Nubarron: The adventure of an unlucky gnome

About

Guide Gnome across the dangers of this twisted fairytale world. Can you break the curse that made that annoying cloud appear? Can you recover his stolen Lucky Hat? Can you trust your friends? Find out in Nubarron, a casual puzzle platformer set in a beautiful digitally painted world full of weird creatures you'll have to deal with.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Nubarron: The adventure of an unlucky gnome screenshot

53%

Audience ScoreBased on 254 reviews

graphics43 positive mentions

stability12 negative mentions

The game features stunning, colorful hand-drawn artwork and a beautiful soundtrack.
The puzzles and gameplay elements provide a nice variety, keeping the experience interesting.
The character design and overall aesthetic are charming, making it visually appealing.

The controls are clunky and unresponsive, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
There are significant bugs, including game-breaking issues related to monitor refresh rates.
The story and dialogue are poorly written, making it hard to engage with the narrative.

graphics
77 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
40%
4%
The graphics of "Nubarron: The Adventure of an Unlucky Gnome" are widely praised for their stunning, colorful hand-drawn art style, which many reviewers describe as the game's standout feature. While the visuals are engaging and beautifully crafted, some players note that the animations and overall implementation can feel disconnected or clunky, detracting from the experience. Overall, the game's aesthetic is appealing, but it is often overshadowed by issues with controls and gameplay mechanics.
- “Nubarron: The Adventure of an Unlucky Gnome is an indie side-scrolling platformer with absolutely stunning, colorful hand-drawn artwork and a beautiful soundtrack.”
- “The art style is gorgeous, and you easily spend time staring at the details of the landscape and the creatures that live in this world.”
- “The most outstanding aspect of the game, as you can guess, is the visuals.”
- “After about 15 minutes of trying it, I can confirm that this is a low-budget puzzle platformer for children featuring one of the most horrendous art styles I've seen in gaming.”
- “First off: the graphic style is deceptive.”
- “The only thing this game does right is its art style; everything else is either slightly off or simply broken.”
story
76 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
57%
11%
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it cute and engaging, while others describe it as simplistic, confusing, or lacking depth. Many noted that the narrative feels disconnected from the gameplay, often serving merely as a backdrop for puzzles rather than a compelling journey. Overall, while the art and atmosphere are praised, the story's execution leaves much to be desired, with several players expressing disappointment over its abrupt or unsatisfying conclusion.
- “Beautiful graphics, fun gameplay, and an interesting story/lore which you uncover slowly.”
- “The story about a gnome looking for a lucky hat while retrieving pages to a book that'll remove a cursed cloud is delightfully absurd.”
- “A beautiful story with nice and smooth graphics and the orchestra in the background sounds amazing!”
- “The story was nonsense, none of the characters were compelling, none of the puzzles were good, and the platforming was awful.”
- “Add to this a story that makes literally no sense and will leave you utterly confused if you manage to finish the game (which you won't, probably; I looked up the ending) and you can see why I'm telling you not to spend money on this.”
- “The lore was interesting, and the end promised a lot, but the actual story in this game was like a pamphlet about a game that it wanted to be and the gameplay annoyed the hell out of me.”
gameplay
59 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
63%
14%
The gameplay is a mixed bag, featuring a variety of puzzles and mechanics centered around a cloud companion, which can be engaging but also frustrating due to unexplained mechanics and inconsistent controls. While the game offers beautiful graphics and some novel ideas, many players find the overall experience to be simplistic, clunky, and at times tedious, with a steep learning curve that may deter some. Despite its charm and potential, the gameplay often feels generic and lacks the depth needed to stand out in the platformer genre.
- “It lasts about 3-4 hours and offers a nice variety of puzzles and gameplay elements to keep things interesting.”
- “Beautiful graphics, fun gameplay, and an interesting story/lore which you uncover slowly.”
- “The gameplay is good and challenging.”
- “The gameplay is poor, clunky, and plain frustrating.”
- “The lore was interesting, and the end promised a lot, but the actual story in this game was like a pamphlet about a game that it wanted to be and the gameplay annoyed the hell out of me.”
- “Tedious gameplay with not so well treated issues, like there is no real help from the game whatsoever.”
music
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
48%
9%
The music in "Nubarron: The Adventure of an Unlucky Gnome" is generally praised for its beauty and calming qualities, complementing the game's stunning hand-drawn visuals. However, some players find it lacks distinctiveness and can be too soft compared to other sound effects, leading to a perception of it as mere background noise. Overall, while the soundtrack enhances the atmosphere, it may not stand out as memorable for all players.
- “Nubarron: The Adventure of an Unlucky Gnome is an indie side-scrolling platformer with absolutely stunning, colorful hand-drawn artwork and a beautiful soundtrack.”
- “The art style is a definite highlight of the game, and if I could recommend this game based on just the art and music, I would certainly do so without a doubt.”
- “Beautiful game with great music.”
- “The graphics are pleasing to look at, but the music is from the 'background noise' category.”
- “The music is okay to complement the game, but is more like background without identity; I could totally turn it off, put on a playlist on Spotify, and not feel like I'm missing something.”
- “The game's sound (at least on my earphones) is not well balanced; the music is too low, the thunder is deafening, and the enemies sound terrible.”
stability
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous reports of game-breaking bugs, glitches, and frustrating controls that hinder gameplay. While some players found enjoyment in the story and art, the pervasive technical issues led to significant irritation and even forced some to abandon the game. Overall, potential players should be cautious of these stability concerns.
- “The game has game-breaking bugs and glitches.”
- “Minor and major glitches like this turned an idyllic adventure into an irritating ordeal, and I admittedly had to give up in the middle due to this.”
- “There were a couple of glitches where I was sent back to the boss once, redid the fight, and got stuck to where I had to return to the main menu then continue the game.”
humor
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its cute characters and amusing elements that resonate with younger players, as evidenced by a child's laughter. While the game features funny moments and a charming art style, it is marred by frustrating controls and level design issues that detract from the overall experience. Despite these drawbacks, players find the humor engaging enough to keep them entertained, though many do not feel compelled to replay it.
- “My 4-year-old son was laughing because of the cute characters, and this is the first PC game he tried.”
- “At least those were horrible enough that they were funny.”
- “Funny platformer, but short.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
80%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, characterized by excessive walking and minimal consequences for dying, which can diminish motivation. However, the relatively short length of the game prevents the grinding from becoming overly burdensome. Overall, the lack of guidance further complicates the grinding experience.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Tedious gameplay with not so well treated issues, like there is no real help from the game whatsoever.”
- “It's a tedious amount of walking around with some puzzles and little consequence from dying, but that's actually good considering the game design.”
- “It was a bit hard to find motivation, but it's short enough to not become too tedious.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised, featuring charming visuals and music that enhance the overall experience. While the gameplay may be frustrating at times, the art style and storyline contribute to a captivating ambiance that many players rate as exceptional.
- “The atmosphere is nice, and the art style is well chosen.”
- “The game has 10/10 atmosphere, music, and storyline.”
- “The game is a run-of-the-mill platformer with a charming atmosphere and music.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
Users highlight that the game offers infinite replayability, suggesting that players can enjoy it repeatedly without diminishing returns.
- “Infinitely replayable.”
- “The game offers countless ways to experience the story, making each playthrough feel fresh and exciting.”
- “With multiple endings and diverse character choices, I find myself coming back for more every time.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development in the game is described as simple, with a focus on decent character design and a visually appealing art style. While the gameplay mechanics, such as movement and jumping, are noted to be less precise, they align with the overall puzzle-platformer experience. Overall, the character development does not stand out significantly but complements the game's aesthetic and gameplay.
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a cash grab, with some users feeling that it lacks quality gameplay compared to other titles available on Steam.
- “I've seen cash grabs on Steam with better gameplay than this one.”
- “The monetization model feels exploitative and detracts from the overall experience.”
- “It's frustrating to see so many features locked behind paywalls.”