Out Of Hands

About

Out Of Hands is a single player casual role playing game. It was developed by Game River and was released on April 21, 2025. It received very positive reviews from players.

Out Of Hands plunges you into a surreal nightmare where reality blurs with twisted dreams, filled with unsettling imagery and eerie collages. Using innovative card-game mechanics, you combine organs and weapons to battle foes born from shattered memories and emotions. Fight to preserve your sanity and uncover the dark truth behind your haunting transformation.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

91%

Audience ScoreBased on 234 reviews

gameplay38 positive mentions

optimization2 negative mentions

The game features a unique and captivating art style that combines various mediums, creating a surreal and immersive atmosphere.
Gameplay mechanics are solid, offering a refreshing take on deck-building with strategic depth and engaging card combat.
The narrative explores deep themes of grief and madness, resonating emotionally with players and enhancing the overall experience.

The use of AI-generated assets has raised concerns among players, detracting from the otherwise handcrafted aesthetic and leading to mixed feelings about the game's artistic integrity.
Some players found the difficulty level to be too easy, resulting in a lack of challenge and engagement throughout the gameplay.
The story pacing and certain narrative elements can feel repetitive or clichéd, which may diminish the impact of the overall experience.

gameplay
88 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
54%
3%
The gameplay is generally praised for its solid mechanics, addictive card-battling system, and innovative blend of deck-building with psychological horror elements. Players appreciate the straightforward yet engaging nature of the gameplay, which allows for experimentation with different builds and strategies, although some feel the variety of mechanics could be expanded. The unique art style and narrative further enhance the overall experience, making it a compelling choice for fans of the genre.
- “The gameplay is rooted in familiar deck-building and turn-based tactics, but it feels refreshingly different because of how it ties into the narrative.”
- “The gameplay is super fun and it's not too hard to keep the difficulty at a level that suits you.”
- “The gameplay is straightforward and can vary with some interesting elements, but the game doesn’t do a great job of forcing you into different playstyles.”
- “But the gameplay itself is not great.”
- “Overall then, I could see a different game taking the hand-crafted art and base mechanics in a much different direction and being really fun and intriguing, but here these elements only make the rest of the game stand out in how unsatisfying it all is.”
story
87 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
64%
3%
The game's story is a captivating and surreal exploration of themes such as obsession, grief, and loss, delivered through innovative gameplay mechanics and dream-like encounters. Players navigate a melancholic narrative that unfolds as they progress, revealing deeper layers of the protagonist's psyche while engaging in strategic card combat. While some find the pacing slow or repetitive, the overall storytelling is praised for its depth and emotional resonance, making it a compelling experience for those who appreciate narrative-driven games.
- “The story is captivating; this game is worth your time.”
- “The story can be summarized as a surreal, dream-like descent into a person's unraveling, revolving around themes of obsession, grief, and loss.”
- “The writing is outstanding, a wonderfully melancholic story that keeps playing with the concept of hallucinations.”
- “At certain points, I found the game repetitive, almost wanting to rush through the story.”
- “The writing at a wordcraft level is serviceable, if a bit bland, but the plot is incredibly cliché, repetitive, and still somehow riddled with plot holes and inconsistencies.”
- “The story is enough to keep you interested but probably won't leave you with much once you finish it.”
graphics
59 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
64%
5%
The game's graphics are a standout feature, showcasing a unique and surreal art style that blends various mediums, including hand-drawn elements and AI-generated content. While many players appreciate the captivating visuals and atmospheric presentation, some express disappointment over the use of AI in asset creation, feeling it detracts from the overall aesthetic. Overall, the graphics contribute significantly to the game's charm and immersive experience, making it a compelling choice for fans of innovative art styles.
- “Beautiful and eerie visuals, great music, and poetic writing.”
- “The aesthetic doesn’t just serve the atmosphere; it is the atmosphere.”
- “What stood out the most to me was the game’s visuals, art direction, and overall presentation.”
- “The fact a game that got its art style out of being creative resorted to AI generative content usage is downright depressing to me.”
- “The aesthetic is the whole reason I bought this game on top of the tight mechanics - it is dreamlike, yet minimalistic, a mix of mediums - the phoned-in and basic of simply using an edited photo layered on top of gorgeous hand-drawn backgrounds and trippy CGI enemies.”
- “In fact, the visuals could be considered the core of the game, with the gameplay playing a supporting role.”
music
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
50%
9%
The music in the game is widely praised for its atmospheric and thematic depth, enhancing the overall experience with a mix of haunting and captivating tracks. Players appreciate the unique soundscapes that complement the visuals and gameplay, creating an immersive environment, although some have noted occasional glitches in specific tracks. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's emotional impact and replayability.
- “I have a soft spot for games that can hit a thematic soundtrack, and I feel like 'Out of Hands' compositions hit just the right auditory g-spot, where the tracks have a mixture of catharsis, adrenaline, and tension, sometimes all at once.”
- “The art style, soundtrack, and general creative concepts are so incredibly cool & unique.”
- “The music oozes with nightmarish, unsettling vibes that perfectly complement the game’s twisted atmosphere.”
- “The only proviso I've got left is that a battle track appears to be glitched - it starts and then goes totally silent, which is unfortunate, because this battle track is for three separate areas, three very late-game areas which you will likely play all of, but not be able to hear the tone-setting music for whatsoever.”
- “I’m not an expert in music, so I usually judge by whether it feels distracting or annoying.”
atmosphere
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
41%
18%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and unsettling qualities, with a strong emphasis on aesthetic and sound design that enhances the overall experience. Reviewers note that the music and visuals create a unique, nightmarish ambiance that draws players into a dreamlike state, making it a key focus of enjoyment alongside the narrative. Many comparisons are made to other atmospheric titles, highlighting its distinctive style and emotional impact.
- “The developer really emphasized the atmosphere, pulling you into the zone or into madness.”
- “The aesthetic doesn’t just serve the atmosphere; it is the atmosphere.”
- “The music oozes with nightmarish, unsettling vibes that perfectly complement the game’s twisted atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere and the music are the main focus of what I love about it.”
- “However, I feel like this is one of those games that you play for the atmosphere and story rather than gameplay, think something like Yume Nikki or Hylics.”
- “The atmosphere really feels liminal and dreamlike.”
humor
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is characterized by its quirky and surreal elements, blending horror with a lighthearted tone that enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate the unique and funny card designs, as well as the charming sound effects that contribute to its distinct personality. Despite its darker themes, the humor remains a central aspect, providing a refreshing contrast that keeps the gameplay engaging.
- “Story is tight, and while it has horror elements, the game is more of a quirky puzzler and more on the humorous side of surreal.”
- “I especially appreciate the sense of humor found in the card design and how the game doesn’t artificially extend playtime.”
- “Though not lengthy, the content is fresh and creative, with a distinct humor and art direction that gives it real personality.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is lauded for its deep emotional resonance, with enemies symbolizing personal guilt and self-loathing, enhancing the narrative's impact. While the gameplay evolves in complexity, it remains focused on the emotional significance of player choices rather than mere mechanics. Despite its relatively short length, the rich emotional experience and narrative depth encourage players to revisit the game, making it a standout piece of interactive fiction.
- “The enemies—manifestations of your guilt and self-loathing—are just as unnerving, each representing a distorted version of some forgotten emotional scar.”
- “The battle system starts off simple but grows in complexity as you uncover new combinations and tools, although it’s never about raw numbers or optimization—it’s always about the emotional weight behind your actions.”
- “But for those open to an experience that is as much emotional as it is mechanical, it delivers one of the most compelling and unsettling pieces of interactive fiction in recent memory.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game is well-optimized, running smoothly on various systems and avoiding most performance issues, which is commendable considering its mixed media presentation. While the battle system evolves in complexity, it prioritizes emotional engagement over numerical optimization.
- “The battle system starts off simple but grows in complexity as you uncover new combinations and tools, although it’s never about raw numbers or optimization—it’s always about the emotional weight behind your actions.”
- “It runs well on a variety of systems and has been optimized to avoid most performance issues, which is impressive given the mixed media presentation.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game offers a unique replayability experience, emphasizing a rich narrative and emotional depth rather than endless gameplay typical of roguelikes or traditional RPGs. Players appreciate the variety of strategies and choices available, with many expressing excitement for new game plus features that allow for different playstyles and challenges. Overall, while it may not have infinite replay value, it provides enough engaging content to encourage multiple playthroughs.
- “I think there's a great bit of replayability too, as I went with cards and face parts playing it safe, but I could see dozens of other strategies that would be viable and fun to try out, and the new game plus lets you have all the cards and unlocks from the beginning.”
- “This game is very replayable; it offers a lot of lore, endings, and story. Your choices matter, and I loved this game since I saw its early access. It’s fun, interesting, challenging, and would also be great for speedruns and challenges.”
- “While it doesn’t have the endless replayability of a roguelike or the long grind of a traditional RPG, it offers something arguably more rare: a complete, deeply affecting experience that lingers in your thoughts well after the credits roll.”