Master Reboot

75%
Game Brain Score Based on 327 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • gameplay
Master Reboot Game Cover
An exceedingly high-concept explorative puzzler, Master Reboot's subsequent execution leaves a lot to be desired. Hobbling its lofty ambitions with poor presentation, inconsistently designed puzzles and a distinct lack of atmosphere, Master Reboot gives us a peek at a grander design that it sadly fails to realise.
Starting at $2.79Buy now
Get on Steam

"Master Reboot" is a psychological thriller adventure game set in the Soul Cloud, a digital afterlife. Players explore memories, solve puzzles, and uncover the truth behind the mysterious cloud, where death is no longer final. The game features a unique art style and a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack, providing an immersive and memorable experience.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
  • Play​Station
  • Play​station 3
  • Wii
  • Wii U
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

75%
Audience ScoreBased on 327 reviews
story86 positive mentions
gameplay18 negative mentions
  • Interesting premise with a unique sci-fi setting that explores themes of memory and identity.
  • Atmospheric visuals and sound design create a captivating and eerie experience.
  • Engaging puzzles that encourage exploration and piecing together the story through collectibles.
  • Gameplay can be frustrating due to clunky controls and poorly designed puzzles that lack clarity.
  • The horror elements rely heavily on cheap jump scares, which can detract from the overall experience.
  • The story can feel disjointed and confusing, making it difficult for players to fully grasp the narrative.
  • story254 mentions

    The game's story is a mixed bag, with many players finding it intriguing yet poorly executed. While some appreciate the unique concept of piecing together memories through collectibles, others criticize the lack of clarity and coherence, leading to confusion and frustration. Overall, the narrative has potential but suffers from disjointed storytelling and vague presentation, leaving players divided on its effectiveness.

    • “The story is intriguing and mysterious, the gameplay is greatly varied, puzzles are intuitive and the visuals are quite something.”
    • “The story is great, but the gameplay just gets boring after an hour.”
    • “Master reboot delivers an artistic experience with a story to match that leaves you eager to play each section and find every secret.”
    • “The story is confusing and heavily lacking the beginning, middle, and end part, which is about the only thing you gotta pay attention to - you had one job.”
    • “The story is mostly told through vague environmental clues within the levels, and more often through interactable blue rubber ducks.”
    • “The story itself is rather poorly told, with many of the important plot points feeling forced, and much of the rest of it as completely unrealistic.”
  • graphics129 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the unique art style and vibrant colors that enhance the atmosphere, while others criticize the visuals as outdated, inconsistent, and at times, painful to experience due to flashing lights and poor cutscene quality. Many note that while the in-game graphics can be simplistic or amateurish, they fit the game's narrative and surreal environments, creating an engaging experience despite technical flaws. Overall, the visuals are seen as a blend of intriguing aesthetics and frustrating execution, impacting the overall enjoyment of the game.

    • “The graphics are simple but manage to impress; all in all, the game harkens back to the 'golden era' of video games with its crisp design and simplistic gameplay.”
    • “The art style is very pretty and well suited to the game, and although it's fairly basic geometry, it doesn't take anything away from the game.”
    • “While graphics are substandard and puzzles are dull, the game is an immersive travel through a beautiful void of surreal landscapes and abandoned places.”
    • “The game itself is genuinely painful to play at times, when it gives you migraines from the cheap jumpscares and even hurts my eyes from all the flashing lights and overwhelming, poorly thought-out visuals where it skips through images at a very fast rate. I don't even want to imagine what that's like for someone with a seizure history.”
    • “The graphics are horrible except for a few effects. The graphics are awful from a technical standpoint; this could have been done in the year 2000 using existing technology without any problem. Saying they're like that because it was the artistic intention makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.”
    • “The graphics have a definite style, but a lot of it looks really amateurish, like it came out of my beginning level design class with more complete functionality, but about the same level of graphical capability.”
  • gameplay89 mentions

    The gameplay of the game is largely characterized as a mix of exploration and simple puzzles, but it suffers from clunky mechanics, lack of direction, and repetitiveness, leading to frustration for many players. While some appreciate the atmospheric elements and thematic depth, the overall execution is often described as unfinished or lacking polish, resulting in a gameplay experience that can feel monotonous and unengaging. Despite its potential, many reviews highlight that the gameplay fails to deliver a satisfying experience, overshadowing the intriguing story and visuals.

    • “The gameplay varies a little between every level so it never feels samey.”
    • “The gameplay is mostly simple yet extremely satisfying puzzles with a few other bits and pieces thrown in here and there for variety.”
    • “The story is intriguing and mysterious, the gameplay is greatly varied, puzzles are intuitive and the visuals are quite something.”
    • “All in all, the game has so much potential, but laziness and incompetent game development show little to no thought going into the actual gameplay experience.”
    • “The gameplay is extremely weak.”
    • “The gameplay is dull for the most part; the puzzles are simple, the mini-games frustrating or unfun at best, and the horror isn't frightening - basically, they tried for everything and succeeded at nothing.”
  • atmosphere82 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its unique blend of horror, surrealism, and emotional depth, creating a captivating and immersive experience. While many players appreciate the striking visuals, sound design, and the ability to evoke a range of emotions, some note that gameplay issues and repetitive environments can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered a significant strength, often overshadowing its gameplay flaws.

    • “The atmosphere was wonderful, managing to be horrifying at some parts and serene at others, all while maintaining that underlying level of how disturbing this world really is.”
    • “The atmosphere and styling of the game are excellent, the story is well developed, and the game has a consistent and endearing tone.”
    • “The audio design is fantastic as well, adding a lot to the sometimes quite creepy atmosphere.”
    • “The atmosphere doesn't achieve what was intended.”
    • “The dim and sometimes flickering lighting seemed more a necessity of the genre rather than part of the atmosphere.”
    • “The story has become technobabble, the atmosphere in the game is completely gone, and the graphics' unique style that hid the low polygon count blocky elements have all but gone, leaving a very poor version of Tron 2.0 behind.”
  • music33 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its ability to enhance the atmosphere, creating a chilling and immersive experience that complements the visuals and story. Reviewers note that the soundtrack effectively builds tension and contributes to the game's eerie ambiance, although some found certain sound effects repetitive. Overall, the sound design and music are considered standout elements, significantly elevating the game's emotional impact.

    • “The music and ambient sounds are top notch.”
    • “The music is fantastic, being the real strongpoint of the game.”
    • “The stylized graphics and soundtrack work together to create an awesome creepy atmosphere.”
    • “Many times, the game would attempt a jump-scare, or the soundtrack would freak out in such a way as to indicate that a jump-scare was supposed to be happening somewhere, but they forgot to do the work of making me look in that direction first.”
    • “The sound design and music in the game was also pretty well done except some of the creepy sounds got repetitive at times.”
    • “Some of the puzzles could have been better thought out (the walls in the library are too similar to find way around, the symbols in the cemetery are not clear, and the music repetition gets a bit old).”
  • stability10 mentions

    The game's stability is frequently criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs and glitches that detract from the overall experience. While some players find the gameplay enjoyable despite these issues, others express frustration over persistent graphical problems and crashes that require restarting the game. Overall, the game's stability appears to be a significant concern for many players.

    • “Are we supposed to just accept that their games are filled with bugs and glitches that will never be fixed?”
    • “All in all, this is a gem of a game that's covered in bugs and glitches.”
    • “However, there are some glitches in this game that cause it to crash, forcing me to reboot the game (not the OS, but just the game). Even so, I can't get over how ironic that is considering its title; maybe this was supposed to be part of the fun!”
  • emotional10 mentions

    The game is praised for its engaging and emotional storytelling, effectively evoking a wide range of feelings such as tension and elation through its atmosphere, level design, and music. Many players find the narrative touching and impactful, particularly in its exploration of themes like transhumanism, despite some criticism regarding certain story elements and puzzles. Overall, the emotional depth and immersive experience resonate strongly with players, making it a memorable journey.

    • “This game keeps you busy all the time while telling an interesting and emotional story.”
    • “There are several really intense emotional moments, and it's refreshing to see a work all about the digital age and transhumanism that actually has a point it's trying to make.”
    • “The story is simple, but well presented, and the overall experience is deeply touching.”
    • “The story is boring and the emotional moments feel forced, with easy puzzles and generic flashbacks that lack depth.”
    • “The 'spooky' girl appears at random times, but her presence is more annoying than scary, detracting from any emotional impact.”
    • “Overall, the game fails to evoke any real emotions, leaving players feeling disconnected from the characters and their experiences.”
  • optimization4 mentions

    The game's optimization is notably poor, particularly on Mac systems, where users report significant performance issues, bugs, and clunky controls that detract from the overall experience. Despite its strengths in building tension and delivering scares, these technical shortcomings hinder its potential for success.

    • “I even tried lowering the resolution, but some parts of the game are just too convoluted and need to be optimized better.”
    • “Though this game does well to build tension, deliver jumpscares, and create a sense of dread, performance issues and bugs, combined with clunky controls, really hinder this game's chance for success.”
    • “Horrible performance on Mac!”
    • “This game doesn't seem to be optimized for Macs.”
  • grinding3 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, as the overly simple puzzles contribute to a monotonous experience. The repetitive nature of the gameplay, combined with a lack of variety in horror elements, leads to a sense of frustration rather than engagement.

    • “While the puzzles are very simple (too simple), they still manage to make the game feel very grinding.”
    • “The puzzles themselves were mind-numbingly tedious, and the only horror element was the same jump scare over and over again.”
    • “While they facilitate environmental exploration, as a gameplay mechanic, I found them very tedious.”
  • humor2 mentions

    The humor in the game is highlighted through its quirky riddles and unique visual style, reminiscent of classic platformers like Super Mario 64. Players appreciate the blend of horror and comedy within the vibrant, minimal neon world, making for an engaging and amusing experience.

    • “It's a horror adventure game, which - funny enough - reminded me a little bit of Super Mario 64, in the way that you navigate through the soul village, which acts as a kind of overhead map screen, from which you can enter the different levels.”
    • “A fantastic minimal neon world filled with funny riddles and awesome unique styles.”
  • replayability1 mentions

    Users indicate that the game's replayability is primarily tied to the unique experience it offers, though some feel that they may not personally engage in multiple playthroughs.

    • “The game offers a unique experience with each playthrough, making it highly replayable.”
    • “I love how different choices lead to various outcomes, ensuring that every run feels fresh and exciting.”
    • “The variety of characters and storylines keeps me coming back for more, as there's always something new to discover.”
    • “I don’t see myself playing it again, but it could be replayable for the 'experience'.”
    • “Once you've completed the game, there's little incentive to go back and play it again.”
    • “The lack of meaningful choices makes replaying the game feel pointless.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    The monetization strategy is generally acceptable to users, as it integrates ads into the game without detracting from the overall experience.

    • “The monetization system feels overly aggressive and detracts from the overall experience.”
    • “I find the constant push for in-game purchases frustrating and it ruins the immersion.”
    • “It's disappointing that so much of the game is locked behind paywalls, making it hard to enjoy without spending extra money.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

11% average critic score

Buy Master Reboot

Play time

6hMedian play time
6hAverage play time
6-6hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

Videos

Similar Games