Odyssey - The Story of Science | Game Brain

Odyssey - The Story of Science Game Cover

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Odyssey - The Story of Science is a single player action game. It was developed by The Young Socratics and was released on April 19, 2017. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Odyssey is an enchanting and innovative science adventure game. Help Kai and her family escape their captors on the Wretched Islands - and learn the history of astronomy, mechanics, and scientific reasoning as you read Kai's journal and solve puzzles along the way!

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Play Modes

Single-Player

Odyssey - The Story of Science screenshot

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75%

Audience ScoreBased on 255 reviews

story26 positive mentions

optimization3 negative mentions

The game features beautiful graphics and a charming atmosphere, reminiscent of classic adventure games like Myst.
It effectively teaches scientific concepts through engaging puzzles and a well-written journal, making learning enjoyable.
The puzzles are generally well-designed, providing a satisfying challenge while reinforcing the educational content.

The game relies heavily on reading lengthy journal entries, which can feel tedious and detracts from the gameplay experience.
Many puzzles are too easy, as the solutions are often highlighted in the journal, reducing the challenge and sense of accomplishment.
The game ends abruptly without a satisfying conclusion, leaving players wanting more and feeling like the experience is incomplete.

story
109 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
73%
3%
The story in "Odyssey - The Story of Science" is primarily conveyed through a lengthy diary, which details a young girl's scientific explorations and family experiences on a tropical island. While some players find the narrative engaging and educational, many criticize its execution, noting that it feels incomplete and often serves as a cumbersome vehicle for puzzle-solving rather than a cohesive storyline. Overall, the game is seen as a blend of educational content and adventure, but it suffers from pacing issues and an unsatisfying conclusion, leaving players eager for a sequel to resolve the narrative.
- “The story is well laid out, and I like the way the puzzles connect to the story; it gives it a lot of the Myst feeling.”
- “Awesome story that integrates seamlessly with the puzzles.”
- “The emotional investment in the story, personal challenge to find an answer, and time investment spent on experimentation all leave you with such a thorough understanding of the concepts that they will be permanently ingrained in your brain.”
- “Instead, Odyssey hands you, piece by piece, a 200-300 page textbook which relates the story of a young girl talking to her father about scientific concepts and how ancient scientists reasoned on topics like the shape of the earth, physics, and more.”
- “The story is told through a diary, which has over 270 pages.”
- “Another major issue is that the story is not complete.”
graphics
63 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
49%
41%
10%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players praising their bright and beautiful aesthetic, particularly for an indie title, while others note technical issues such as texture errors and janky movement. Some reviewers feel the visuals are charming and atmospheric, enhancing the exploration experience, but others criticize them as mediocre or reminiscent of older games. Overall, the graphics are generally considered good for a small development team, though not without their flaws.
- “The graphics are beautiful (especially for such a small development team), and I really liked that the story was written from a child's perspective.”
- “The graphics are very pretty indeed, and the sound is done well.”
- “It's extremely atmospheric and soothing, and the graphics are outstanding.”
- “The graphics are not good, and the movement/looking is janky.”
- “The technical aspect is rather mediocre: the graphics aren't particularly remarkable, although it can show some good angles. There are a few texture errors around, and the sounds aren't much better.”
- “Also, the graphics would be nice in 1996, but these days it's not too impressive, and honestly a bit glitchy.”
gameplay
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
82%
9%
The gameplay is characterized by unpolished mechanics and an overwhelming emphasis on reading, with players often spending more time engaging with journal entries than actual interactive elements. While the puzzles are generally accessible and the educational content is appreciated, many reviewers found the gameplay lacking in depth and excitement, leading to a mixed reception overall. The game is reminiscent of titles like Myst but struggles to balance its narrative and educational goals with engaging gameplay.
- “The game mechanics are easily mastered.”
- “The gameplay is reminiscent of Myst, though it is aimed at conceptualizing scientific ideas in an interactive way, rather than being a series of puzzles to be solved in a fictitious world.”
- “To solve pretty much every puzzle, you’ll be using geography, mathematics, mechanics, physics, and primarily astronomy.”
- “The gameplay itself, such as walking and interactions with the world, are unpolished, awkward, and jagged.”
- “So you'll spend a huge amount of time not playing the game, but clicking through some pretty mediocre science textbook stuff because the developers couldn't work out how to relate their narrative through the game mechanics.”
- “I was reluctant but still willing to look past the fact that 90% of the 'gameplay' is reading journal entries.”
music
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
20%
13%
The music in the game is generally praised for being beautiful, relaxing, and fitting well with the visuals, enhancing the overall ambiance and exploration experience. However, some players noted that the soundtrack can be repetitive, lacking variety and depth, which detracts from the overall impact. While the sound design is decent, it does not reach exceptional levels, leaving some players wanting more dynamic audio elements.
- “The game is beautiful in both presentation and ambience, the music is very relaxing and really helps keep a cool head.”
- “The game looks fantastic, the music is beautiful, controls are simple to learn, the puzzles are well made, and the story is captivating and immersive.”
- “Beautiful soundtrack wonderfully accompanies exploration and puzzle solving.”
- “Unlike Myst, however, the music and sound design of Odyssey can only be described as mediocre at best.”
- “Be prepared for a ton of reading and the same music track played for the entire game with no other audio or voice acting.”
- “What's bad is the quite sleepy music in places for reading and absorbing the missed knowledge.”
atmosphere
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its visually pleasing tropical island setting, reminiscent of titles like Myst, which contributes to a mystical and soothing experience. While many reviewers appreciate the beautiful scenery and engaging exploration, some note that the overall atmosphere may feel too simplistic or childish for certain players, particularly those seeking a more challenging experience.
- “It's extremely atmospheric and soothing, and the graphics are outstanding.”
- “I think Far Cry went a lot further than it could have by trading the traditional, gritty, dingy atmosphere of rival games like Unreal and Quake for a very pleasing to the eye tropical island theme, and that helps Odyssey, too.”
- “Many reviewers find the gameplay of reading journals and finding clues among the abandoned man-made structures on the uninhabited tropical island that serves as the setting of Odyssey resembling the atmosphere in the game Myst, which I agree.”
- “Still, the overall visual and audio experience does manage to give the game its slightly mystical atmosphere.”
optimization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with players reporting issues such as inconsistent mouse sensitivity, micro-stuttering, and low frame rates (50 fps) that do not match monitor refresh rates. However, it is noted that the game runs smoothly on Linux using Steam Play tools, suggesting some platform-specific performance advantages. Overall, the performance is considered mediocre across various aspects.
- “Oh, by the way, if you play on Linux, this game runs smoothly using the Steam Play tools.”
- “There are constant odd inconsistencies with mouse sensitivity and micro-stuttering.”
- “Constant stuttering because the game is being rendered at 50 fps, which is not the same as my monitor.”
- “Mediocre in performance, graphics, user interface, and storyline.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly due to the extensive reading required, which can slow down gameplay significantly. While some appreciate the educational value and depth of the content, many feel that the lengthy text can detract from the overall experience, making it challenging to stay engaged.
- “Not necessarily bad, but for me very tedious since the gameplay is about 1 minute per 20 pages of book read.”
- “The book is very tedious to read.”
- “I was extremely impressed by the game--but I did sometimes find it difficult to follow and a bit tedious.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The game's stability is mixed; while some players report a smooth experience with no crashes or glitches, others encounter bugs, including game-breaking issues and stuck characters, necessitating reloads. Frequent checkpoints help mitigate these problems, allowing players to resolve minor glitches by restarting.
- “A little bit buggy at times, but it has checkpoints that save relatively often, so quitting and re-entering will result in fixing most of the glitches.”
- “And all of this is ignoring the occasional game-breaking glitches and clunky inventory controls that also plague this thing.”
- “No bugs, no crashes, no glitches I observed; everything is running smoothly.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
Reviews highlight a mixed emotional experience, with some players finding the story lacking and boring, while others appreciate the deep emotional investment and personal challenge that comes from engaging with the game's concepts. The contrasting perspectives suggest that emotional engagement may vary significantly among players.
- “The emotional investment in the story, personal challenge to find an answer, and time spent on experimentation all leave you with such a thorough understanding of the concepts that they will be permanently ingrained in your brain.”
- “The story is incredibly boring, if it can even be called a story.”
- “I felt no emotional connection to the characters or their struggles.”
- “The game failed to evoke any real feelings; it felt flat and uninspired.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is noted for having little to no replayability, suggesting that once completed, players may not find sufficient motivation to revisit it.
- “There is no replayability.”
- “The game lacks any incentive to play again.”
- “Once you finish it, there's really no reason to go back.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that there is currently no character development in the game, as players find themselves alone on the island with no other characters to interact with or develop relationships.
- “There is no character development.”
- “As of now, there is no one on the island except yourself, so there is no character development yet.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its humor, providing an enjoyable and entertaining experience despite its shorter length.
- “Really a beautiful game, not so long but quite funny to play.”

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5h Median play time

5h Average play time

4-8h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 8 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Odyssey - The Story of Science is a action game.

Odyssey - The Story of Science is available on PC, Mac OS and Windows.

On average players spend around 5 hours playing Odyssey - The Story of Science.

Odyssey - The Story of Science was released on April 19, 2017.

Odyssey - The Story of Science was developed by The Young Socratics.

Odyssey - The Story of Science has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its gameplay.

Odyssey - The Story of Science is a single player game.

Similar games include Cradle, Quern: Undying Thoughts, The House of Da Vinci 3, Lumino City, Call of the Sea and others.

Odyssey - The Story of Science

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