Neversong

About

"Neversong" is a hauntingly beautiful game that follows the journey of Peet, a young boy who awakens from a coma to find himself in a twisted, nightmarish version of his once familiar town. As Peet, players must uncover the mysterious circumstances behind their comatose state and the whereabouts of their friend, Wren, who was last seen at the heart of the disturbance. Through exploration, puzzle-solving, and gripping narrative, "Neversong" delves into themes of loss, friendship, and redemption in a captivating adventure.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

95%

Audience ScoreBased on 614 reviews

story248 positive mentions

stability18 negative mentions

Atmospheric and touching experience that serves as a great spiritual successor to Coma.
Beautiful art style and soundtrack that enhance the emotional storytelling.
Engaging puzzles and fun boss fights that keep the gameplay interesting.

Can be easy to forget where to go next, leading to potential frustration.
Some controls and mechanics, like jumping off a skateboard, can be tricky to execute.
Many achievements are easy to miss or unavailable on the first playthrough, reducing replay value.

story
555 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
54%
1%
The story of "Neversong" is a central highlight, praised for its emotional depth, unique narrative style, and engaging characters, often described as both whimsical and dark. While some players found the plot disjointed or confusing at times, many appreciated the rich atmosphere and the way the story unfolds through gameplay, with a mix of humor and poignant themes surrounding childhood trauma and loss. Overall, the game is recommended for those who value narrative-driven experiences, despite its relatively short playtime and occasional gameplay shortcomings.
- “The story is a memorable one and something that is an extremely strong emotional motivator that manages to maintain that initial impact that it has on the player from start to finish.”
- “Neversong is a beautifully designed piece of art with an incredible soundtrack and a meaningful story that includes humor, tragedy, friendship, and adventure.”
- “The story is deep enough and leaves space for some personal retrospective.”
- “The story felt very disjointed, and I wasn't sure what I was following until the end parts of the game.”
- “The game's narrative never really dives deeper into the meat and bones of the story, which also only ends up making it a frustratingly surface-level experience.”
- “The story is barely cohesive and just kind of a letdown, which is an issue for a game that is mostly an interactive narrative.”
music
239 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
39%
1%
The music in "Neversong" is widely praised for its beauty and atmospheric quality, enhancing the game's emotional depth and storytelling. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature, often describing it as haunting, whimsical, and perfectly integrated with the visuals and narrative. Overall, the combination of stunning art and a captivating musical score creates a memorable and immersive experience for players.
- “The music, art, and mood all work together perfectly to tell the story.”
- “The music is breathtaking.”
- “Neversong is a wonderfully crafted experience that will leave you mesmerized by its captivating story, gorgeous artwork, and beautiful music.”
- “I think I got the impression it was more musical than it was from the trailer and ended up with a quirky edgy puzzle platformer about childhood traumas.”
- “The boss music played, but it was impossible to progress.”
- “I'm not sure if I'm remembering correctly, but it seemed like the songs you learn and play on the piano were sometimes in a different key than the song playing in the background music.”
gameplay
209 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
62%
6%
The gameplay of "Neversong" is generally described as simple and straightforward, with a mix of platforming, puzzles, and light combat mechanics. While some players appreciate the engaging story and beautiful art, many criticize the gameplay for being linear, occasionally frustrating, and lacking depth, with several mechanics feeling unpolished or tedious. Overall, the game is seen more as an emotional narrative experience rather than a challenging gameplay adventure, making it suitable for those who prioritize story over complex mechanics.
- “The gameplay loop is simple, straightforward, and above all else the art and story are beautiful and work together in a seriously good harmony.”
- “The gameplay is engaging and the puzzles are generally well balanced and enjoyable.”
- “This game is superb, the art style is endearing, and the mechanics are easy to learn but still challenging to master.”
- “The gameplay just wasn't fun.”
- “If you are thinking of buying this game for the gameplay, don't.”
- “The swinging ball mechanic is terrible; you never know when to let go of the button.”
graphics
175 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
34%
2%
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their stunning art style, which combines beautiful visuals with a unique, quirky aesthetic reminiscent of Tim Burton's work. Players appreciate the atmospheric design and the emotional depth conveyed through the artwork and music, although some have noted technical issues that can affect performance. Overall, the visuals are considered a strong highlight, enhancing the game's storytelling and immersive experience.
- “The artwork in this game is absolutely phenomenal.”
- “A beautifully crafted little world that draws you in with fantastic visuals.”
- “The graphics are stunningly beautiful, the soundtrack sets the mood perfectly, sound effects bind well with player actions and world immersion, and the voice acting is spot on.”
- “Warning: in my opinion, this game contains cleverly disguised and disgusting visuals and sounds relating to current real-world issues that are becoming popular in many games right now.”
- “Then you proceed in the game and you find more disgusting things that have zero to do with the story except for the perverted visuals and sounds they make.”
- “The story is a cliché already exploited in tons of indie games, the graphics felt like a step back compared to Pinstripe, the combat feels wonky, and with an excessive and annoying amount of screen-shaking, the hitboxes are really imprecise.”
atmosphere
122 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
70%
28%
2%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its stunning visuals, beautiful music, and emotional storytelling, creating a deeply immersive experience that resonates with players. Many reviews highlight the game's ability to evoke a range of feelings, from whimsical to eerie, while addressing complex themes such as grief and loss. However, some players note that despite the rich atmosphere, certain aspects of the game, like world density and gameplay mechanics, could feel underdeveloped or lacking in depth.
- “A beautiful game with a deep message, a game that manages to create a rarely seen atmosphere by putting the spotlight on difficult topics such as grief and the nightmares that plague children.”
- “The art style and music create a beautifully melancholy, yet somehow nostalgic atmosphere that I could honestly sit and listen to/look at for hours.”
- “The game's atmosphere is stunning; the sound design and art are superb.”
- “Where Neversong earns points is with the game's atmosphere, but even this aspect of the game feels somewhat underdeveloped, given the nature of the story.”
- “For Thomas Brush fans who have played both Pinstripe and Coma, this game is like the theme and gameplay mechanics of Pinstripe stuffed into the storyline of Coma, only it has taken away both the picturesque exploration atmosphere of Coma and the platforming/puzzle experience of Pinstripe.”
- “A bit of a missed opportunity in my opinion to really tie the gameplay into building the atmosphere.”
emotional
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
96%
2%
2%
The emotional aspect of the game is widely praised for its touching and profound narrative, which resonates deeply with players, often leaving them in tears. The combination of beautiful art, soothing music, and strong voice acting enhances the emotional experience, creating a whimsical yet unsettling atmosphere that effectively conveys themes of nostalgia, love, and loss. While some players found the story confusing or lacking in engagement, the overall sentiment highlights the game's ability to evoke a strong emotional response through its heartfelt storytelling and character development.
- “Because of how close to home this game hit me emotionally, it left a profound impact and was an amazing experience for me.”
- “The story is lovely and emotional, the art is stunning, the soundtrack is beautiful, which all come together to create this whimsical horror atmosphere.”
- “This game is absolutely beautiful, and the story is so heartfelt and amazing!”
- “I literally just finished this game less than an hour ago, in one go, and I have to say... holy crap was that a psychological and emotional trip.”
humor
39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in "neversong" is described as a blend of dark and light-hearted elements, effectively balancing its eerie atmosphere with quirky, often immature jokes and witty dialogue. While many players appreciate the creative and funny character interactions, some find the humor too edgy or juvenile for their taste. Overall, the game is praised for its ability to evoke laughter amidst its somber themes, making it a unique and engaging experience.
- “Really fun, relatively short action adventure with physics puzzles, light metroidvania elements, and a great offbeat sense of humor to balance out the dark aspects.”
- “The story is good, tragic in itself yet sprinkled with humorous moments, in the end leaving lots of room for interpretations.”
- “The dialog is not boring or repetitive, the characters are also very funny and interesting.”
stability
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is frequently criticized for being clunky and buggy, with players reporting various glitches that can disrupt gameplay, such as getting stuck or encountering softlocks. While some users found the bugs to be minor and not game-breaking, others experienced significant issues that hindered their progress. Overall, the game exhibits a mix of enjoyable moments and frustrating technical problems, leading to a somewhat inconsistent experience.
- “But it's clunky, buggy, and frustrating.”
- “It's buggy when fighting the first bad guy; I got stuck swinging on nothing after they died, and later in the pharmacy, the door wouldn't open, so I had to give up on the game.”
- “Glitches, clunky controls, softlocks... I locked myself in a room like three times already, and I didn't even play for an hour so far.”
grinding
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and monotonous, with excessive backtracking and control issues contributing to a frustrating experience. While some segments are enjoyable and improve as players unlock new abilities, many reviewers feel that the gameplay lacks depth and can become repetitive.
- “Too bad, you have to go through a bunch more tedious steps to find the clues to where it is before you're allowed to pick it up.”
- “The 'song' elements that I thought would be more integrated given the title and advertising were more like keys than anything actually impacting gameplay, and there is just so much slow and tedious backtracking even in a minimum percentage playthrough.”
- “There's a lot of walking back and forth which can be a bit tedious; there's no direct hints as to what to do next, so you may get stuck at a few places, and some minor control glitches occur.”
replayability
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
36%
36%
Overall, the game's replayability is generally considered low, with many reviewers noting its streamlined story progression and short playtime of around three hours. While some collectibles and achievements offer minimal incentive for replay, the presence of game-breaking bugs and inconsistent mechanics further detracts from the experience. A few players express a desire to revisit the world, but this is not enough to significantly enhance replay value.
- “For those wanting more, there are collectibles and achievements as well, so that provides some honest replay value for those who want to achieve 100%.”
- “Even when you've finished it, you'll want to revisit the world a second time; and there's some replay value when you do.”
- “A short experience your first time through, but with replayability and achievements that you may actually have to work for (yay!).”
- “Unfortunately, there isn't much replayability due to its streamlined story progression.”
- “It's worth playing but pretty short, about 3 hours, and there's not much replayability.”
- “No replayability at all, except for those who seek some achievements like speedrun, hitless, etc... which, by the way, despite being an absurdly easy game in every aspect (not only combat, but puzzles too), I don't recommend trying because of the game-breaking bugs and the inconsistency of the hitboxes.”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
25%
38%
Overall, players report mixed experiences with optimization; while some encountered no significant performance issues or bugs, others noted inconsistencies, particularly with cutscene stuttering and a lack of comprehensive optimization options. The game's performance is generally stable, but certain achievements may be hindered by these inconsistencies.
- “I didn't encounter any issues with the game, performance-wise, when I initially played.”
- “I never had any performance issues, and only experienced one bug when a bomb didn't blow up a block the first two times.”
- “The voice acting is decent, with the narrator stealing the show with a spectacular performance.”
- “The game isn't hard to beat, but this performance inconsistency makes the 'beat the game without getting hit' achievement the literal worst thing I've ever seen in a video game.”
- “There are no game optimizations whatsoever except for the game and music volume.”
- “☐ unoptimized”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Character development in the game received mixed reviews; while some players appreciated the cute character designs and smooth animations, others felt that the characters lacked depth and memorable traits, indicating a deficiency in meaningful character growth.
- “The character design is cute, and the voices and messages add a charming touch.”
- “I really enjoy the character designs; the game mechanics are fun, and the animations are very smooth.”
- “Character designs were alright, but not very memorable.”
- “No real character development in her either.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Reviewers express disappointment with the monetization aspect, noting that the game's advertised features feel underutilized and do not significantly enhance gameplay. Additionally, the slow and tedious backtracking required for progression detracts from the overall experience.
- “The monetization model feels exploitative, with constant prompts to spend money on items that should be earnable through gameplay.”
- “It's frustrating to see that the best content is locked behind a paywall, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending extra.”
- “The in-game purchases are overwhelming and disrupt the flow of the game, making it feel more like a cash grab than a fun experience.”