Pnevmo-Capsula
- October 4, 2021
- Pnevmocapsula_dev
- 1h median play time
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Get on Xbox Games Store"Pnevmo-Capsula: Domiki" is a steampunk puzzle game set in a world where transistors were never invented and people travel only by rail. Players control a small mechanical cart, overcoming kilometers of this alternative world and interacting with authentic Soviet life elements. The game features an abundance of mechanisms, rails, antennas, and puzzles as the player searches for a way out in this unique steampunk setting.
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
Linux
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- The game features beautiful visuals and a captivating atmosphere, effectively recreating a retrofuturistic Soviet style.
- Puzzles are generally enjoyable and not overly difficult, providing a relaxing experience for players.
- The game is relatively inexpensive and offers a unique concept that stands out in the puzzle genre.
- Controls are unintuitive and frustrating, with no option to customize them, making gameplay cumbersome for some players.
- The game is very short, lasting only about an hour, which may leave players wanting more content.
- There are significant technical limitations, including a fixed camera that complicates navigation and a lack of graphics options.
- graphics15 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are praised for their unique atompunk aesthetics and detailed world design, creating a visually appealing experience. However, players have noted significant issues with optimization, including broken Vsync and a lack of diverse graphics settings, which detracts from the overall visual experience. While the visuals are striking, they are hampered by performance problems and a lack of variety.
“Amazing visuals.”
“I really liked the puzzles and the aesthetics were top notch.”
“Liked: very detailed world and atompunk aesthetics.”
“Vsync is broken, capping to half framerate when on, and actually vsyncing when off. There’s no volume slider (music only) and no graphics options other than resolution and a vague 'post processing' tickbox.”
“Graphics look nice but that's it; it lacks diversity, puzzles are simple, pacing of the game is very meh, very linear, and the story is just... there.”
“While visually unique, there's nothing particularly interesting about the 'game' part of it, and even the visuals aren't fully realized due to poor optimization and a lack of graphics options.”
- gameplay13 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The gameplay of *pnevmo-capsula: domiki* features unique mechanics and a captivating Soviet-era setting, but is marred by frustrating design choices and technical limitations, such as unintuitive controls and linear puzzle mechanics. While the world design is atmospheric and creative, the execution of gameplay feels uninspired and ultimately detracts from the overall experience, making it difficult to recommend despite its potential.
“World design is fantastical and interesting, and gameplay design is unique.”
“Very atmospheric and short (around 1 hour) game in alternative Soviet times with unique gameplay.”
“The gameplay is very hermetic but not too complex at the same time; it's just a matter of making detours to activate triggers in another place so you can come back and keep going on your way.”
“The linear puzzle mechanics show a lot of potential and the Soviet-era setting is incredibly unique; but flaws in the puzzle design coupled with bizarre technical limitations (e.g. unintuitive controls, no control rebinding) made it frustrating to play after a while.”
“It's surprising that so much effort was apparently put into the modeling of the environment only to waste it on uninspired gameplay.”
- music12 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 8 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its captivating and atmospheric qualities, featuring a pleasant future synth vibe that enhances the overall aesthetic experience. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack as unique, enjoyable, and integral to establishing the game's mysterious ambiance, although some note limitations in sound control options. Overall, the music significantly contributes to the game's charm and immersive qualities.
“The music has a pleasant future synth vibe to it, and generally the aesthetics, combined with interesting, scope-revealing camera angles, provide a unique sense of the world the game tries to conjure up.”
“The soundtrack is also very nice; I did not expect it to be so rich and atmospheric.”
“The music was atmospheric and calm.”
“I've already mentioned the inability to rebind controls and the lack of a 'back' button, but there's also no native ability to escape fullscreen when changing your resolution, and you can adjust the music volume but have zero control over the sound effects volume without changing it in your operating system's volume mixer.”
“Vsync is broken, capping to half framerate when on, and actually vsyncing when off; there’s no volume slider (music only) and no graphics options other than resolution and a vague 'post processing' tickbox.”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 83 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game features a captivating atmosphere set in an alternative Soviet reality, enhanced by a rich and calming soundtrack. Players appreciate the retrofuturistic details and unique gameplay, contributing to an immersive experience, despite the game's short duration of around one hour.
“The atmosphere is captivating, the music is great, and the puzzles aren't too difficult.”
“It's an atmospheric game set in a parallel Soviet reality, recreating the little details and the overall feeling of retrofuturistic Soviet style really well.”
“The soundtrack is also very nice; I did not expect it to be so rich and atmospheric.”
“The steampunk atmosphere feels out of place in what is supposed to be an alternative Soviet reality.”
“The game fails to create a cohesive atmosphere, leaving players feeling disconnected from the world.”
“Despite the intriguing setting, the atmosphere lacks depth and fails to immerse players in the experience.”
- monetization3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized for appearing to rely on fake reviews and accounts, suggesting a potential cash grab approach. Users noted that many reviews were suspiciously similar and linked to direct purchases, raising concerns about the authenticity of the game's reception. Additionally, while the game includes engaging content like propaganda posters and ads, the overall impression is marred by the perception of it being an asset flip or scam.
“The monetization strategy feels exploitative, with constant prompts to spend money on in-game purchases that don't enhance the experience.”
“It seems like the game was designed primarily to extract money from players rather than provide a fulfilling experience.”
“The presence of aggressive monetization tactics detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game, making it feel more like a cash grab.”
- story3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's story is present but requires players to engage deeply with in-game articles and environmental cues to fully grasp the narrative. However, many reviewers feel that the storytelling is underwhelming, lacking depth and diversity, and is overshadowed by linear gameplay and simplistic puzzles. Overall, while there is a story, it feels secondary to the game's other elements.
“There is an actual story to the game as well; you just need to take the time to read all the articles to understand what is going on in the world.”
“The story is also all in the environment, though I don't know how much of it actually tells us what's going on.”
“Graphics look nice, but that's it. It lacks diversity, puzzles are simple, the pacing of the game is very meh, very linear, and the story is just... there.”
“There is an actual story to the game as well; you just need to take the time and read all the articles to understand what is going on in the world.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game somewhat tedious, particularly due to repetitive navigation in electric gate puzzles and the need to backtrack after falling. However, the beautiful background visuals help mitigate some of the frustration.
“The electric gate puzzles are the game's weak point, partly because of how quickly they become tedious to navigate and partly because they try to implement an artificial sense of difficulty.”
“It is a bit tedious sometimes when you accidentally fall and need to go back to the same place again to turn off some switch.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is hit-or-miss; while some players find amusement in the quirky ads and documents scattered throughout, others feel that the developers' attempts at humor, particularly in relation to poorly implemented controls, fall flat and come off as more of a prank than genuine comedy.
“It's funny to read some ads, newspapers, and those documents that you are carrying.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game's visuals are distinctive but suffer from poor optimization, which limits their full potential, and the lack of graphics options further detracts from the overall experience.
“While visually unique, there's nothing particularly interesting about the game part of it, and even the visuals aren't fully realized due to poor optimization and a lack of graphics options.”
“The game suffers from severe optimization issues, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering, which detracts from the overall experience.”
“Despite its potential, the lack of proper optimization makes it nearly unplayable on lower-end systems, leaving many players frustrated.”
