Skip to main content

Once Glorious Artahk

Once Glorious Artahk Game Cover
79%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay
Most mentioned negative aspects:grinding
94% User Score Based on 35 reviews

Platforms

LinuxPCWindows
Buy Nowfrom $14.99
Buy NowGet on Steam $14.99
Once Glorious Artahk Game Cover

About Once Glorious Artahk

Once Glorious Artahk is a single player casual puzzle game with fantasy, mystery and dark fantasy themes. It was developed by Bismuth Tales and was released on November 18, 2025. It received very positive reviews from players.

In Once Glorious Artahk, you’ll explore the ruins of the ancient city of Artahk in search of a way to save the world from an endless night. Solve a variety of different puzzles to unlock new paths, abilities, and forgotten lore, then read the lost stories you uncover to gain insight into a tangled web of mysteries. Using only your wits and your trusty torch to guide you, you must find a way to ret…

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
Once Glorious Artahk screenshot
Once Glorious Artahk screenshot
Once Glorious Artahk screenshot
Once Glorious Artahk screenshot
Once Glorious Artahk screenshot
Once Glorious Artahk screenshot
Skip Games Like Once Glorious Artahk

Games Like Once Glorious Artahk

Looking for games like Once Glorious Artahk? Here are top casual puzzle recommendations with a fantasy, mystery and dark fantasy focus, selected from player-similarity data — start with Quern: Undying Thoughts, TUNIC or ANIMAL WELL.

Quern: Undying Thoughts Image
89%2.6kreviews

Quern: Undying Thoughts

2016Open World Simulation
LinuxPCPlaystation 5+5
Games like Quern: Undying Thoughts
TUNIC Image
89%10.1kreviews

TUNIC

2022Role Playing
Nintendo SwitchPlaystation 5Playstation 4+12
Games like TUNIC
ANIMAL WELL Image
96%17.5kreviews

ANIMAL WELL

2024Platformer
Nintendo SwitchLinuxPC+8
Games like ANIMAL WELL
Full Bore Image
75%209reviews

Full Bore

2014Casual Platformer
LinuxPCSteam Deck+1
Games like Full Bore
Goetia Image
77%647reviews

Goetia

2016Quiz
Nintendo SwitchPlaystation 4Xbox Cloud Gaming+15
Games like Goetia
Akurra Image

Akurra

2024Open World Puzzle
Nintendo SwitchLinuxPC+2
Games like Akurra
Neyyah Image
87%156reviews

Neyyah

2025Casual Puzzle
PCWindows
Games like Neyyah
Hell is Us Image
86%3kreviews

Hell is Us

2025Role Playing
Nintendo SwitchXbox Series X|SPC+8
Games like Hell is Us
Lunacid Image
90%11.7kreviews

Lunacid

2022Open World Role Playing
PCWindows
Games like Lunacid
Roadwarden Image
93%5.8kreviews

Roadwarden

2022Role Playing
Nintendo SwitchLinuxPC+2
Games like Roadwarden
More games like Once Glorious Artahk
Skip User Reviews

Reviews

94%Audience ScoreBased on 35 reviews
story9 positive mentions
grinding3 negative mentions
  • Intriguing and well-written lore with deep worldbuilding enhances the exploration and puzzle-solving experience.
  • Challenging puzzles that provide satisfying 'aha' moments without being overly frustrating; mechanics encourage note-taking and careful observation.
  • Atmospheric music and art style complement the dark, mysterious setting, creating an immersive experience.
  • Navigation can be frustrating due to initially lacking a detailed map and the maze-like, similar-looking environments; some backtracking can feel tedious.
  • The font and text presentation are sometimes hard to read, impacting accessibility and enjoyment of the extensive lore.
  • The in-game monster ('Beast') mechanic interrupts puzzle flow and can cause frustration, though it can be disabled.

  • story

    22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    41% positive mentions, 45% neutral mentions, 14% negative mentions

    The story is widely praised for its rich, immersive, and well-crafted narrative that effectively combines epic fantasy, cosmic horror, and detailed world-building. Players appreciate the engaging storytelling through exploration and environmental cues, with non-linear journal entries that deepen the lore and character development over time. Overall, the compelling story significantly enhances the puzzle-solving and exploration experience, making it a standout aspect of the game.

    • “The story and the way it was revealed had me invested early on.”
    • “Without spoilers, the game has an epic fantasy story that reminded me of Richard Adams' work and Lois McMaster Bujold's Five Gods series, with some cosmic horror elements.”
    • “The storytelling alone makes this game well worth the purchase, especially considering it's all coming from a solo developer.”
    • “I found early journal entries to be boring as they focused too much on world-building before introducing the characters and storylines needed to care enough to read dozens of pages learning about the world.”
    • “Long story of once glorious Artahk is unfolded as we persist on looking and reading for hints and details.”
    • “Most of the puzzles are instead based around observing your environment and using the cues there to figure out a word to put into your book, which in turn fills in the game's backstory.”

  • gameplay

    19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    26% positive mentions, 58% neutral mentions, 16% negative mentions

    The gameplay is praised for its unique and varied puzzle mechanics, including innovative features like discovering words to unlock lore, which create a challenging yet fair experience without excessive hand-holding. While the core mechanics grow progressively, some players found certain elements, like the beast mechanic, divisive but generally manageable as it can be disabled. However, the gameplay can feel repetitive near the end due to limited variety in tracks and some mechanics being seen as less well-developed.

    • “The puzzles themselves are quite varied, with a few staple mechanics (such as the classic laser reflection with twists, of course), but the majority of puzzle mechanics are unique.”
    • “Discovering words that unlock lore entries is a unique gameplay mechanic, never seen it before and I like that.”
    • “The gameplay mechanics grow the further into the game you get.”
    • “But I wished it had some more tracks, because near the end of my gameplay it started feeling repetitive.”
    • “Nothing in the limited lore I found suggests an immortality or respawn mechanic, so it seems to just be there to be an obstacle and some 'spooky' lore while fully realizing that that sort of mechanic in an exploration/puzzle game is a frustrating experience.”
    • “Imo it is the only annoying and not well-thought-out mechanic of the game, but you will see.”

  • music

    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    57% positive mentions, 43% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The music is widely praised for its quality and strong fit with the game's atmosphere, often enhancing the adventure and exploration experience. Many users find the soundtrack memorable and well-suited as background music, drawing positive comparisons to iconic scores like Skyrim.

    • “Some of the music tracks might be stuck in my head for the foreseeable future.”
    • “Oh yeah, also the soundtrack and the art are both solid, very fitting to the atmosphere!”
    • “The OST is nice and creates the perfect atmosphere for this adventure.”

  • atmosphere

    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    60% positive mentions, 40% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its captivating dark fantasy tone, especially in the late game, bolstered by a fitting soundtrack and art style. The immersive ambiance is further enhanced by well-written lore that deeply engages players throughout the adventure.

    • “The game's greatest strength is its fantastic atmosphere that is only deepened by the unbelievably well-written lore entries that motivate you to keep going.”
    • “Also, the lore and the atmosphere are very captivating dark fantasy.”
    • “Oh yeah, also the soundtrack and the art are both solid, very fitting to the atmosphere!”

  • grinding

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    Grinding in the game, particularly in areas like the royal parterre, involves repetitive puzzle-solving and backtracking that some players find a bit tedious. However, engaging writing and overall pacing prevent this repetition from becoming overly frustrating.

    • “Some areas, especially the Royal Parterre, require you to redo the same puzzles repeatedly to switch between traversal paths, which becomes quite tedious.”
    • “Backtracking can be a little tedious at times, but it never got bad enough to really frustrate me.”

  • graphics

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The graphics feature detailed and impressive art style with beautiful, distinct zones and cinematic pieces. The dim, comfortable visuals maintain immersion without being harsh on the eyes, complementing the well-crafted level design.

    • “The writing, art style, and level design are all really detailed and impressive so far.”
    • “The lore is well-written and engaging (and there's a lot of it!), the artwork is beautiful (especially the big cinematic art pieces), and each zone of the map that I've found so far has been pretty distinct (and the darkness, of which there is a lot, has never felt too dark).”
    • “The art style is comfortable, dim, and keeps my attention without burning my retinas.”
Skip Game Offers

Buy Once Glorious Artahk

Skip Videos

Videos

Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Once Glorious Artahk is a casual puzzle game with fantasy, mystery and dark fantasy themes. Common tags for Once Glorious Artahk include indie, 2d, exploration, pixel graphics, atmospheric and others.

Once Glorious Artahk is available on PC, Windows and Linux.

Once Glorious Artahk was released on November 18, 2025.

Once Glorious Artahk was developed by Bismuth Tales.

Once Glorious Artahk has received very positive reviews from players. Most players liked Once Glorious Artahk for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Once Glorious Artahk is a single player game.

Similar games include Quern: Undying Thoughts, TUNIC, ANIMAL WELL, Full Bore, Goetia and others.