Liminalcore

About

"Liminalcore is a single-player adventure game with sensational graphics and a unique atmosphere. Explore surreal liminal spaces between worlds, uncovering fragments of a lost life as you descend into a hauntingly empty journey towards the unknown. Can you maintain your sanity and escape this unsettling nightmare?"

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

89%

Audience ScoreBased on 376 reviews

graphics60 positive mentions

story4 negative mentions

The game features stunning graphics and a captivating atmosphere that immerses players in eerie, liminal spaces.
It successfully creates a sense of unease and psychological horror without relying on jump scares or monsters, making it a unique experience.
Players appreciate the innovative use of sound design, including microphone echo effects that enhance immersion.

The game suffers from significant performance issues, including frame rate drops and poor optimization, making it unplayable for some users.
Many players find the game too dark, with inadequate lighting that hinders visibility and navigation.
The gameplay can feel repetitive and lacks substantial interaction or objectives, leading to a sense of monotony.

graphics
102 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
38%
3%
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their stunning visuals, immersive atmosphere, and effective use of color and detail, particularly in water effects and eerie environments. However, many players have noted significant optimization issues, leading to performance problems that detract from the overall experience, especially on lower-end systems. While the aesthetic and design are praised, some reviewers feel that the gameplay lacks depth, reducing the impact of the impressive graphics.
- “From the nice water graphics, to the eye-catching colors and visuals, to the eerie sounds throughout the game.”
- “The graphics were stunning, and the immersive atmosphere added to the overall experience.”
- “This game has amazing water graphics ripple details while we walked on it.”
- “I'm running it far above the minimum requirements and it's currently impossible for me to stream it. I cannot change the graphics settings mid-game without immediately hitting an Unreal Engine fatal error.”
- “I tried adjusting the graphics settings to be lower, but while the menu gives you the options of 'low, medium, high, ultra', all the options under ultra looked identical and seemed atrocious. Textures were barely even displaying on high, with blurry pixels the size of my fist. I had to choose between letting the game look decent but run at an immersion-breaking 10fps or so, or turn the graphics down to the lowest settings so it runs smoothly but doesn't look realistic.”
- “The game crashed during the second chapter while I was trying to fix the frame rate by lowering graphical settings after lowering the resolution. There's a chance it crashed trying to apply these settings near a ball pit; I have been told by one of the devs that they're adding DLSS and FSR tonight, so this might only be a temporary issue.”
atmosphere
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
66%
30%
5%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its stunning visuals, eerie sound design, and immersive environments that evoke feelings of both intrigue and unease. Players appreciate the game's ability to create a captivating and unsettling ambiance without relying on jump scares, allowing for a more explorative and engaging experience. Overall, the combination of well-designed spaces and atmospheric elements contributes significantly to the game's appeal, making it a standout in the walking simulator genre.
- “Incredibly atmospheric and engaging.”
- “Amazing and unsettling atmosphere that you really feel lost in.”
- “Fantastically designed maze/exploration odyssey, shrouded in mystery and drenched in atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere is terrifying and oppressive; the level structure is very well done. I enjoyed myself greatly playing this.”
- “The sound effects and atmosphere are very unsettling, though.”
- “It's a feeling, an atmosphere, a 'vibe' that no monster chase can conjure.”
optimization
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
55%
18%
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with many players reporting poor performance, stuttering, and frame drops even on high-end hardware. While some users noted improvements after recent updates, the consensus is that the game still requires substantial optimization to run smoothly at decent graphical settings. Overall, players are hopeful for future patches to enhance performance.
- “Edit: I have updated my review to a thumbs up after receiving the optimization update the developer mentioned to me.”
- “The update made a significant difference in performance and my PC fan now runs mostly quiet.”
- “Aside from performance issues, this game is great and I hope it gets optimized better and patched up more in the future.”
- “The game, however, does need a desperate amount of optimization.”
- “It is heavily unoptimized and requires pretty heavy DLSS to be remotely playable at decent settings.”
- “The performance is just so bad: as much as I wanted to play this all the way through, by the time I got to chapter 3 the game became practically unplayable; I had to refund it.”
gameplay
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
55%
15%
The gameplay is primarily focused on walking, with a unique psychological aspect enhanced by exquisite sound design, though some players found the visuals too dark and not as appealing as expected from promotional videos. Players can expect around three hours of gameplay, which some enjoyed despite its similarities to other titles. Overall, while the art design is praised, the gameplay experience may vary significantly from what is showcased online.
- “The exquisite sound design adds a psychological aspect to the gameplay, which makes for an equally unique and interesting experience.”
- “You'll get about 3 hours of full gameplay out of Liminalcore, so consider this before you buy.”
- “There isn't too much else to review since gameplay centers around walking, but the visual and art design are beautiful to look at.”
- “You'll get about 3 hours of full gameplay out of liminalcore, so consider this before you buy.”
- “Unfortunately, the game is too similar to pools in terms of both visuals and gameplay.”
story
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
5%
75%
20%
The game's story is described as vague and open to interpretation, with some players finding intrigue in the scattered clues and visual storytelling, while others criticize it for being confusing and lacking coherence. It is often characterized as an "artsy" experience that may require multiple playthroughs to grasp fully, but ultimately leaves much to the player's imagination. Overall, opinions are mixed, with some appreciating the artistic approach and others feeling disappointed by the lack of a clear narrative.
- “I definitely love the story and I'm waiting for more games from the developer!”
- “The story of liminalcore is too confusing and doesn't really make sense.”
- “Furthermore, there's an element of intrigue in the sense that there's the odd clue as to what the underlying story may be, but it's ultimately left to the player's imagination.”
- “The game contains a story told through visuals and locations you find, and may require a second or third playthrough to have a better understanding of what's happening.”
emotional
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews highlight a mixed emotional experience, with some players feeling that repeated exposure to certain elements diminished their emotional impact. However, the Liminalcore aspect is praised for its ability to evoke deep emotional connections and encourage personal reflection, making it a compelling experience for many. Overall, while some elements may fall flat, the emotional resonance of the game can still foster meaningful connections for players.
- “Liminalcore also taps into deep emotional currents.”
- “This emotional depth allows individuals to connect with their personal narratives as they navigate through life’s transitions.”
- “Its visual appeal combined with emotional resonance makes it a compelling movement that encourages reflection and connection among its followers.”
music
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
50%
30%
The music in the game is praised for its eerie and liminal qualities, with random old radio tracks enhancing the atmosphere. Players find the soundtrack thrilling and integral to the game's immersive experience, expressing excitement for future chapters and music. However, some feel that the music alone cannot salvage certain gameplay aspects.
- “I love where random old distant radio music will play in some places, making the game even more liminal in nature.”
- “It's an amazing game so far and I'm already looking forward to the other chapters and soundtrack.”
- “Not even putting on music and speedrunning made it salvageable.”
- “Soundtrack: liminal”
- “This game is really thrilling with eerie music.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, particularly due to a lack of environmental diversity. Many express that the time investment required for grinding feels excessive, suggesting it may demand more commitment than they anticipated.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “I expected so much more diversity in environments, but the pools get tedious when you expect more.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by a blend of comedic and unsettling elements, as exemplified by the character of Pepe, which evokes both laughter and a sense of creepiness.
- “The first Pepe was both funny and creepy.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game's stability is generally solid, with only a few minor glitches and occasional game freezes reported, but nothing significantly detrimental to the experience.