Numbra

About

Numbra is a single player action adventure game with a horror theme. It was developed by DigiPen Europe-Bilbao and was released on May 30, 2025. It received positive reviews from players.

Numbra is a single-player horror action game set in a desolate, ominous world where a young girl must stay awake to survive. Players explore dark environments, solve puzzles, and evade terrifying creatures lurking in the shadows. With good graphics and an excellent atmosphere, the game challenges you to navigate growing dangers and uncover the mysteries around you.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

87%

Audience ScoreBased on 76 reviews

atmosphere12 positive mentions

music2 negative mentions

The game features a charming art style and atmospheric visuals that enhance the overall experience.
It's a short but enjoyable game, providing a fun 20-30 minute adventure with some engaging puzzles and chase sequences.
The game shows great potential as a student project, with impressive monster design and a captivating world that leaves players wanting more.

Controls can feel sluggish and janky, making interactions with the environment frustrating at times.
The game suffers from technical issues such as performance drops and awkward camera angles that detract from immersion.
Many players found the puzzles to be too easy and the overall experience lacking in originality compared to similar titles.

atmosphere
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
7%
13%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its stylized visuals and immersive qualities, drawing comparisons to titles like Limbo and Little Nightmares. While many players appreciate the moody and mysterious environment, some express disappointment over technical issues and a lack of interactivity, suggesting that the atmosphere could be further enhanced with more gameplay elements. Overall, the game successfully creates a captivating experience, though it leaves players wanting more depth and polish.
- “Numbra is a short but atmospheric experience that really captures the spirit of games like Limbo, Inside, and Little Nightmares.”
- “Visuals are so good and the atmosphere leads to a great immersive and tense experience!”
- “I’m recommending it because I liked the visual style, the game world is intriguing, and the atmosphere really pulled me in.”
- “Developed in just nine months by students at DigiPen Europe-Bilbao, the game punches well above its weight with stylized visuals, a moody atmosphere, and clever puzzle-stealth gameplay, though the lack of a soundtrack feels like a missed opportunity.”
- “Numbra has cinematic aspirations and decent atmosphere, but they’re undermined by technical shortcomings: lackluster performance, janky camera behavior, buggy and unnecessarily long interactions (e.g. the climbing animation), and an abrupt ending.”
graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
8%
25%
The game's graphics have received high praise for their stylized visuals, moody atmosphere, and impressive art style, which contribute to an immersive experience. Players appreciate the clever design choices, including monster aesthetics and camera angles, although some report technical issues like micro-freezes. Overall, the visuals are considered a standout feature, especially for a student-developed title.
- “The visuals are so good and the atmosphere leads to a great immersive and tense experience!”
- “Overall the visuals are stunning; it's a basic sneak-around game, but the main selling point is how cool everything looks.”
- “Cool monster design, great blocky cartoon aesthetics, and great composition with well-thought-out camera angles.”
- “Micro freezes all the time 20/10 (I have a 3070, what the heck, the graphics are from 2016)”
- “The lack of a soundtrack feels like a missed opportunity.”
- “The 'evade the light' gameplay plus the art style of 'Lost in Random' doesn't quite mesh well.”
gameplay
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
46%
27%
The gameplay is characterized by its clever puzzle-stealth mechanics and stylized visuals, creating an engaging atmosphere. However, players noted issues such as overly simplistic puzzles, short chases, and some buggy mechanics, suggesting that while the game shows promise, there is significant room for improvement. Overall, the experience is enjoyable but marred by a few technical shortcomings.
- “The art is smooth and the gameplay is nice.”
- “For a university game, most of the mechanics are quite polished and the art style really works with the abandoned world.”
- “Love the art, but also the mechanics.”
- “The puzzles are too easy, the chases are too short and far too simple, and some of the mechanics were pretty buggy.”
- “Amazing atmosphere but I wish there was more gameplay.”
- “Gameplay-wise, there’s room for improvement.”
story
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The story is highly praised for its enticing narrative and impressive world-building, leaving players eager for more details about the characters and lore. Many reviewers appreciate the atmospheric elements and environmental storytelling, drawing comparisons to titles like "Inside" and "Little Nightmares." However, some express disappointment with the story's brevity, suggesting that a longer narrative could elevate the game to a top-tier experience.
- “The world building is amazing; I want to know more about its story.”
- “The monsters and the world environment are well placed, making me wonder more about the story.”
- “I thought it was an amazing game; it was only an hour long, which is the only thing I was disappointed about, considering the story was amazing with lots of environmental storytelling and gave me heavy Inside and Limbo vibes with some Little Nightmares in there.”
- “Story 0/10”
- “The game could also use some more OST or ambient radios to listen to alongside its story.”
- “New so it being buggy is a given, got stuck at the first mission, but overall good game and is challenging.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Overall, the game's optimization has been criticized for significant performance issues, including frequent frame rate drops and stuttering, particularly on the Steam Deck. While the atmosphere and storytelling are praised, technical shortcomings such as janky camera behavior and long interactions detract from the experience. Many players feel that with better optimization, the game could reach its full potential.
- “Well optimized too.”
- “Amazing atmosphere; I felt that at times it even surpassed Little Nightmares' style of wordless storytelling. A beautiful soundtrack, with some optimization issues due to frequent minor frame rate drops, but I feel like this would be a top-tier game if the story was longer.”
- “Numbra has cinematic aspirations and decent atmosphere, but they’re undermined by technical shortcomings: lackluster performance, janky camera behavior, buggy and unnecessarily long interactions (e.g. the climbing animation), and an abrupt ending.”
- “Optimization is a major problem - the game stuttered consistently throughout my playthrough.”
- “Performance is a bit demanding.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The music aspect of the game has received mixed feedback; while the atmospheric sound design enhances the experience, the absence of a dedicated soundtrack is seen as a missed opportunity. Some players appreciate the beautiful soundtrack that complements the storytelling, but others feel that additional ambient music would further enrich the gameplay. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's moody atmosphere, though it could benefit from more variety.
- “Amazing atmosphere! I felt that at times it even surpassed Little Nightmares' style of wordless storytelling, with a beautiful soundtrack. There are some optimization issues with frequent minor frame rate drops, but I feel like this would be a top-tier game if the story was longer.”
- “The lack of a soundtrack feels like a missed opportunity.”
- “The game could also use some more original soundtrack or ambient radios to listen to alongside its story.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Numbra's stability is marred by technical issues, including poor performance, erratic camera behavior, and buggy interactions, which detract from its cinematic experience. While some players acknowledge these bugs as typical for a new release, they still impact gameplay, leading to frustrations such as getting stuck in missions. Overall, the game's stability is a significant concern that affects its overall enjoyment.
- “Numbra has cinematic aspirations and decent atmosphere, but they’re undermined by technical shortcomings: lackluster performance, janky camera behavior, buggy and unnecessarily long interactions (e.g. the climbing animation), and an abrupt ending.”
- “The puzzles are too easy, the chases are too short and far too simple, and some of the mechanics were pretty buggy.”
- “New so it being buggy is a given, got stuck at the first mission, but overall good game and is challenging.”