Pneumata

About

"Pneumata" is a psychological horror game that challenges players to uncover the truth behind mysterious disappearances in an apartment building while dealing with cosmic horror that blurs the line between reality and alternate worlds. As a detective, you must scavenge for weapons, supplies, and evidence to solve gruesome murders, all while evading the diverse AI-controlled enemies lurking in the shadows. The game's immersive environment and chilling atmosphere will leave even seasoned horror players questioning their sanity.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

52%

Audience ScoreBased on 57 reviews

atmosphere11 positive mentions

gameplay8 negative mentions

Strong atmosphere and engaging visuals that evoke a classic survival horror feel.
Effective sound design that enhances tension and unease throughout the gameplay.
The game offers moments of intrigue and a compelling story that keeps players invested.

Frustrating navigation due to poorly lit and repetitive environments, compounded by the lack of a map.
Combat mechanics and enemy AI are underdeveloped, leading to janky encounters and immersion-breaking moments.
The story suffers from vagueness and a lackluster conclusion, leaving players unsatisfied.

gameplay
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
74%
19%
The gameplay in "Pneumata" focuses on exploration within eerie, abandoned environments, but players report significant issues with navigation and combat mechanics. While the shooting is responsive, it lacks the impact found in other survival horror titles, and many players found themselves spending excessive time figuring out objectives due to minimal guidance. Additionally, bugs and glitches detract from the experience, leading to a generally frustrating gameplay experience despite the game's impressive graphics.
- “In Pneumata, the primary gameplay loop revolves around exploration, with a heavy emphasis on navigating eerie, abandoned environments.”
- “Got glitched stuck my first playthrough and had to reset, but overall a hell of an amazing horror game experience with a lot of action, insanely nice graphics, and super fun gameplay.”
- “I played this game for around 7 hours, and I think about half of my gameplay was about figuring out where to go and what to do.”
- “While the shooting mechanics are straightforward and responsive enough, they lack the satisfying weight and impact seen in other survival horror games like Resident Evil or Dead Space.”
- “I played this game for around 7 hours, and I think about half of my gameplay was spent figuring out where to go and what to do.”
- “Combat is extremely janky and clunky; the dodge mechanic doesn't work properly, the game looks nice, but it feels like it's running at 480p the whole time, and it's pretty short.”
atmosphere
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
44%
12%
The atmosphere in Pneumata is widely praised for its moody and oppressive visuals that effectively evoke a classic survival horror feel, creating a tense and engaging experience. However, some reviews note that the execution is flawed, with overly dark environments that can detract from the overall experience. Despite these issues, the game's ability to craft an eerie atmosphere and maintain a sense of fear keeps players invested.
- “The game’s strength lies in how it crafts a tense atmosphere, where the fear of the unknown drives you forward.”
- “Visually, pneumata manages to create a moody and oppressive atmosphere, which is crucial for a horror game.”
- “Pneumata brings some interesting ideas to the table, with its moody atmosphere and tense exploration capturing the essence of survival horror.”
- “Effective in building atmosphere, but flawed in execution.”
- “It nails the eerie atmosphere but needs balance.”
- “Visually, Pneumata manages to create a moody and oppressive atmosphere, which is crucial for a horror game.”
graphics
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
71%
13%
The graphics of the game are noted for their atmospheric visuals and creepy enemy designs that pay homage to classic survival horror, but many players find them hindered by overly dark environments that obscure details. While some praise the graphics as "insanely nice," others criticize the overall quality as mediocre, with poor texture resolution in various objects. Overall, the visuals receive mixed reviews, with some players seeking to adjust settings for improved performance.
- “Got glitched stuck my first playthrough and had to reset, but overall a hell of an amazing horror game experience with a lot of action, insanely nice graphics, and super fun gameplay.”
- “The graphics and visuals were okay, nothing extraordinary or next-gen, but the problem was that most areas were too dark to notice any details. There were many objects with very poor quality textures in the game, like keypads and other surfaces.”
- “Atmospheric visuals, though often hampered by overly dark environments.”
- “The design of the enemies is creepy and unsettling, with a definite nod to classic survival horror aesthetics.”
story
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
54%
33%
The story captivates players early on with its methodical pacing and moments of environmental storytelling, but it ultimately suffers from vagueness and a lackluster conclusion that leaves many questions unanswered. While some find the narrative intriguing, others criticize it for being poorly executed and lacking direction, leading to mixed feelings about the overall immersion and coherence of the plot. Despite these flaws, the atmospheric elements may still encourage players to see the story through to the end.
- “The story grips you early on, but suffers from a slow burn that may lose less patient players.”
- “On the positive side, the pacing of exploration is methodical, with moments of silence interspersed with sudden scares and environmental storytelling.”
- “The good news is that despite these shortcomings, the excellent atmosphere and compelling story were reason enough to see this game all the way to its dramatic conclusion.”
- “The story is too vague, with a lackluster conclusion that leaves much to be desired.”
- “One of the reasons I kept playing this game was to get a proper answer to the story at the end, which I did get nothing, I mean nothing at all.”
- “This game has barely a story, with it having barely any direction.”
optimization
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
64%
21%
The game's optimization is considered decent but not exceptional, with some users experiencing performance drops in high-intensity scenes, particularly on higher settings. While it runs well on capable hardware, it is deemed somewhat demanding, suggesting that further patches and optimizations could enhance the overall experience. Overall, players feel that with adjustments, the game can still provide a satisfactory performance.
- “Performance-wise, the game was good; I was getting 75fps at 1440p and high settings with a 3090, but at epic settings, it went down to 60.”
- “On a technical level, it’s decent but not groundbreaking, with performance issues in certain high-intensity scenes.”
- “The game is a bit hardware demanding in my opinion and can use some optimizations.”
- “I'm going to try to tinker with my settings to get better visuals and performance.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game has been criticized for its limited replayability, with many users noting a lack of incentives to revisit it. Overall, it has received low ratings, indicating that players do not find value in replaying the experience.
- “Limited replay value with no real incentives for revisiting the game.”
- “There is no replayability value in this game.”
- “Replayability (1/5): There is no replayability value in this game.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music and sound design received poor reviews, with users noting inconsistent volume levels that made the experience frustrating. The overall soundtrack was rated low, averaging around 4 out of 10.
- “Sound and music was not great; there were moments when the music and effects were too loud and sometimes too quiet.”
- “Music/soundtrack: 4/10”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has received overwhelmingly negative feedback regarding its stability, with users describing it as buggy, inconsistent, and convoluted. Despite some praise for the gameplay, the frequent technical issues significantly detract from the overall experience.
- “This game is a buggy, inconsistent, convoluted mess.”
- “What a boring, buggy piece of trash this game is.”
- “Gameplay is good, but very buggy.”