cardboard is a single player game.

Similar games include Missed Messages, Pleh!, Until Then, The Cat Lady, Omori and others.

Life Tastes Like Cardboard

Platforms

About

Buy Life Tastes Like Cardboard