Orphan

About Orphan

Orphan is a single player platformer game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Windy Hill and was released on October 31, 2018. It received positive reviews from players.

A 2D sci-fi platformer about a young boy who may be the last survivor of an alien invasion. Under the cover of night, he ventures out in search of other life and to seek revenge against the machines that have taken over the Earth.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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Reviews

85%Audience ScoreBased on 27 reviews

graphics11 positive mentions

stability2 negative mentions

The game features stunning graphics and a unique art style that enhances the overall atmosphere.
It offers an engaging story with interesting mechanics, blending stealth, exploration, and combat effectively.
The sound design and music contribute significantly to the immersive experience, making it a captivating indie title.

There are numerous bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, particularly in the Linux version.
The pacing can be frustrating at times, with some players finding the stealth mechanics limiting and challenging.
Navigation can be difficult due to a lack of clear orientation and a map, leading to potential confusion during exploration.

graphics
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
65% positive mentions, 23% neutral mentions, 12% negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their stunning aesthetics and unique art style, especially considering it was developed using GameMaker Studio. Players appreciate the beautiful visuals, excellent animations, and immersive atmosphere, although some have noted occasional performance issues in specific scenes. Overall, the game's graphics are highlighted as a standout feature, contributing significantly to the overall experience.
- “The aesthetics of this game are amazing, especially considering it was made using GameMaker Studio.”
- “Gorgeous and unique graphics in a short and sweet platformer.”
- “Orphan features a pleasant graphical style, minimalist in some ways but also rich with modern effects and details.”
- “Even if at 95% of the game my graphics card can run it smoothly at 60fps, some scenes dropped to a crawl, and I had to change the config mid-game, since auto just seems to lock my GPU at 30fps without any need.”
- “It looks great for the most part but there are issues with the graphics, especially with the stealth.”
gameplay
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29% positive mentions, 53% neutral mentions, 18% negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a mix of stealth and combat mechanics, with players appreciating the clean mechanics for saving and recovering life, though some find the stealth elements less enjoyable. While the game features impressive graphics and animations, it has been noted that certain mechanics feel underdeveloped and the gameplay can sometimes be overly challenging, leading to frustration. Overall, the exploration and combat aspects are well-received, but there are some quality of life issues that detract from the experience.
- “I actually appreciated the clean and fun mechanics for saving (a tent) and recovering life (a water canteen or roasting fish).”
- “Amazing graphics, very fun gameplay, excellent music, great animations, and a really cool story!”
- “The game starts out as stealth-based and, for me at least, moved into combat-based after the first 20% or so of the gameplay.”
- “I'm just hoping the game doesn't pull a PID, where you have to solve frustrating physics puzzles involving annoying platforming mechanics while dealing with unbearably slow movement and pacing.”
- “There are some quality of life problems regarding orientation, healing mechanics, and design.”
story
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50% positive mentions, 31% neutral mentions, 19% negative mentions
The story in the game is described as unique and engaging, blending elements of mystery and suspense that drive exploration and gameplay. While it features minimalist narration with limited dialogue, the atmospheric setting and intriguing plot keep players invested. Overall, the narrative is well-received, complementing the game's visuals and gameplay mechanics effectively.
- “The story is a well-written mystery that drives the boy to explore the game's world, and the game is nicely varied with intense boss fights and challenging puzzles.”
- “The aesthetic is fantastic and the story is instantly engaging.”
- “The story, albeit simple, was also good enough to keep me intrigued and with just a touch of suspense.”
- “A map of the world is not available, and this can make exploration difficult especially when you have to backtrack in order to arrive in other areas and progress the story.”
- “The story of Orphan is minimalist narration-wise, featuring only a handful of dialogues and cut-scenes, and mostly uses indirect narration describing what happens just with events.”
- “Don't expect this to be a game where you just walk around listening to a story: Orphan is a well-blended mix of equal parts shooter, platformer, and storytelling game, featuring stealth sections at first, and after that, has pretty frequent combat against a variety of enemies.”
atmosphere
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
78% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 22% negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its shadowy art direction, reminiscent of "Limbo," yet distinct in its own right, featuring crisp visuals and impressive light effects. The combination of graphic design, music, and sound effects creates an immersive experience, although some players find the music can become repetitive. Overall, the atmosphere is described as beautiful and engaging, enhancing the puzzle-platforming adventure.
- “An atmospheric puzzle/platformer adventure, sort of like Limbo, especially with the shadowy art direction, but really it is its own thing, interesting story and the game handles well.”
- “The graphic design, music, and sound effects create an excellent atmosphere.”
- “On a visual level, it does atmosphere very well, like a more crisp and detailed Limbo, and I love the light effects.”
- “The UI is clean, the sound design helps the atmosphere, but the movement feels a bit slow.”
- “On a visual level, it does atmosphere very well, resembling a more crisp and detailed version of Limbo, and I love the light effects.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67% positive mentions, 16% neutral mentions, 17% negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its atmospheric quality, contributing to an excellent overall ambiance alongside the graphics and sound effects. However, some players note that it can become repetitive if gameplay progress stalls. Overall, it receives high marks for enhancing the gaming experience.
- “The graphic design, music, and sound effects create an excellent atmosphere.”
- “Amazing graphics, very fun gameplay, excellent music, great animations, and a really cool story!”
- “Sound is amazing, music is atmospheric though if you don't progress it could get repetitive.”
- “Music has so far also been atmospheric, but I know that's something that people have mixed opinions about.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions
Overall, users report that while many glitches on Apple OS have been addressed, a noticeable number of bugs and glitches still persist in various situations, indicating that stability remains a mixed experience.
- “There is a noticeable quantity of bugs and glitches in several situations.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, -50% neutral mentions, 50% negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is generally solid, with users reporting good performance on high-end systems, such as an i7 4820k and GTX 1080 at 4K resolution. However, some players have experienced occasional crashes, indicating room for improvement in stability.
- “Performance and stability are impressive overall.”
- “No issues with performance on my setup (i7 4820k, GTX 1080, 16GB RAM at 4K), although I did experience a few crashes.”
- “No issues about performance [i7 4820k, gtx1080, 16gb ram at 4k], however, some crashes occurred a few times.”