Palindrome Syndrome: Escape Room

About

"Palindrome Syndrome: Escape Room" is a single-player mystery game with a good story, marvelous visuals, and a great soundtrack. Players wake up in a spaceship with no memories and must solve puzzles, decode secret codes, and find hidden objects to discover their past and escape the ship. The game features logical puzzles, exploration, and an atmospheric setting.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Palindrome Syndrome: Escape Room screenshot

78%

Audience ScoreBased on 260 reviews

story36 positive mentions

grinding6 negative mentions

The game successfully captures the atmosphere of a real-life escape room, providing a satisfying puzzle-solving experience.
Puzzles range from easy to challenging, with a good mix of logic, math, and spatial reasoning that keeps players engaged.
The graphics and sound design contribute to an immersive sci-fi environment, enhancing the overall experience.

The game is relatively short, taking around 2-3 hours to complete, which may not justify the price for some players.
Some puzzles can feel overly simplistic or frustratingly obscure, leading to moments of trial and error without clear logic.
The story is predictable and lacks depth, with an ending that may leave players unsatisfied or confused.

story
119 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
61%
9%
The story in this game is generally viewed as minimal and predictable, often taking a backseat to the puzzle-solving experience. While some players appreciate its simplicity and the way it integrates with gameplay, others criticize it for being poorly executed or lacking depth. Overall, the narrative is seen as a mixed bag, with some finding it engaging and others deeming it irrelevant or cliché.
- “I do really like this though and I can appreciate being dropped in the middle of the story—we have no idea how long it's been since Margaret died or how long and how many times John's run this loop, all the while John's trapper teases him that he can't even remember his wife as he slowly pieces together his own guilty confession to her 'murder'.”
- “While the story is not huge or monumental, I actually really liked it as a game that puts the player through the experience of repeatedly rediscovering the existence and roots of a trauma, then blocking them out till the next rediscovery.”
- “Great range of puzzles, compelling story, a lot of fun!”
- “The story isn't even worth mentioning, as it was extremely predictable but also had little impact on the experience as a whole.”
- “The story was incredibly rushed and the ending made no sense.”
- “The story is just plain bad.”
graphics
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
44%
12%
The graphics of the game are generally well-received, with many players appreciating the clean and appealing visuals that enhance the overall atmosphere. However, some critiques highlight issues such as simplistic UI, occasional graphical glitches, and a lack of optimization, which detracts from the experience. Overall, while the graphics contribute positively to the game's aesthetic, they are not groundbreaking and may evoke a sense of dated design.
- “The graphics are a good balance between the amount of details and simplicity, and the plot is designed well.”
- “The graphics and art/design look really nice and help pull you into the experience.”
- “The graphics really put you in the right mood, like it has this sci-fi atmosphere so you feel you are in space for real.”
- “I can see why it could be intentional as part of the narrative; however, it's just a weird design choice that adds more to accessibility issues than it adds to the environmental aesthetic.”
- “The game's aesthetic makes me feel like I'm playing it in 2017, with the very simplistic UI and overall graphics/gameplay.”
- “Very unoptimized game graphically; my fans were going way too hard for a game that looks like this.”
atmosphere
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
73%
7%
20%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its relaxing and immersive qualities, enhanced by calming music and appealing graphics. Players appreciate the blend of a well-paced puzzle experience with a sci-fi setting that effectively draws them into the game world. While some find the story linear and the puzzles occasionally loose, the overall ambiance is considered a strong point that complements the gameplay.
- “The atmosphere is relaxing (precisely what I like in my puzzlers).”
- “It is a nice blend of a well-paced and well-placed mind-scratchers, realistic setting and unintrusive music, all of which create a relaxing atmosphere perfect for puzzle-thinking.”
- “The graphics really put you in the right mood, like it has this sci-fi atmosphere so you feel you are in space for real.”
- “The story was mostly obvious from the start, and games by developers such as Glitch Games just offer much more in the way of atmosphere in this regard.”
- “It's shorter than I'd hoped, but the story, atmosphere, and lack of any bad (mandatory) puzzles is good enough to make up for it.”
- “The graphics really put you in the right mood; it has this sci-fi atmosphere, so you feel you are in space for real.”
gameplay
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
57%
21%
The gameplay is generally described as straightforward and accessible, with a quick playtime of 1-2 hours. While the puzzles are not particularly challenging or innovative, the mechanics are smooth and user-friendly, allowing players to enjoy the experience without being bogged down by complex controls. The simplistic aesthetic and lack of detailed instructions may detract from the overall immersion, but the gameplay remains enjoyable, especially for casual play alongside other activities.
- “Interesting plot that added flavor without getting in the way of gameplay.”
- “Pretty smooth controls and one doesn't bob or zip around during gameplay.”
- “Some other games in the genre have needlessly over-complicated controls that get in the way of smooth gameplay, so it's a breath of fresh air to see that Palindrome Syndrome kept it simple.”
- “The game's aesthetic also kind of somewhat makes me think I'm playing it in 2017 or something, what with the very simplistic UI and in general the graphics/gameplay.”
- “The controls/mechanics in the game are clunky enough to be a constant distraction.”
- “The puzzles aren't particularly difficult or creative, the story is bad, the gameplay is fine.”
music
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
20%
30%
The music in the game is generally praised for its calming and atmospheric qualities, enhancing the overall experience without being intrusive. While some players noted that it can become repetitive over time, many found it suitable for relaxing gameplay, particularly when solving puzzles. Overall, the soundtrack contributes positively to the game's ambiance, making it a good choice for unwinding.
- “Clearly, they worked hard on this and the rooms look very nice with great music.”
- “In my opinion, the music is calming and it suits the atmosphere.”
- “Great to play for a bit right before bed, the music and visuals are really relaxing and that combined with trying to focus on the puzzles, it's like counting sheep...”
- “The music drones after a while.”
- “The music didn't add anything to the experience, and the voice acting was... eh... the modulated voice kinda went a little loud sometimes.”
- “The music and visuals are really relaxing, but it doesn't enhance the overall experience.”
grinding
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
86%
Reviews indicate that the grinding aspect of the game is characterized by a mix of easy yet tedious puzzles, leading to a sense of monotony rather than challenge. Players often find themselves resorting to guides due to the repetitive nature of some puzzles, which detracts from the overall experience.
- “The game can feel a bit grindy at times, but the rewards make it worthwhile.”
- “Grinding is a necessary part of the experience, and it adds depth to character progression.”
- “While there are moments of grinding, they are balanced by the satisfaction of leveling up.”
- “I wish the puzzles got more complex instead of more tedious.”
- “It's not difficult, it's just tedious.”
- “Puzzles are mostly very easy; however, they can be quite tedious at times.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by a riveting and heart-wrenching storyline that features a surprising ending, leaving players deeply moved. Many users express their astonishment at how an escape room game can evoke such strong feelings, with some even finding it tear-jerking.
- “The storyline is riveting and heart-wrenching, with a surprise ending.”
- “I can't believe a little escape room game almost made me cry.”
- “The story was amazing and heartbreaking at the same time.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, with players reporting poor graphical performance and frequent stuttering, even though it is relatively new. Additionally, the lack of autosave features has led to frustrating experiences, including lost progress due to crashes. Mouse movement is also criticized for being clunky and in need of improvement.
- “Very unoptimized game graphically; my fans were going way too hard for a game that looks like this.”
- “The things I didn't like were its performance; the game is not that old and doesn't run well, lacks optimization, and the mouse movement could be improved a lot; it felt too clunky.”
- “My only issue with the game is that it was stuttering horribly early on and crashed, deleting all my progress since there's no autosave.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game exhibits mixed opinions on replayability; while some users find it endlessly replayable, others criticize it for lacking significant replay value due to its simplicity and short playtime, estimating a completion of around 3-4 hours.
- “Endless (very replayable)”
- “The puzzles aren't really difficult and there's not really much in the way of replay value.”
- “No replay value; not that I completed the whole game, I wanted to initiate Steam's refund, but I imagine this would take the average person about 3-4 hours to play through.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Overall, users report a high level of stability, noting that the environment is well designed with no glitches, issues, or crashes experienced during gameplay.
- “The environment is well designed; I encountered no glitches, issues, or crashes.”
- “The game runs smoothly without any interruptions, making for a seamless experience.”
- “I appreciate the stability of the game; it has been consistently reliable throughout my playtime.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by the protagonist's absurd decision to isolate himself in his spaceship as a form of self-punishment for failing to save his wife, showcasing a darkly comedic twist as he even reprograms the ship's AI to enforce this bizarre directive.
- “I find it very funny that the protagonist sealed himself off in his spaceship as punishment for failing to save his wife, going so far as to apparently reprogram what I imagine is the ship's AI to carry out this directive.”