Pollen
- April 19, 2016
- Mindfield Games
- 11h median play time
Get on Steam"Pollen" is a single-player Science Fiction Adventure game that takes place on a research base located on Saturn's moon, Titan. Players are tasked with investigating the mysterious disappearance of a team member as a reserve employee of RAMA Industries. The game is known for its intriguing story, awesome graphics, and dense atmosphere, providing an immersive and suspenseful first-person exploration experience.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a gorgeous retro-futuristic art direction that immerses players in its atmosphere.
- Exploration is rewarding, with many interactive objects and a strong sense of discovery.
- The audio design and environmental storytelling effectively enhance the overall experience.
- The game is very short, often completed in under 5 hours, which may not justify its price.
- There are significant performance issues, including stuttering and crashes, particularly in VR mode.
- The story lacks a satisfying conclusion, leaving many questions unanswered and feeling disjointed.
- story180 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The story of "Pollen" is primarily revealed through audio logs and notes scattered throughout an abandoned space station, creating an intriguing but often disjointed narrative experience. While some players appreciate the atmospheric and immersive elements, many criticize the lack of a cohesive plot and the game's short length, with some feeling that the story leaves too many questions unanswered. Overall, the game offers a unique sci-fi mystery that may appeal to exploration enthusiasts, but its execution leaves room for improvement.
“P·o·l·l·e·n blends a retro-futuristic game design with an intriguing story and immersive (sometimes a bit thriller-ish) atmosphere.”
“Throughout the game, the player needs to collect audio tapes to uncover the story of the mysterious disappearance of the crew and solve puzzles to get access to more and more modules of the research station.”
“Overall though it was an interesting experience, a well-told story, and it has an atmosphere good enough to pull you out of your room and into its world.”
“The story is equally as disjointed and it's more like you jump around the map to discover stuff about the characters with it having no bearing on the gameplay whatsoever.”
“For most of the game, there’s no plot that you are participating in - only your quest to find clues and construct a sense of what went wrong on the base.”
“I was severely disappointed in both the length of the game and the story.”
- atmosphere74 mentions
- 65 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in P·o·l·l·e·n is widely praised for its immersive and eerie qualities, effectively blending retro-futuristic design with a compelling narrative. Players appreciate the attention to detail, sound design, and the game's ability to evoke feelings of loneliness and suspense, making exploration both engaging and unsettling. However, some reviewers noted that the atmosphere can lose its impact when gameplay becomes repetitive, detracting from the overall experience.
“P·o·l·l·e·n blends a retro-futuristic game design with an intriguing story and immersive (sometimes a bit thriller-ish) atmosphere.”
“Pollen successfully creates a spooky atmosphere that can be lonely and depressing while at the same time adding a desire in the player to stay around and explore as much as possible.”
“The atmosphere is great, lighting and sound come together for an awesome ride.”
“Then you realize that literally nothing is going to happen, and all you have to do is find some keys, at which point all the suspense and atmosphere evaporate.”
“This is all about a creepy atmosphere...”
“well-built atmosphere is never capitalized upon”
- graphics56 mentions
- 64 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their detail and immersive quality, particularly in VR, showcasing a strong retro-futuristic aesthetic. However, some users report performance issues and optimization problems, with significant frame rate drops at higher resolutions despite the visuals being generally impressive. Overall, while the graphics contribute positively to the game's atmosphere, there are notable concerns regarding optimization and technical performance.
“I don’t know how they created the visuals in the ending sequence, much less made them render correctly in stereoscopic 3D with only minor flaws, but it was breathtaking!”
“Brilliantly done game, amazing graphics, unique and inventive puzzles, quirky yet interesting storyline, tons of objects to interact with, and unique gameplay mechanics, and an interesting alternate history take on the space race and Kennedy era.”
“The sound design is stellar and excellent graphics really do their job at immersing you into the game.”
“Graphically, it pushes all the right buttons, but it is somehow not very well optimized. I was getting 35fps in 3440x1440 and miraculously it stuck between 80 and 100fps when I lowered to 2560x1080 (there should not be such a huge difference).”
“For high graphics, the game is very demanding, so that should be optimized more.”
“Well, the thing is that even if I put every graphical option at the lowest value possible, it still stutters like crazy to the point where it's almost unplayable.”
- optimization34 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 41 % neutral mentions
- 35 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing smooth performance at high settings, while others report significant stuttering, low frame rates, and long loading times. Many users highlight that despite the game's immersive qualities and impressive graphics, it suffers from poor optimization, leading to frustrating performance issues even on capable systems. Overall, while the game is enjoyable, its optimization problems detract from the experience for a considerable number of players.
“It actually works fine without any technical issues on my system with good performance with max graphical settings and 200% SS.”
“Apart from minor glitches, the game runs smoothly at 60fps.”
“For high graphics, the game is very demanding, so that should be optimized more.”
“It has terrible optimization: while I play 60+ fps, it feels like 20 fps.”
“I know it is a very demanding game, but I have a pretty decent rig and yet still manage to run this game with major stuttering and unnaturally low fps.”
“But performance-wise the game is a complete mess.”
- gameplay30 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay in "Pollen" is unconventional, lacking traditional mechanics and a clear plot, which may alienate some players. While it features detailed objects and unique puzzles, the overall experience is described as short and convoluted, with a smooth control scheme but limited engagement. Despite its intriguing narrative and aesthetic, many reviewers felt the gameplay did not effectively utilize its concepts, leading to a less compelling experience.
“Gameplay is amazing and although there is no shooting or any threat at all, it kept me somehow intertwined with the plot.”
“Now, in terms of game mechanics, it felt very smooth on a keyboard and mouse.”
“Brilliantly done game, amazing graphics, unique and inventive puzzles, quirky yet interesting storyline, tons of objects to interact with, and unique gameplay mechanics, along with an interesting alternate history take on the space race and Kennedy era.”
“In fact, pollen has barely any traditional gameplay mechanics.”
“Without a traditional plot or traditional game mechanics, pollen will probably be extremely strange for many gamers.”
“Gameplay and story failed to catch my attention within an hour.”
- stability10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- -10 % neutral mentions
- 80 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while it generally runs smoothly at 60fps with only minor glitches, players have reported significant issues in VR, including crashes and movement glitches that detract from the experience. Some users experienced specific hardware conflicts, but many found the game to be mostly stable outside of these exceptions.
“The game is largely bug-free, providing a smooth experience overall.”
“I encountered no major issues, making for a stable gameplay experience.”
“The stability of the game is impressive, allowing for uninterrupted play.”
“Playing in VR, the game was too buggy to enjoy.”
“Crashes, movement glitches, falling through floors, and horrible load times outweighed the interesting exploration and engaging, if familiar, story.”
“Slightly buggy but not bad.”
- music10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its immersive quality and well-executed audio design, contributing positively to the overall experience. However, some players feel that certain musical elements, such as music tapes, lack relevance to the game's narrative and can detract from the experience, with one reviewer describing a particular segment as an annoying distraction.
“The music, the story, and everything is so immersive.”
“Good soundtrack.”
“The audio voices, music, and other sounds throughout the game are done very well.”
“The problem is that most of them don't actually give you any insight into the game's story - they're music tapes, or other useless crap.”
“Followed by 'the end.' It started as a let down that felt out of place and quickly became an annoying fifteen minutes of my life watching a bad fractal music video unfold.”
“The music, the story and everything is so immersive.”
- emotional4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game evokes strong emotional responses, with players experiencing a mix of discomfort and engagement. It features a touching story, well-developed characters, and beautiful visuals, contributing to a satisfying narrative experience despite some players feeling overwhelmed.
“In its favor, the game has gorgeous visuals, lots of detail in the world, some nice puzzles, an interesting and touching story, good character acting, and (I know not everyone agrees with me on this) a satisfying ending.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game is considered fun but lacks significant replayability, with many users noting that it feels overpriced for the limited content available. The only incentive for replaying seems to be completing achievements, which may not appeal to all players.
“It is fun but overpriced with no replay value.”
“-not really much of replay value unless you want to do all the achievements.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is primarily conveyed through audio logs and written documents, which provide intriguing insights while also delivering moments of levity that enhance the overall narrative experience.
“I was curious to learn what happened at the base, and the audio logs and written documents were intriguing and at times humorous.”
