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Only If

Fans of “art house” games shouldn’t miss this, and for everyone else, it’s at least worth checking out as a free game.
65%Game Brain Score
story, graphics
stability, grinding
63% User Score Based on 9,086 reviews
Critic Score 80%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

LinuxPCMac OSWindows

About

"Only If" is a first-person adventure-puzzle game for audiences 18+, where you play as Anthony Clyde, who wakes up with no memory of the previous night. The game features experimental and unpredictable mechanics, challenging you to distinguish reality from imagination. Expect to fail, die, and be confused as you navigate through opulent surroundings with a menacing radio-bound antagonist blocking your path. Join the discord for more information

Only If screenshot
Only If screenshot
Only If screenshot
Only If screenshot
Only If screenshot
Only If screenshot
Only If screenshot
Only If screenshot
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63%
Audience ScoreBased on 9,086 reviews
story762 positive mentions
stability268 negative mentions

  • The game features beautiful graphics and a unique art style.
  • The voice acting is engaging and adds humor to the experience.
  • The puzzles are creative and require out-of-the-box thinking.
  • The game is filled with bugs and glitches that hinder gameplay.
  • There are no subtitles, making it difficult to follow the dialogue.
  • The story is confusing and lacks coherence, leading to frustration.
  • story
    2,176 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of "Only If" is a polarizing aspect among players, with many finding it confusing, nonsensical, and poorly executed, often overshadowed by frustrating gameplay mechanics and dialogue issues. While some appreciate its surreal and abstract narrative, others criticize it for lacking coherence and depth, leading to a mixed reception overall. Despite its flaws, the game does offer intriguing plot twists and a unique storytelling approach that some players find engaging, particularly when exploring its dual story paths.

    • “The story is interesting and the execution well made.”
    • “Amazing story and especially ending.”
    • “Great voice acting and compelling story.”
    • “The dialogue is shit, the story is nothing, the gameplay is aggravating!”
    • “Apart from gameplay, the story falls short, and after reading the developer's own Steam guide to the story, it proves it's a case of 'it's just not that deep.' It is shallow and borders on nonsense, not in a cool trippy way.”
    • “The story is frankly horrible with one of the worst cop-out tropes out there followed by a one-two punch that I think was trying to be funny but really lands flat due to how out of character with the rest of the game it is.”
  • graphics
    1,094 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game receive a mixed reception, with many players praising their beauty and detail, particularly in specific levels like the park. However, several reviews highlight issues such as graphical glitches, inconsistent quality, and a lack of adjustable settings, which detracts from the overall experience. While the visuals are often described as stunning and impressive for a free game, they are sometimes overshadowed by gameplay and technical problems.

    • “The graphics are amazing and the voice acting is really good.”
    • “The graphics are stunning, the story is completely unpredictable, the voice acting is great, and the perspective is incredibly realistic.”
    • “The graphics are gorgeous, the audio is fantastically done (the player says and acts like you would expect a college kid to act in such a situation).”
    • “From the graphics, the setup, the voice-acting, the story... there was legitimately nothing in this that's remotely enjoyable, even in a so-bad-it's-redeemable way.”
    • “Many parts run like shit on the highest graphics settings (and, trust me, it isn't my computer).”
    • “The graphics are dated, the story is nonsensical, the delivery is sloppy, and the biggest failure is that this is a game, yet it entirely avoids being fun.”
  • gameplay
    1,058 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of this title is a mixed bag, with many players noting its unique mechanics, such as typing to interact, but criticizing the lack of clear instructions and the overall execution. While some found the surreal and experimental nature of the gameplay intriguing, others described it as frustrating, buggy, and often nonsensical, leading to a trial-and-error experience that detracted from enjoyment. Overall, the game presents interesting ideas but suffers from poor mechanics and inconsistent design, leaving players divided on its quality.

    • “Incredibly unique gameplay, I've had this in my library for years but never understood how to play it.”
    • “The gameplay itself was actually quite good for a game designed to not be standard: the devs really thought through what they were doing with this game.”
    • “Great game, great story, funny twists, and amazing overall gameplay.”
    • “You keep dying but you don't know why, the game mechanics are not explained, so you basically stumble onto stuff until it works.”
    • “This is one of those games where the gameplay only makes sense in the dev's head.”
    • “The gameplay sucks, the puzzles are terrible, this whole game is a waste of time and storage on your PC.”
  • humor
    744 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with many players finding it both hilarious and absurd, often characterized by dark and crude elements. While some appreciate the witty dialogue and engaging voice acting, others criticize the reliance on profanity and juvenile jokes, which can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game offers a unique blend of humor that resonates well with those who enjoy surreal and unconventional storytelling, though it may not appeal to everyone.

    • “The dialogue is funny, quirky, and well delivered, especially by the antagonist Vincent.”
    • “This game is hilarious and confusing at the same time.”
    • “The ending for this game is freaking hilarious.”
    • “Cringe-worthy dialogue that's pretentious and unfunny.”
    • “These back and forth conversations are played off for laughs, but are mostly nonsensical, juvenile, unfunny, and seem to have been recorded without any real script or intended purpose.”
    • “Absolutely nothing is well written, well constructed or well thought out, while committing the ultimate sin of thinking it's intensely clever whilst being pretentious, unfunny and sophomoric to the extreme.”
  • music
    332 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its quality and immersive atmosphere, while others criticize the audio balance, noting that the music often drowns out dialogue, making it difficult to follow the story. Players appreciate the soundtrack's ability to enhance the gaming experience, but the lack of volume control options has led to frustration, particularly during key narrative moments. Overall, while the music is generally well-composed and enjoyable, its implementation can hinder the overall experience due to poor mixing with voice acting.

    • “The music always hits the right beats and creates an immersive experience in what is a completely detached from reality situation.”
    • “Great atmosphere, narrative and music, really immersive.”
    • “The music is excellent, and the main antagonist a colorful and oddly charming personality, but the player character's amateurish voice acting and lame writing leaves a lot to be desired, and the overall story, while darkly funny in parts, is largely nonsensical dream logic.”
    • “I had to crank up the volume on my headset to try to hear and understand their words, and then quickly turn it down as it was way too loud when the music came back in.”
    • “The music, in an attempt to be suspenseful and dramatic, completely drowns out any of the potentially interesting dialogue you may want to hear, thereby ruining any suspense or drama which might have developed.”
    • “The audio is a mess: voice is too quiet and music/sound effects are too loud.”
  • stability
    272 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is widely criticized for its numerous bugs and glitches, which significantly detract from the overall experience. Players report issues with gameplay mechanics, achievement unlocks, and frequent crashes, making it frustrating and often unplayable. Despite its visual appeal and interesting concepts, the instability of the game leads many to recommend avoiding it until substantial fixes are implemented.

    • “I encountered no glitches, and very much enjoyed the gameplay.”
    • “Little to no glitches”
    • “I encountered no glitches, and very much enjoyed the gameplay.”
    • “The game is buggy, the achievements are buggy, and the controls are buggy.”
    • “Even trying to ignore the shitty puzzles, most of the time the game crashes, self-locks, lowers its own volume, glitches and in some cases doesn't even start.”
    • “I want to recommend this game, but it's a buggy mess with broken achievements that requires file verification two or three times per level, and may the gods above help you if you chose the black pawn path first.”
  • atmosphere
    190 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its surreal and immersive qualities, effectively blurring the lines between reality and hallucination, which keeps players engaged and on edge. Many reviews highlight the combination of strong visuals, compelling voice acting, and a unique aesthetic that creates a chilling yet captivating experience. However, some players note that the atmosphere can be inconsistent or overshadowed by confusing gameplay elements, leading to mixed feelings about its overall execution.

    • “The game's ability to blur the line between reality and hallucination is commendable, creating an intriguing and surreal atmosphere that keeps you on your toes.”
    • “Great atmosphere, narrative and music, really immersive.”
    • “The best part of this game was the atmosphere, and the short length of the game only adds to its brilliance.”
    • “All I know is that the game really puts down the atmosphere of being in a strange house after a weird party, blacked out and no idea where you are or where everyone else is.”
    • “I totally understand the need for atmosphere in a cellar or basement or dungeon, but seriously there was no brightness option or gamma correction, so where is the point of absolutely seeing nothing?”
    • “The overall atmosphere is intense and surreal... but ultimately feels confused as to what it's trying to accomplish at all.”
  • grinding
    82 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The reviews overwhelmingly describe the grinding aspect of the game as tedious and frustrating, with many players expressing that the gameplay mechanics, puzzles, and dialogue contribute to a repetitive and unenjoyable experience. Users frequently mention the lack of clarity in objectives and the need for trial and error, which further exacerbates the tedium. Overall, the game is criticized for its excessive length and lack of engaging content, leading to a recommendation against playing unless one enjoys particularly tedious experiences.

    • “This game can be incredibly tedious and I do not blame you in the slightest if you have to look up on the internet solutions to some of the puzzles.”
    • “It manages to be so tedious and frustrating that my humor is completely drained after spending just 2 hours playing the game.”
    • “It's tedious, repetitious, and incredibly annoying.”
  • optimization
    58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues such as visual stuttering, frame drops, and bugs, particularly on lower-end systems. While some users noted that it runs smoothly on less powerful PCs, others experienced frustrating gameplay interruptions and unresponsive controls, especially on Linux. Overall, the consensus suggests that the game is poorly optimized, affecting both accessibility and overall enjoyment.

    • “Graphics are great, the game runs smoothly on a low-end PC and there were no bugs in my experience of it.”
    • “Very optimized, well made and thought out story, gameplay, and graphics.”
    • “This game optimization is also good.”
    • “The game has some visual stuttering but is stable - unless you are going for achievements... then be prepared to quit, revalidate the files, and redo levels after every achievement you unlock.”
    • “It has a couple of bugs and isn't optimized that well, so you may have some frame drops even on a decent PC.”
    • “Its terribly optimized, and in certain parts, it plays like a slideshow.”
  • replayability
    58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game has limited replayability, with many players noting that while it offers two gameplay paths and multiple endings, the differences between them are minimal and do not significantly enhance the experience. Some reviewers appreciated the intriguing premise and the potential for replay value, especially given its free-to-play status, but many felt that the game lacks depth and challenge, leading to a general consensus of low replay value. Despite some positive remarks about the game's atmosphere and music, most players indicated they would not return after completing the initial playthroughs.

    • “++ replayability based on a crucial choice you make halfway through the game.”
    • “The premise for this game was interesting to me - I love puzzle games and escape-type games, and the two paths made it seem like a good game for replayability.”
    • “That's right, this game has multiple endings, adding to the replay value of this game, on top of 10 achievements (currently) for any achievement hunters out there.”
    • “Unfortunately, this game doesn't really have much replay value, and is very short.”
    • “While the game tempts the player with replayability, as it utilizes player choice in proceeding, a quick replay reveals the choice changes essentially nothing, and exists solely to entrap the player once more.”
    • “Practically no replay value.”
  • emotional
    50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional responses to the game are highly polarized, with some players experiencing intense fear, confusion, and even physical discomfort, while others find the narrative engaging and emotionally resonant. Many reviewers mention feeling a strong attachment to the characters and a rollercoaster of emotions throughout the gameplay, though some criticize the script and audio for detracting from the overall experience. Overall, the game elicits a wide range of emotional reactions, from deep attachment to frustration and discomfort, making it a memorable, albeit divisive, experience.

    • “Sure, it may be free, it may even make for a good story, but no right-minded human being can walk away from that without at least some amount of emotional scarring.”
    • “Not only that, but I also got kind of attached and really into the game, which made me super emotional, mainly because of the narrator's constant mocking and demeaning behavior; I took it kind of hard, but I absolutely loved it.”
    • “The experience was also an emotional rollercoaster: confusion, agitation, satisfaction, thoughtfulness, suspicion, hopelessness, and finally relief with some humor.”
  • monetization
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is praised for being a good free option with no microtransactions, which sets expectations for its quality. However, some users express frustration over its performance, particularly on Linux systems, and criticize misleading advertising. Overall, the monetization model is seen as a positive aspect, but the game's execution leaves room for improvement.

    • “It's a good free game with no microtransactions.”
    • “When you think it can't possibly get any worse, it does, and by a certain point which will remain undefined (blatant advertisement), you can't help but laugh at it.”
    • “First of all, it's a free game with no microtransactions whatsoever, so don't expect the same quality that a small nation of developers would put into a game.”
  • character development
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The character development in the game is highly praised, with players noting that it is effectively conveyed through voice acting alone, enhancing the overall plot. Reviewers find the character arcs engaging and appreciate the humor in the ending, suggesting a well-crafted narrative experience.

    • “The puzzles are simple, but hard; there's some really interesting character development and the ending is pretty funny!”
    • “Engaging character script - I enjoyed the plot, and I was floored by the character development done entirely through voices alone.”
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4h Median play time
21h Average play time
2-5h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 28 analyzed playthroughs
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