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Mainland

Mainland Game Cover
81%Game Brain Score
story, music
gameplay, graphics
81% User Score Based on 146 reviews

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PCWindows
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Mainland Game Cover

About

Mainland is a single player action game. It was developed by Peter Kosyh and was released on May 8, 2015. It received positive reviews from players.

A text adventure game about a 19th century explorer who finds himself stranded and alone.

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Mainland screenshot
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81%
Audience ScoreBased on 146 reviews
story36 positive mentions
gameplay3 negative mentions
  • The game offers a captivating and atmospheric story with beautiful, well-written text and a melancholic mood.
  • Unique text adventure gameplay with a helpful autocomplete/suggestion system that assists with input commands.
  • High-quality, relaxing soundtrack and thematic parchment-style visuals enhance immersion and set a 19th-century tone.
  • Gameplay can be frustrating due to restrictive, inconsistent, and sometimes illogical command inputs that often require trial and error or walkthroughs.
  • The story is short, linear, and ends abruptly without closure, which left many players feeling unsatisfied or confused.
  • Some players experienced technical issues such as bugs, lack of save/load options, and awkward interface that impede smooth progress.
  • story
    98 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story is generally praised for being immersive, atmospheric, and emotionally resonant, with a simple yet compelling narrative focusing on a stranded man's survival. However, many find it linear, vague, and occasionally frustrating due to rigid progress requirements and an unforgiving text parser, which can hinder emotional engagement. While short, it appeals to players seeking a meaningful interactive short story rather than a complex, choice-driven plot.

    • “Chilled out game with a lovely, endearing story.”
    • “While it is very short (took me just over 2 hours start to finish), the story is captivating and the ending unexpected.”
    • “It has wonderful uses of imagery and emotions that continue to pull you deeper into the story with every sentence.”
    • “If the story was meant to invoke an emotional reaction in the player, it failed; for most of the story, I was mostly just annoyed due to the aforementioned vagueness and commands.”
    • “For every decision or action the player can make, there are seemingly several options, except most of the time the logical action is prohibited for no particular reason, and you're forced to cycle through all the possible actions in order to find which one will actually advance the story.”
    • “Technically, the game works, but story-wise, you're going to be pushed along the rails the author intended, never in charge of your destiny, towards an ending that is in the dark and doesn't motivate you to get there.”
  • music
    27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is widely praised for its beautiful, atmospheric, and evocative qualities, particularly its piano soundtrack that effectively enhances the melancholic and immersive mood. Reviewers highlight how the music complements the story and overall theme, drawing players deeper into the experience, though some note minor issues with audio looping and consistency. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a major strength and a key contributor to the game's emotional impact.

    • “Absolutely loved the soundtrack.”
    • “Music throughout was beautiful, definitely helped the atmosphere.”
    • “Every element worked cohesively with one another: plot, music, and the general theme.”
    • “The piano pieces support the mood well, though I found it a bit distracting that the music wasn't there all the time nor was it (or other audio) looped properly.”
    • “I'm not saying this is a bad game, far from it, it's evocative and seemingly will end tragically with the sad, depressing music.”
    • “The music gives you that 'lonely' feeling.”
  • gameplay
    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay is primarily puzzle-based, combining thoughtful challenges with a narrative-driven experience that evokes empathy for the protagonist. It is engaging and unique, though some players find it slightly frustrating and the ending unsatisfying, which appears to be an intentional design choice. Overall, the gameplay emphasizes storytelling and emotional connection over traditional mechanics.

    • “An interesting story and simple, common sense gameplay, a great, but short adventure.”
    • “The game mechanic is interesting insofar as it forces the player to think.”
    • “A bit frustrating gameplay-wise and pretty unsatisfactory ending... however this seems to be done on purpose, so I guess it was the author's way.”
    • “More a book than anything else, it's not about the guessing game of a gameplay, but more about stirring compassion to the narrator's ugly luck and bad decisions; we've all been there at one point or another.”
    • “Mainland is a puzzle game that takes your brain and imagination to the new unique gameplay.”
  • emotional
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Emotional responses to the game are mixed: some players found the story touching, realistic, and emotionally impactful, describing it as a sad yet beautiful experience, while others felt disconnected or annoyed due to the protagonist's problematic behavior and vague storytelling. Overall, the emotional depth resonates differently depending on the player's perspective.

    • “The story wasn't thrilling or intricate, but that really adds to the game's plot and makes it that much more touching, realistic, and immersive.”
    • “A very touching, sad but beautiful text adventure.”
    • “What an emotional roller coaster... would recommend to anyone with a few hours to spend.”
  • graphics
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game features minimal visuals typical of a text adventure, with primarily background textures that complement the immersive 19th-century atmosphere. While the graphics are limited and not the main focus, they effectively enhance the storytelling for players who appreciate style over visual complexity. Those seeking rich visuals may find the graphics lacking.

    • “Aside from the convincing writing style, both the visual aesthetic and soundtrack really help make mainland feel like an authentic 19th century story.”
    • “The visuals – what little there is, mostly just the background texture – are a nice touch, a cherry on top of a delicious cake.”
    • “And just to be very clear, as a text adventure, there's no voice acting or pretty graphics.”
    • “Too much reading, not enough visuals for my taste.”
    • “Do not play if you are impatient or all about "graphics".”
  • atmosphere
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its moody, quirky, and immersive qualities, enhanced by a beautiful and relaxing soundtrack that perfectly complements the 19th-century setting. Many reviewers highlight the strong mood and engaging ambiance as key strengths that enrich the overall experience.

    • “It’s atmospheric, quirky, and perfect for anyone who enjoys classic text adventures without worrying about hardcore puzzles—because the real puzzle is surviving the 19th century.”
    • “The atmosphere and mood were fantastic and I think are the strongest points of the game.”
    • “It's very well-written and atmospheric, moody and interesting.”
  • grinding
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Grinding in the game is generally seen as tedious and challenging, often requiring extra effort or a walkthrough to progress, though some players still find it enjoyable despite the grind.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “Extremely tedious and essentially impossible to actually progress the story without a walkthrough.”
    • “A little tedious but awesome.”
  • humor
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's humor is interactive and engaging, relying on players imagining character actions based on typed prompts, which many find very funny.

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1h Median play time
1h Average play time
1-1h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Mainland is a action game.

Mainland is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 1 hours playing Mainland.

Mainland was released on May 8, 2015.

Mainland was developed by Peter Kosyh.

Mainland has received positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its gameplay.

Mainland is a single player game.

Similar games include In Case of Emergency, Release Raptor, Island of Deception, Queen of treasure isle, Coolmath Games: The Game, Paper Perjury and others.