Once Upon A Tile

About

Once Upon A Tile is a single player role playing game. It was developed by KnotHorn Studio and was released on March 27, 2025. It received positive reviews from players.

A young wanderer is lost in the forests, and accidentally unleashes something evil. A group of strangers need to become friends and find their own path to salvation to lift the curse that has befallen the land. Once Upon A Tile has you explore ever-changing dungeons guarded by monsters, traps and magical challenges. Perhaps you need to navigate a trap-filled corridor to the end, or defeat a cer…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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89%

Audience ScoreBased on 19 reviews

gameplay4 positive mentions

stability3 negative mentions

Neat tile placing mechanics that offer engaging and strategic gameplay.
Beautiful graphics and charming voiceovers create a relaxing atmosphere.
High replay value with different characters and procedural generation keeps the gameplay fresh.

The game feels unfinished, with numerous bugs and performance issues affecting the experience.
Lack of content and repetitive gameplay can lead to a sense of monotony after a few runs.
The tutorial is mandatory every time you restart, which can be tedious and frustrating.

gameplay
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
30%
30%
The gameplay features engaging tile-placing mechanics that combine strategic puzzle elements with rogue-lite challenges, creating a unique and enjoyable experience. While many players appreciate the core mechanics and artwork, some find the gameplay can become repetitive after multiple runs, and the frequent tutorial prompts upon restarting can detract from the overall flow. Overall, it offers a relaxing yet challenging gameplay loop that appeals to fans of indie games.
- “Neat tile placing mechanics.”
- “I really like parts of this game; the artwork is stellar, the core mechanics are great fun, and I really like the tactile tile laying.”
- “Unique and engaging gameplay using the tile mechanic.”
- “The gameplay has quite a few layers to it, but after a few runs, I began to feel it was a bit too samey for my taste.”
- “I love the gameplay loop; however, this is a roguelite that drags you through the tutorial every single time you restart.”
- “The core mechanic here is that you connect dungeon pieces together, and the character will move to the closest tile on the piece.”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
40%
10%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their lovely and simplistic art style, which effectively complements the gameplay experience. While the character designs, such as the charming rodent Yara, showcase gorgeous artwork, the overall representation leans towards a simplistic board game aesthetic. Despite the lack of customization options, the visuals contribute positively to the game's cheerful yet eerie atmosphere.
- “The artwork is stellar, the core mechanics are great fun, and I really like the tactile tile laying.”
- “A fascinating tile puzzler whose cheery visuals bely a sense of eerie unease; 'Once Upon a Tile' is a simple yet captivating experience.”
- “The art style is simple but effective, looks really nice, and gives a great vibe!”
- “No accessibility options, no options to change graphics settings.”
story
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The game's story is described as charming and fairy tale-like, featuring anthropomorphic woodland creatures and engaging voiceovers, particularly noted for their delightful German accent. While the narrative is not groundbreaking, it effectively motivates players through the game with interesting characters, each possessing unique abilities and backstories. Overall, the story serves as a solid foundation, with players expressing hope for further development in future updates.
- “The atmosphere of the game is top-notch with great art and very charming German-accented English narration of its fairy tale-like story about anthropomorphic woodland creatures.”
- “Different characters are interesting, and the story has enough motivation to push through the game.”
- “Different characters with different abilities and their own stories.”
- “The story does not win an Oscar, but the voiceovers are pretty good.”
- “Story 3/5 (there isn't much yet, but it's a very good start and looking for more).”
- “The atmosphere of the game is top-notch with great art and very charming German-accented English narration of its fairy tale-ish story about anthropomorphic woodland creatures.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The music in the game is widely praised for its catchy tunes and atmospheric quality, enhancing the overall experience with fairy tale vibes that create a cozy environment.
- “The music and sounds are really catchy and give the right atmosphere.”
- “The fairy tale vibes in the environment and music are also pleasing and make it very cozy!”
- “Music and graphics are also very nice.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report mixed experiences regarding stability; while some have not encountered any crashes or freezes, others have faced significant issues, including frequent crashes, unresponsive gameplay during tile placement, and prolonged loading times. Overall, the game appears to have stability concerns that detract from the experience.
- “I loved the demo of this game and looked forward to its full release, but it feels unfinished, buggy, and lacking in features.”
- “In a couple of hours of attempting to play this game, it's crashed three times, hangs up frequently when placing tiles, and freezes and stops responding while on very long loading screens.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
Overall, users report that the game's optimization is solid, with no significant performance or bug issues, even on older hardware. This suggests that the developers have effectively optimized the game for a range of systems.
- “I didn't have any performance or bug issues, although my laptop is old.”
- “First, the performance:”
- “The game runs poorly on my system, even with the settings adjusted to low.”
- “I experienced significant frame drops during gameplay, which made it hard to enjoy.”
- “The optimization is lacking; it feels like the game wasn't tested on a variety of hardware.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
The game boasts high replayability due to its roguelike nature and procedural generation, offering fresh dungeons with each playthrough.
- “It's a roguelike with high replay value.”
- “Fresh dungeons and replayability via procedurally generated dungeons.”
- “The procedural generation of dungeons offers some fresh experiences, but ultimately, the replayability feels limited.”
- “While the game features fresh dungeons, the lack of variety in gameplay mechanics makes replaying less appealing.”
- “The concept of replayability through procedural generation is interesting, but it doesn't hold up after a few runs.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its exceptional art style and charming German-accented English narration, which enhances its fairy tale-like story featuring anthropomorphic woodland creatures. Additionally, the catchy music and sound design contribute significantly to creating an immersive and enchanting experience.
- “The atmosphere of the game is top-notch, featuring great art and a charming German-accented English narration of its fairy tale-like story about anthropomorphic woodland creatures.”
- “The music and sounds are really catchy and create the perfect atmosphere.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect tedious and frustrating, particularly due to the lack of options to skip it. The tutorial further exacerbates the issue by negating any stat boosts gained from regular gameplay, making the experience feel even more monotonous.
- “It gets tedious quickly, and I could find no option to skip it.”
- “Additionally, this tutorial negates any stat boosts you've gained from leveling in normal play, which makes it even more tedious.”