Profundum
- January 18, 2019
- Burning Daisies
Profundum is a virtual reality adventure game set in a steampunk world, in which you are challenged to solve puzzles and discover secrets lurking in a mysterious underground complex.
Reviews
- The game features solid puzzles and an intriguing narrative, with excellent art and world design.
- The physics mechanics involving chains and gears are well-executed, adding depth to the gameplay.
- The graphics are impressive in VR, enhancing the immersive experience for players who enjoy puzzle games and steampunk themes.
- The game suffers from significant performance issues, running poorly even on high-end hardware, which detracts from the overall experience.
- There are frustrating bugs and quality of life issues, such as hands not being able to grab objects and confusing mechanics that hinder gameplay.
- The dark atmosphere makes it difficult to see and interact with objects, leading to a frustrating experience when searching for items.
- graphics8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 75 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics are generally well-received, offering good quality that can be adjusted based on the user's graphics card capabilities, ensuring a satisfactory experience for a wide range of players. However, reviewers advise managing expectations, as the visuals may not be groundbreaking.
“The graphics can be scaled based on the available graphics card, satisfying everyone.”
“The graphics are actually pretty good, but don't go in with expectations too high.”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is described as dark and immersive, enhancing the narrative and puzzle elements, but it can also hinder visibility and gameplay. While many appreciate the clever design and intriguing story, performance issues, particularly in VR, detract from the overall experience.
“Clever and atmospheric, but a warning: this runs like a turd on my 2080 Ti with all the settings scaled down.”
“A solid puzzler with great atmosphere and intriguing narrative but terrible VR performance issues later in the game.”
“The dark atmosphere makes searching for things and seeing what you are doing way harder than it should be.”
- gameplay6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The gameplay is well-polished and features engaging mechanics, particularly with chain, pipe, and gear puzzles that resonate with players familiar with real-life tasks. Overall, the gameplay elements are solid and enjoyable, making it a worthwhile experience for those interested in its mechanics.
“The gameplay elements are all present and accounted for and very well polished.”
“Enjoying it so far; if you can put a bike chain on in real life, then puzzles are not jank. I hope to see more chain, pipe, and gear mechanics in other developers' games as it's done well here.”
“If you are curious about the mechanics, it might be worth a look.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is severely lacking, with users reporting significant VR performance issues that detract from the overall experience. Despite its solid puzzling mechanics and engaging narrative, many reviewers cannot recommend the game until these performance problems are resolved.
“The performance of this game is very bad.”
“A solid puzzler with great atmosphere and intriguing narrative, but terrible VR performance issues later in the game.”
“I can't recommend it until the performance issues are addressed.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The stability of the game is criticized for significant bugs, particularly with the pipe mechanics, which exhibit erratic behavior and misalignment. Users have reported spending considerable time troubleshooting these issues, leading some to seek refunds.
“Pipes are buggy, with an 'attaching' offset as if the previous pipe is in a different position.”
“After 20 minutes of troubleshooting, I'm getting a refund for now.”
- story4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The story is generally well-received, described as intriguing and solid, which keeps players engaged and eager to continue. Additionally, it complements the game's strong puzzle design and excellent art.
“The story is intriguing; I can't wait to continue playing it tomorrow.”
“The story is pretty good; the art is excellent.”
- music2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game is noted for its dynamic quality, as it can shift to an action sequence style unexpectedly, although this can be triggered by bugs that disrupt gameplay. This inconsistency may lead to moments where the music feels out of place or disconnected from the player's actions.
“Unfortunately, I hit some weird bug where an octopus broke into the room and music started playing like I was in some kind of action sequence, but there was nothing to do in the room.”