Mesmer
- October 16, 2020
- Rain Games
- 7h median play time
Get on Steam"Mesmer is a single-player, open world social survival game that takes about 7 hours to beat. As a revolution leader, you must influence people and factions in a police state ruled by a king who has failed his citizens. With Paciflowers controlling the minds of dissenters, can you build a revolution and lead the people towards a better future?"
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game offers a unique and engaging experience with a rich story and interesting characters, encouraging exploration and curiosity.
- The atmospheric music and vibrant graphics enhance the overall immersion, creating a lively world that players can enjoy.
- The gameplay mechanics, including the lock-picking mini-game and various tasks, provide a satisfying challenge and a sense of accomplishment.
- The game suffers from numerous bugs and performance issues, including long load times and glitches that can disrupt gameplay.
- A lack of tutorials and clear instructions can make the game feel overwhelming and confusing, leading to frustration for new players.
- Many quests are fetch-based, which can lead to repetitive gameplay and a sense of dullness over time.
- story19 mentions
- 16 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The game's story is praised for its interesting narratives and well-crafted characters, set against a vibrant city backdrop that feels alive. While many quests are fetch-based, they contribute to the overall depth of the story, with political themes and personal stakes that resonate with players. However, the gameplay mechanics, including poor controls and time management issues, can detract from the experience, making it feel unfriendly despite the engaging storyline.
“The world feels really alive and there is little handholding after day one, which fits with the story.”
“The gameplay is interesting enough, but the real shining star here is the story, characters, and the world, all beautifully crafted and presented.”
“It is an interesting story and cool political structure/debate mechanic (in addition, I am fond of fetch quests).”
“The game is comprised of fetch quests to collect wealth.”
“Lack of tutorial is one thing, making the gameplay predominately fetch quests is another and leaves the gameplay pretty dull.”
“Unfortunately, the game is bogged down by poor controls and arbitrarily timed quests alongside needless time management.”
- gameplay13 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
Gameplay reviews highlight a mix of innovative mechanics and significant flaws. While the grapple hook and influence mechanics are praised for their creativity, players criticize the core spinning dial mechanic and the predominance of fetch quests, which contribute to a lack of engagement. Overall, the gameplay is seen as a rough but promising experience, with potential for improvement through better tutorials and refinement of existing systems.
“The grapple hook mechanic is also very nifty and is very well outlined by the blue borders on the mini map.”
“Interesting mix of mechanics.”
“The gameplay is interesting enough, but the real shining star here are the story, characters, and the world, all beautifully crafted and presented.”
“The core mechanic of spinning dials and trying to quickly click them when they're on the right number, plus spending precious resources to increase the odds and not getting those resources back if you fail, feels bad and needs a complete overhaul.”
“Lack of tutorial is one thing, making the gameplay predominantly fetch quests is another and leaves the gameplay pretty dull.”
“The mechanics themselves are easy to understand, but the gameplay lacks depth and variety, making it feel repetitive.”
- music8 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its fantastic quality and varied soundtrack, masterfully executed by Jorn Lavoll. Players appreciate how it enhances the overall experience, although there was a notable instance where a glitch caused a delay in gameplay while the music continued to play. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature that complements the game's art style and concept.
“Music is fantastic.”
“The music is amazing.”
“An amazing concept spiced with some great art-style and music!”
“The music is forgettable and doesn't add anything to the experience.”
“I expected more from the soundtrack, but it feels repetitive and uninspired.”
“The music doesn't match the game's atmosphere, making it feel disjointed.”
- graphics5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game present a unique and unconventional style that may take some getting used to, but ultimately enhances the overall experience with its artistic flair. While the visuals evoke nostalgia for early 2000s console games, some players note issues with visibility and guard detection that can affect gameplay. Overall, the art style and design contribute positively to the game's charm, despite some technical shortcomings.
“At first, one might not be used to the more unusual graphics and renditions compared to other games, but once you look past that, it really sells itself well.”
“An amazing concept spiced with some great art style and music!”
“Mesmer is a rough diamond in the best tradition of early-to-mid 2000s console games I remember with great fondness - janky but idea-rich with interesting design ideas that don't neatly fall into pre-existing gameplay formulas.”
“At first, one might not be used to the more obtuse graphics and renditions compared to other games, but once you look past that, it really sells itself well.”
“It is very easy to avoid the guards, but sometimes their light source radius isn't telegraphed enough, or it seems as if they see me when I'm several stories down (looking at you canaries area / Aesthetica stairs). Additionally, if I don't have the hog or a grappling hook, I don't think you can escape unless you make it to the under-city, which can be difficult in itself.”
“Graphics?”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game has been reported to have significant stability issues, including frequent bugs and a persistent black screen that disrupts gameplay. Despite these problems, some players remain intrigued and are willing to give it another try.
“Unfortunately, the game is very buggy, especially when opening the menu during different cutscenes.”
“It is a bit buggy; currently, I have a black screen that will not resolve when I try to continue my game.”
“Despite the bugs in the game, I suspect I will try it again on Monday, so it has definitely caught my attention.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is richly crafted, with each district uniquely reflecting the tone and beliefs of its respective faction. While the thematic elements and storytelling are praised, some players find the overall environment to be unwelcoming and challenging.
“Atmospheric, unique to each district and definitely carries the tone of each faction and their respective beliefs.”
“I love the theme, the atmosphere, the story... it's just so unfriendly to the player.”
- character development2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Reviewers praise the character development for its strong ties to the established world-building of Rain Games, highlighting the appealing character designs and the depth of interaction with the city's inhabitants. This familiarity and connection enhance the overall narrative experience.
“I appreciate the character designs, and I love how you get to know the people of the city.”
“Additionally, if you're familiar with Teslagrad and World to the West, the character design is a return to form and stays true to the world-building that Rain Games has done.”
“The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with the characters.”
“I found the character arcs to be predictable and uninspired, leaving me wanting more complexity.”
“Despite the interesting setting, the characters themselves are one-dimensional and fail to evolve throughout the story.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Users report experiencing performance issues, particularly on lower-end hardware configurations, such as an i5-6400 paired with a GT 1050 Ti. Overall, optimization appears to be a concern for some players.
“I did have some performance issues.”
“Joke aside, there is a little bit of a performance issue on my PC (i5-6400 + GT 1050 Ti).”
