Missing Translation

About

"Missing Translation" is a puzzle-based game set in a strange, desert city filled with peculiar creatures. With no text or tutorials, players must discover how to progress and solve over 75 puzzles using three distinct mechanics. The game features beautiful black-and-white pixel art, a drawn language to learn, and a choice of two characters. The experience is enhanced by a mixture of ambient sounds and music.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

85%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,278 reviews

music198 positive mentions

grinding37 negative mentions

Fun and engaging puzzles that provide a good challenge without being overly difficult.
Charming black and white pixel art style with a soothing soundtrack.
The game is free to play, making it accessible to everyone.

Repetitive gameplay with 25 levels for each of the three puzzle types, leading to boredom.
Lack of a coherent story or deeper exploration of the language mechanic.
Short playtime, completing the game in about an hour leaves players wanting more content.

music
295 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
29%
3%
The music in the game is generally praised for its calming and pleasant qualities, enhancing the overall atmosphere and experience. Many players appreciate the nostalgic and soothing soundtrack, which complements the pixel art style, although some note that it can become repetitive over time. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a strong point of the game, contributing to its relaxing and engaging nature.
- “The minimalist soundtrack and retro pixel art further enhance the immersive experience, creating a timeless adventure that’s as challenging as it is captivating.”
- “The music is a high point and reminds me a ton of the Layton franchise.”
- “The music was fantastic, but the loop was surprisingly short.”
- “The music is repetitive, only changes like 2 times.”
- “I found the music rather loud and a little irritating after a while, but there's no option to turn it down or off, which is a shame.”
- “The music gets repetitive very quickly and doesn't feel like it adds much to the game in terms of ambience or theme.”
graphics
152 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
48%
4%
The game's graphics feature a charming black and white pixel art style that many players find aesthetically pleasing and nostalgic, reminiscent of early 90s games. While some reviews note the simplicity of the visuals, they generally agree that the art complements the gameplay and enhances the overall experience. Despite a few criticisms regarding the lack of depth and customization, the graphics are often described as a strong point, contributing to the game's unique atmosphere and appeal.
- “The black and white graphics are simple, but aesthetically pleasing.”
- “I was immediately taken back in time to early 90's Mac graphics; that utterly crisp and clean monochrome look and terse animation was beautiful and was a welcome change to the technicolor nightmare I'd just finished.”
- “The charming monochrome graphics and peppy sounds help make this one a fine way to tease your brain for a bit.”
- “Resolution and controls are locked, and can't be changed or customized to improve the visuals or the control experience.”
- “A choice was made to use obsolete retro pixel 'art' as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
- “The graphics are really bad, to the point where I sometimes wonder if they tried their hardest to induce pain in your eyes.”
story
119 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
54%
17%
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it underdeveloped or lacking depth. While some appreciate the unique and abstract storytelling approach, others criticize the narrative for being vague and not effectively integrated with the puzzle-solving gameplay. Overall, the consensus suggests that the game prioritizes puzzles over a compelling story, leaving players wanting more narrative substance.
- “Really fun story with some interesting puzzles.”
- “The main story and puzzles are simple but entertaining, yet it is the concept and mechanics of communication that add a whole other layer of complexity and beauty to the game.”
- “The game has a unique story, which I found to be interesting.”
- “Not sure about the story as it mostly seems to be about just solving a bunch of puzzles. I'm also unsure how the rather large town fits into the whole, other than having you walk around a bit to get from each building housing a puzzle machine.”
- “The puzzles themselves are extremely simple, and there is no story to go with the game – it is very vague and doesn’t feel like it has much point.”
- “There is no story, no reason, no purpose as to why your character is doing all this.”
gameplay
83 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
81%
4%
The gameplay of the game is characterized by a limited set of three simple puzzle mechanics, each with 25 levels, leading to a repetitive experience that lacks depth and variety. While the language and communication mechanics present an intriguing concept, they are poorly integrated into the core gameplay, making them feel underutilized and irrelevant. Overall, players express a desire for more engaging and varied gameplay, as well as a deeper exploration of the unique mechanics introduced.
- “The main story and puzzles are simple but entertaining, yet it is the concept and mechanics of communication that add a whole other layer of complexity and beauty to the game.”
- “The puzzle mechanics themselves aren't too unique or inventive, but the difficulty gradient was almost perfect and all the puzzles themselves had just the right amount of challenge to them.”
- “Unique, fun, visually appealing (what amazingly great pixel graphics, seriously), great music- and simple but engaging gameplay mechanics.”
- “Overall, incredibly interesting language mechanic but terribly disappointing to include at all if it's not going to be developed or integrated enough to enjoy.”
- “The game's most interesting aspect (and the one it is named for and sold on) is the translation/dialogue component and it is both wildly underdeveloped and irrelevant to gameplay.”
- “While there are some interesting and promising aspects in the game, like its surreal art style and its special kind of 'numbers', these ideas are entirely unrelated to the main gameplay, that only consists of solving puzzles, which, instead of being challenging or fulfilling, are uninspired and dull, making this game too repetitive and boring; this game feels like a chore that goes on forever, despite its short length.”
grinding
39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
3%
95%
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and repetitive, particularly due to the requirement to complete a large number of similar puzzles, often up to 25 times. While some players initially find the puzzles interesting, they quickly become monotonous and unenjoyable, lacking sufficient variety or challenge to maintain engagement. Overall, the grinding experience is described as a frustrating busywork that detracts from the game's potential enjoyment.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Each was moderately interesting the first few times, but stretched out to twenty-five of each they quickly became pretty tedious, especially the one filling gaps.”
- “It's just not that satisfying to solve the puzzles and doing it 25 times quickly becomes tedious busywork.”
- “The only downside is that the puzzles get really tedious after a time.”
atmosphere
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
68%
20%
12%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its calming and relaxing qualities, enhanced by beautiful art and a soothing soundtrack. Players appreciate the charming pixel art and the effective use of a monochromatic design, which contributes to a slightly eerie yet delightful ambiance. While the atmosphere successfully immerses players in a mysterious world, some feel that the narrative elements leave unresolved questions, slightly detracting from the overall experience.
- “This game sets the atmosphere perfectly, with its beautiful art and soothing soundtrack.”
- “Charming pixel art only enhances the atmosphere of this mysterious dream.”
- “The atmosphere is calm and relaxing, the soundtrack is nice to listen to, the puzzles vary in difficulty (the more levels of a puzzle you solve, the harder they get), are actually fun and can become challenging!”
- “Contemplative logical puzzles in totality with a light, colorless atmosphere.”
- “The b&w simple graphics look cute and create a weird atmosphere overall.”
- “I also favored the overall monotone design of the atmosphere, as the animation and effects were not too flashy.”
replayability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
25%
38%
Overall, the game has limited replayability, with many users noting that the puzzles feel repetitive and lack the incentive to play through again. While some players may find value in exploring missed communications or attempting puzzles a second time, the general consensus is that the experience is best enjoyed once.
- “Some replay value for those who sped through without exploring all communications, but not much.”
- “Not much replay value that I can see unless you want to try the puzzles again.”
- “Again, it won't take you much time and there doesn't seem to be much story or replay value, but I still enjoy puzzles and music enough to recommend people try this game.”
- “However, the puzzles were a bit repetitive and it's impossible to replay the game no matter what. Not that there's any replay value, but the option to start over would be nice for let's plays or to show the game to friends.”
- “Sadly, this doesn't have any replay value. It's nice to play it once, but doing the puzzles a second time is just too boring.”
- “I don't see myself playing this game again in order to go through the easy puzzles again.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the emotional aspect of the game compelling, as it immerses them in an alien world where they gradually adapt to the culture, fostering a sense of achievement and intelligence through puzzle-solving. However, some express a desire for deeper language development and a more varied gameplay experience, as the repetitive nature of certain puzzles can lead to feelings of frustration. Overall, the game successfully evokes a mix of curiosity, accomplishment, and occasional confusion.
- “I liked the concept of language this game had; it made me feel as if I was in an alienated world, trying to adapt to the culture step by step. It is a very good game, and I hope there will be a more in-depth version of it someday, but with fewer repetitive puzzle sequences.”
- “Also, the game made me feel like I had a clue about what I was doing for the third set of puzzles, even though I clearly did not.”
- “However, it was an endless loop theme, and while playing the in-game logic games, it made me feel like I was going nuts.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is consistently praised, with players finding it amusing and entertaining, particularly through quirky achievements and engaging gameplay. The lighthearted tone, combined with enjoyable music, enhances the overall comedic experience, making it a standout feature.
- “After completing translations and puzzles in each building, you get a strange achievement again and again, which is funny! ;)”
- “It's a very nice and funny game.”
- “A simple but really, really funny and interesting game, and the music is awesome.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
33%
33%
Overall, the game's optimization is generally positive, with good performance and no major bugs reported. However, players have noted a memory leak that leads to occasional stuttering every 5-8 minutes, resulting in significant memory usage.
- “Performance is pretty good and no bugs found so far.”
- “The only other issue seems to be a memory leak somewhere, which causes a slight stuttering every 5-8 minutes, with an overflow in the memory upwards of a gigabyte.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game suffers from numerous glitches, leading to a lack of stability, and players find the word-based puzzles limited and confusing.
- “The game is riddled with glitches that disrupt the experience.”
- “There are only a handful of words you can decipher, and the rest is just a mess of errors.”
- “The stability issues make it nearly impossible to enjoy the gameplay.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Users express disappointment with the monetization strategy, noting that the advertisements for puzzles were misleading, as they often featured the same type of puzzle repeated multiple times.
- “Unfortunately, the advertisement for many puzzles didn't specify that it would be the same puzzle type repeated 25 times.”
- “The monetization strategy feels overly aggressive, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending money.”
- “I was disappointed to find that many features are locked behind a paywall, limiting the overall experience.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development in the game is perceived as lacking, with users noting that the unsettling environment and character designs detract from engagement, leading to a sense of confusion about the game's appeal.
- “The grey environment and creepy character designs will make you question why you are even playing this game.”