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Off-Peak

Off-Peak Game Cover
90%Game Brain Score
music, graphics
optimization, replayability
90% User Score Based on 1,405 reviews

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Off-Peak Game Cover

About

Off-Peak is a single player action game with a mystery theme. It was developed by Cosmo D and was released on October 21, 2016. It received very positive reviews from players.

"Off-Peak" is a single-player mystery musical game with a great soundtrack, set in a cathedral-like train station. Players search for a ticket out of town while exploring secret passageways, interacting with characters, and discovering the importance of music and art. Gameplay involves first-person exploration in a single open area with hidden features, allowing players to engage with the story at their own pace.

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Off-Peak screenshot
Off-Peak screenshot
Off-Peak screenshot
Off-Peak screenshot
Off-Peak screenshot
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90%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,405 reviews
music298 positive mentions
optimization9 negative mentions
  • Unique and surreal atmosphere with beautiful artwork and a captivating soundtrack.
  • Engaging exploration of a bizarre train station filled with quirky characters and interesting dialogue.
  • Short but memorable experience that leaves players wanting more.
  • Gameplay is minimal and lacks depth, making it feel more like an art installation than a traditional game.
  • Some players may find the lack of a coherent story or objectives frustrating.
  • Performance issues and graphical glitches can detract from the overall experience.
  • music
    586 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in "Off-Peak" is widely praised for its exceptional quality, with many reviewers highlighting its mesmerizing jazz soundtrack that perfectly complements the game's surreal and atmospheric visuals. Players often describe the music as a standout feature, enhancing the overall experience and inviting them to linger in the game's unique environments. While some critiques mention the gameplay's brevity, the soundtrack remains a compelling reason to explore this artistic and immersive world.

    • “Off-peak is a surreal, atmospheric gem that blends psychedelic visuals, cryptic storytelling, and a mesmerizing soundtrack composed by its developer, cosmo d.”
    • “The music is the obvious highlight; the jazz really fits with the absurdist world.”
    • “The music is absolutely fantastic; it brings a lot of atmosphere to the game.”
    • “You can choose to interact with some stuff to get some poorly made narrative while ear-bleedingly awful music assaults you (seriously, the music is worse than the game here).”
    • “The music is actually terribly bad except maybe one part (staircase).”
    • “The music is a little irritating at times, as are some of the sound effects.”
  • graphics
    224 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of "Off-Peak" are characterized by a unique and surreal art style that many players find captivating, featuring a blend of psychedelic visuals and striking artwork throughout the game. While some reviews note that the overall graphical fidelity is lacking and can feel amateurish, the creative design and immersive atmosphere, complemented by a mesmerizing soundtrack, make it a visually interesting experience. Overall, the game's aesthetic is appreciated for its originality, even if it doesn't meet high standards of graphical quality.

    • “Off-peak is a surreal, atmospheric gem that blends psychedelic visuals, cryptic storytelling, and a mesmerizing soundtrack composed by its developer, cosmo d.”
    • “The visuals and music are fantastic and incredibly unique, taking place in a very bizarre train station which feels like if one of the unfinished Half-Life 2 beta maps got polished up into something equally bizarre and unnerving, yet full of life and art.”
    • “The artwork is beautiful and I just love being able to explore the gorgeous world.”
    • “The graphics leave much to be desired.”
    • “The graphics are poor quality and there's too much spacing.”
    • “Graphics and mechanics are way outdated although, for indie standards, models are okay.”
  • story
    107 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of "Off-Peak" is characterized as surreal and abstract, often leaving players to piece together its meaning through cryptic dialogues and interactions with eccentric characters. While some players appreciate the atmospheric experience and the intriguing hints of a deeper narrative, others find the story lacking in coherence and depth, describing it as more of a backdrop to the game's artistic visuals and soundtrack rather than a compelling plot. Overall, the narrative is seen as a unique but often confusing element that invites exploration rather than straightforward engagement.

    • “Off-peak is a surreal, atmospheric gem that blends psychedelic visuals, cryptic storytelling, and a mesmerizing soundtrack composed by its developer, Cosmo D.”
    • “The story is surreal and somewhat hard to follow, but both Off-peak and Norwood Suite make the player care less about it because it has so much good music that you can just chill on.”
    • “I really loved the artsy design in the train station, and found myself very captivated by the story and wanting to know more.”
    • “The story is boring, so that after some minutes you don't care at all anymore.”
    • “The story feels to me like it's trying to say something about economic power versus creative freedom, but the message just feels muddled.”
    • “There was some abstract dialogue that hinted at a deeper story, but it was never explored before the game ended; it felt like the developer was asking us to read more into the storyline than there actually was.”
  • atmosphere
    99 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of "Off-Peak" is widely praised for its surreal, dreamlike quality, enhanced by a captivating soundtrack and unique art style. Players describe it as an immersive experience that evokes feelings of exploration and intrigue, with an eerie yet enchanting ambiance that draws them into its peculiar world. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered its standout feature, making it a must-play for fans of atmospheric walking simulators.

    • “Off-peak is a surreal, atmospheric gem that blends psychedelic visuals, cryptic storytelling, and a mesmerizing soundtrack composed by its developer, cosmo d.”
    • “The atmosphere, with towering arches, hidden nooks, and flickering lights, creates an eerie yet compelling ambiance.”
    • “The music ties perfectly with the atmosphere, the art is incredible and the polished graphics help it be just that little bit extra.”
    • “The vibes are immaculate: everything feels off-kilter, like nothing is quite right, which leads to it having an incredibly eerie, but not spooky, atmosphere.”
    • “Despite this, each of the various rooms and locations in the train station manages to have their own unique flavor, yet overall contribute to the peculiar, unknown atmosphere the whole place entails.”
    • “Overall, the music is great and the whole dialogue is somewhat witty and the whole atmosphere makes you believe that the developer probably had eaten a lot of mushrooms to create this game.”
  • gameplay
    70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay is generally described as simplistic and short, often revolving around exploration and collecting items rather than traditional mechanics or objectives. Many players appreciate the atmospheric and artistic elements, noting that the experience is more about immersion and vibe than intense gameplay, making it suitable for those who enjoy walking simulators. However, some reviewers criticize the lack of depth and clunky mechanics, suggesting that the game may not appeal to those seeking more engaging gameplay.

    • “The gameplay gets more polished, but they don't lose the flavor.”
    • “The gameplay is very simplistic, but if you can get lost in an atmosphere, the surreal style and strange characters will be reason enough to play this.”
    • “The game isn’t about objectives or mechanics; it’s about wandering, absorbing, getting lost in a space that feels like both a decaying memory and a psychedelic jazz record cover.”
    • “Visuals are fine, music is decent… for 15 minutes, and the gameplay is boring.”
    • “A short game (took me 20 minutes) that's basically walking around and looking for pieces of train tickets, so not anything intense gameplay-wise.”
    • “Mediocre everything, super-short, odd story that is mostly pointless, near zero gameplay.”
  • humor
    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is characterized by its quirky, surreal style, reminiscent of jazzpunk, featuring goofy characters and absurd situations that invite players to break the rules. Players appreciate the witty dialogue and funny interactions, with many highlighting the game's unique charm and the comedic value of its intentionally low-quality graphics. Overall, the game is described as a delightful blend of humor and creativity, making it a memorable experience.

    • “This game took me on a trip through a weird but wonderful universe filled with funny and goofy characters alike, and I would definitely recommend giving this game a try for yourself.”
    • “I also found it hilarious that your character, seemingly an outsider to all the rules, can just outright break them if you so please and got a kick out of stealing everything that was within my grasp.”
    • “This game not only cheered me up enormously, but was one of the most unique, funny, and surreal games I have played in a long while.”
  • optimization
    19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has received largely negative feedback, with many users reporting significant performance issues, including lag and low frame rates that do not align with the graphical demands. While some players appreciate the creative aspects of the game, the overall consensus is that it suffers from poor optimization, making it difficult to enjoy fully.

    • “Seems especially suited to those who are creative and/or engaged in creative work - topics of note include the nature and value of performance, opportunity, the nature of choice, profit vs purpose, the learning of skills, and the ways people assign value to their time and their life.”
    • “Very transcendental and simple-understandable indie performance with a mystical station atmosphere.”
    • “Overall the game has some performance issues at times, and I say that because the graphics detail does not justify the hardware usage I saw and the frame rates I got.”
    • “It's a bit short and it's poorly optimized.”
    • “I tried to play despite this, and it seemed pretty cool, but as far as I can tell the game is bugged and poorly optimized.”
  • replayability
    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's replayability is mixed, with some players finding it infinitely replayable due to achievements, while others feel that one playthrough suffices and lacks significant replay value. Overall, it offers a fun experience during the first play, with limited incentive to revisit.

    • “Infinitely replayable.”
    • “The game ran well, it had great music, and overall it was an awesome free 30-minute experience, with some replay value.”
    • “A unique little audio-visual experience, with replay value.”
    • “Replay value only for achievements.”
    • “There is no replay value at all; one playthrough is all you really need.”
    • “Almost no replay value in my opinion, but it was very fun during your first play.”
  • grinding
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Reviews indicate that grinding in the game is generally perceived as tedious and time-consuming, with some players feeling it requires an excessive commitment. While the atmosphere and art are appreciated, they often feel disconnected from the gameplay, leading to a lack of engagement. Overall, the grinding experience is seen as a drawback, particularly for those seeking a more cohesive and enjoyable gaming experience.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “Nice atmosphere and art, but it got a bit tedious.”
    • “It's some sort of art project, I think, but the story makes no sense. It's tedious, and it looks like an asset flip (even if it isn't, there are way too many random objects and none of them look like they were designed by the same person).”
  • emotional
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players express a mix of emotions regarding the game's artistic approach, noting its surreal and psychedelic visuals that evoke a sense of wonder, yet criticize the lack of cohesion that detracts from a meaningful experience. While some find the creativity intriguing and are inspired to explore more from the developer, others feel the game resembles a disjointed journey reminiscent of 90s multimedia experiences rather than a cohesive narrative.

    • “Made me feel a certain way I can't really put into words, but the mind behind this game is quite creative. I may check out their other games as a result of how much I liked this one.”
    • “It made me feel like I was wandering around those CD-ROM magazines like Blender/Launch from the 90s that had weird point-and-click adventure style elements that led you to articles/videos/images.”
    • “The visuals are psychodelically and artistically wacky - a surreal take on reality, but it definitely lacks any kind of cohesion for it to be wholesome, so it ends up being more of a meaningless walk full of wonder and big ads than a game.”
  • stability
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while some players report a smooth experience with minimal bugs, others encounter significant glitches and performance issues, particularly related to movement and graphical fidelity.

    • “Runs great.”
    • “The game maintains a smooth performance without any crashes.”
    • “I appreciate how stable the gameplay is, even during intense moments.”
    • “Map edges left something to be desired and had some graphical glitches, but otherwise nice.”
    • “Restart the game again, move at a snail's pace to avoid glitches and bugs.”
    • “Pretty damn buggy, but at least the music is somewhat enjoyable.”
  • monetization
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization aspect of the game is heavily criticized for its overwhelming presence of advertisements, which detracts from the overall experience and cohesion of the gameplay. Players feel that the game resembles a chaotic gallery of ads rather than a meaningful interactive experience, appealing more to those who enjoy browsing quirky content online than traditional gaming.

    • “The visuals are psychodelically wacky - a surreal take on reality, but it definitely lacks any kind of cohesion, making it feel more like a meaningless walk full of wonder and big ads than a game.”
    • “Entering the station, you're bombarded with advertisements for some seemingly off-world product.”
    • “If you like scrolling through Tumblr looking at weird stuff for hours on end, you'll love running around looking at posters and advertisements.”
  • character development
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Reviewers highlight that the game features strong character development alongside polished textures and appealing character design, contributing to an overall visually impressive experience.

    • “Great gameplay, with impressive character development.”
    • “The textures are very polished, and the character design is exceptional, making it an all-around beautiful game.”
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1h Median play time
1h Average play time
1h Main story
1h Completionist
1-1h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Off-Peak is a action game with mystery theme.

Off-Peak is available on PC, Mac OS, Windows and Linux.

The main story can be completed in around 1 hours, while the entire game is estimated to take about 1 hours to finish. On average players spend around 1 hours playing Off-Peak.

Off-Peak was released on October 21, 2016.

Off-Peak was developed by Cosmo D.

Off-Peak has received very positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its music but disliked it for its optimization.

Off-Peak is a single player game.

Similar games include The Norwood Suite, Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1, BABBDI, MANDAGON, Cloud Climber and others.