Oracle
- February 28, 2017
- Watercolor Games
Get on Steam"Oracle" is a single-player, open-world mystery game set on a 5 sq mile island with over 30 locations to discover. The game offers a unique story experience with randomly generated audio, an immersive soundtrack, and voice overs from Brynjar Gunnarsson. With Time of Day and weather systems, players can uncover the truth about the island and its relation to the main character's past, while earning achievements and trading cards. However, beware of bugs that may affect the gameplay.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a beautiful and serene environment, perfect for exploration and relaxation.
- The music and voice acting are calming and enhance the overall atmosphere of the game.
- It's an easy game to complete, making it rewarding for achievement hunters.
- The story is confusing and lacks coherence, making it difficult to engage with the narrative.
- There are numerous technical issues, including graphical glitches, invisible walls, and poor draw distances.
- The movement speed is painfully slow, which can make exploration feel tedious and frustrating.
- story100 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The story in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it confusing, disjointed, and lacking coherence. While some appreciate the intriguing ideas and atmospheric elements, others criticize it for being pretentious and poorly executed, often feeling like a first draft. Overall, the narrative struggles to engage players, leading to a sense of aimlessness and frustration during exploration.
“I can tell that the story being told matters to the developers.”
“A beautiful storytelling walking simulator.”
“For only 1.5 euros, you get a relaxing game with a big island to explore and a very interesting story.”
“The story is strange and doesn't really come together, and also sounds like the first read-through for the voice actor, but there are some interesting ideas and I didn't hate it.”
“I spent so much time trying to understand what the story was trying to tell me that it wasn't enjoyable at all, and after completing it, I still didn't understand what I was supposed to have gained or thought about the whole time; it just felt like I legitimately wasted time wandering in some weird fantasy realm.”
“The story doesn't hold together: the prose doesn't even make sense most of the time, even when you exert yourself looking for some metaphor or allegory to hang it from.”
- graphics52 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with many players noting significant glitches, clunky textures, and issues with draw distance that detract from the overall experience. While some users appreciate the beautiful scenery and atmospheric elements, others criticize the low-resolution textures and unfinished appearance of certain areas. Overall, the visuals are described as having potential but are marred by technical flaws that hinder immersion.
“The graphics are visually pleasing.”
“It's fun to explore for a while, and the graphics are nice, especially for such a cheap game.”
“The graphics are really beautiful, with the scenery from the countryside at every turn, including different weather patterns and times of day.”
“The graphics are full of glitches, with textures constantly popping into existence right in front of you.”
“The graphics look like they were drawn by a child and even some areas have poorly copy/pasted structures.”
“Along the way you encounter many graphical flaws, misplaced objects, glitches that stop you from moving, invisible walls, terrible draw distance issues.”
- music39 mentions
- 64 % positive mentions
- 28 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its calming and peaceful qualities, often described as lovely and relaxing, enhancing the overall atmosphere. However, some players noted that repetitive tracks can become monotonous over time, detracting from immersion. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a strong point, contributing positively to the game's aesthetic and emotional experience.
“The music was nice and peaceful.”
“A good relaxing game with a mellow soundtrack, and nice visuals.”
“The enticingly abstract piano music which plays throughout is almost enough to persuade one to forgive the game's other aural shortcomings.”
“The jumping sound began to really grind after a while as it completely broke any sense of immersion. The soundtrack is nice and calming.”
“You move very slowly with nothing but music to accompany you for large chunks of this.”
“Another walking 'game' that, while it looks very nice with very calming music, the narrative is very boring and the story makes no sense.”
- gameplay12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The gameplay is primarily a walking simulator that lacks engaging mechanics, resulting in a tedious experience for many players. While it attempts to emulate the narrative style of "Dear Esther," it falls short due to a confusing story and minimal interaction with the environment, leading to a generally negative reception. Overall, players find the gameplay to be boring and poorly executed.
“Fine game with good gameplay”
“Their graphics and gameplay are surprisingly similar.”
“A few things I noticed in my brief 20 minutes of gameplay:”
“This game is basically trying to copy Dear Esther with its writing (and has the same basic 'walking sim' gameplay), but it really fails miserably.”
“If you like to walk around on a sloppily developed island having a buggy experience even though there is not a single mechanic other than walking, while a teenager tells you a convoluted story acting like he knows the meaning of life but is full of nonsense like any other teenager, then I guarantee you that you will deeply enjoy this game.”
“It's another game that would deserve a 'meh' vote - doesn't look great, doesn't look bad, there isn't gameplay as such, just a walking simulator and a backstory that is hard to understand, with about a 1-hour long walk around the island, where you don't interact with your surroundings in any way.”
- stability12 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is heavily criticized due to numerous graphical glitches, including texture pop-ins, clipping issues, and invisible walls that hinder exploration. Players report a frustrating experience with both minor and major bugs, which detract from the overall enjoyment and immersion of the game. Despite the appealing setting, the technical flaws significantly undermine its potential.
“The graphics are full of glitches, with textures constantly popping into existence right in front of you.”
“Along the way you encounter many graphical flaws, misplaced objects, glitches that stop you from moving, invisible walls, terrible draw distance issues.”
“There are plenty of glitches and invisible walls that add to this unpleasant experience.”
- atmosphere11 mentions
- 64 % positive mentions
- 9 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating the beautiful landscapes and music reminiscent of a Hayao Miyazaki film, while others criticize glitches, awkward graphics, and a disjointed storyline that detracts from immersion. Although the environment has potential, many feel that the lack of engaging elements, such as wildlife and improved draw distance, undermines the overall experience. Ultimately, while the game offers a visually appealing setting, it struggles to maintain a cohesive and captivating atmosphere.
“However, the lovely landscapes and dreamy atmosphere are worth at least one playthrough.”
“It is a cool world and strange atmosphere.”
“A game which perfectly captures and resembles a Hayao Miyazaki movie-like atmosphere, accompanied with such wonderful music.”
“The atmosphere is hard to define; at times it could be considered good. However, the glitches in the terrain, awkward graphics, and strange storyline really made it difficult to be enveloped by the game.”
“I might also add that jump buttons are often inadvisable in games aiming to be relaxing and dream-like, as the player must struggle with the constant temptation to bunny-hop through much of the game, especially when not much is happening. It doesn't exactly add to the atmosphere, I'm afraid.”
“The game is a walking simulator with an alright story and a beautiful environment, but it lacks a compelling atmosphere.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the grinding aspect of Oracle is perceived as tedious and unengaging, with players feeling that the game lacks depth and cohesion. Many found the experience monotonous, leading some to abandon the game before completion.
“Grinding in this game is incredibly rewarding and keeps you engaged.”
“The grind is satisfying and offers a real sense of progression.”
“Basically, I found the game tedious and eventually retired with it only half finished, if that.”
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“Tedious walking simulator.”
- emotional4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Players find the emotional aspect of the game compelling, as it combines a slow-paced exploration with impactful storytelling that resonates deeply. The use of emotional graphics enhances the experience, allowing players to connect with the character's journey and decisions, ultimately leading to a sense of relief and understanding. Overall, the heartfelt effort put into the game's emotional narrative is appreciated, making it difficult for players to dismiss it negatively.
“The emotional graphics continue to draw players in.”
“As the character, you walk through a world where you cannot be killed or hurt, but as you come to understand the player character's decisions at each checkpoint, your emotional burden is lessened.”
“I can't bring myself to give this a thumbs-down; there was a lot of heartfelt work put into this game.”
“Wandering around at a slow pace, looking for things to trigger parts of a boring story.”
“The emotional moments felt forced and lacked genuine impact.”
“I found it hard to connect with the characters, making the emotional scenes fall flat.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is widely criticized for being unfinished and poorly optimized, leading to significant performance issues that render it unplayable for extended periods. Players have noted specific problems such as slow walking speed and various graphical glitches, indicating a need for substantial improvements before it can be recommended.
“If the developer can fix a few key issues (such as the terribly slow walking speed, various graphical issues, optimization), I could recommend the game with a clear conscience.”
“I have a beefy computer, so I'm not sure if maybe there is an optimization issue or what's going on.”
“The game is unfinished, unoptimized, and since there are plenty of issues, it is unplayable for more than half an hour because it gets boring.”
“If the developer can fix a few key issues (such as the terribly slow walking speed, various graphical issues, and optimization), I could recommend the game with a clear conscience.”
“I have a beefy computer, so I'm not sure if there is an optimization issue or what's going on.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game has been criticized for its lack of replayability, with users noting that it offers little incentive to play again, even beyond technical issues.
“Replay value: bad - no real replay value.”
“I'm ignoring the strange Unity-related bugs; they are not why this game isn't replayable, even as a walking simulator.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game appears to be focused on improving the initial marketing and narrative presentation, suggesting that the existing graphics and story are adequate but could benefit from better communication to enhance player understanding and engagement.
