Pulse

Pulse, if nothing else, doesn't feel finished. It feels like an alpha build that got pushed out so early it may have upset Early Access customers. While it obviously has potential (it's walked away with awards, after all), it feels largely incomplete, and like it should have been pushed through play-testing a bit further. If it gets some more depth, or, at least, if the depth it has gets fixed up and becomes more cohesive, it may live up to a lot of the hype it's generated. Until then, it's a game that exemplifies that just because an idea is good, it doesn't mean the product will be.

44%Game Brain Score

gameplay, story

atmosphere, stability

44% User Score Based on 52 reviews

Critic Score 47%Based on 3 reviews

Platforms

Buy Nowfrom $7.99

Buy NowGet on Steam$7.99

Buy NowGet on itch.io Store$14.99

About

"Pulse" is a first-person exploration game featuring a protagonist, Eva, who lost her sight and navigates the world through sound. Players uncover the truth of a collapsing world using Eva's unique ability and with help from forest spirits, all while experiencing a beautiful thematic soundtrack. The game offers a unique visual style with handcrafted environments and a transitent world to explore.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

44%

Audience ScoreBased on 52 reviews

gameplay10 positive mentions

stability3 negative mentions

Incredible visuals and art direction, with each level having a unique theme that enhances the atmosphere.
Lovely soundtrack that adds personality and charm to the game, making it enjoyable to listen to.
Interesting story concept with a mysterious setting that captivates players, despite its execution issues.

Very short gameplay length, often leaving players with many unanswered questions about the story and mechanics.
Poorly designed narrative that relies on vague dialogue and riddles, making it difficult to follow the plot.
Gameplay can be frustrating due to confusing mechanics, lack of clear direction, and issues with navigation.

gameplay
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
63%
9%
The gameplay features a unique "sight by sound" mechanic that offers an interesting experience, but it often feels underdeveloped and frustrating, particularly for players with low or no vision. While the game has visually appealing levels and a captivating atmosphere, many players found the mechanics inconsistent and lacking depth, leading to a mixed reception overall. Despite its potential, the gameplay struggles with cohesion and can feel tedious, especially during platforming segments.
- “Each level has a unique theme, both mechanically and visually, and they really nail the atmosphere of never fully knowing your surroundings, in a good way.”
- “The core mechanic makes the game gorgeous; it changes the way you perceive the game's world and move around it.”
- “The sight by sound mechanic is quite interesting and is a unique experience.”
- “A supreme basic irony of this game: for a game about a character who is blind and which attempts to use that blindness as a novelty game mechanic, it's a completely inaccessible and unplayable mess for players with low or no vision.”
- “The gameplay can be extremely frustrating.”
- “There was seemingly no real affection put into the gameplay design, the plot, or the art.”
story
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
72%
13%
The game's story is characterized by an interesting concept that ultimately leaves players confused and feeling as though they missed key elements, as it is often vague and lacks clarity. While some appreciate its mysterious and dark themes, others criticize its brevity and nonsensical aspects, leading to mixed feelings about its overall coherence and engagement. Despite its shortcomings, the narrative has moments of intrigue and is presented with a unique aesthetic, though it may not resonate with all players.
- “The story is mysterious, though not completely unexplained.”
- “The story revolves around helping the guide, simply by following its path and finding our way out of the hell of each level, and listening to the guide explain its dreams and memories as we try to piece together what happened.”
- “I really love the concept and the story, and the use of color and sound is so great.”
- “They try to have a deep story, but when you really think about it, the story makes no sense.”
- “There's a crow that gives you vague sentences all throughout the game, and it ends up with a quick written epilogue that makes you feel like you've missed half the story.”
- “The story was a bit confusing; I dare say it's almost intentional that the story doesn't even make sense until it's over.”
graphics
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
42%
16%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their incredible visuals and unique art direction, featuring psychedelic elements and a vibrant aesthetic that some liken to a colorful, pulsating landscape. While many appreciate the beauty and creativity of the visuals, a few critiques mention that the graphics can feel simplistic or overwhelming at times. Overall, the visuals are considered a standout feature, enhancing the gameplay experience despite some technical limitations.
- “Incredible visuals and art direction.”
- “The art style is beautiful!”
- “The visuals work really well with the mechanic as well.”
- “I tried changing the graphics settings from glorious all the way down to good, but the FPS didn’t change one bit.”
- “There was just the one graphic option aside from resolution.”
- “There are people here praising the visuals, but aside from the idea that theoretically a world built around pulsations of movement could be interesting, it just looks like LSD vomited the 70s all over the screen.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
25%
13%
The music in the game is consistently praised for its lovely and calming soundtrack, with many players enjoying its quality and chill vibe. While the soundtrack enhances the overall experience, some users noted that the rest of the game may not be as well-executed.
- “I enjoyed the echolocation aspect of the game, as well as the changing colors and the soundtrack.”
- “This game gets a gold star, great soundtrack, too!”
- “I have downloaded the soundtrack and like it, it's very chill.”
- “The music itself is very well done and calming, but the rest of the game is a mess.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its unique thematic levels that blend mechanical and visual elements, creating an immersive experience where players often feel disoriented yet captivated. Reviewers highlight the beauty of the game and its ability to evoke feelings of helplessness, enhancing the overall emotional impact.
- “Each level has a unique theme, both mechanically and visually, and they really nail the atmosphere of never fully knowing your surroundings, in a good way.”
- “This game is beautiful and very atmospheric.”
- “The game's atmosphere does a really good job of making you feel helpless at times.”
- “The atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking any real sense of immersion.”
- “Despite the potential for a rich environment, the game fails to create a compelling atmosphere that draws you in.”
- “The world feels lifeless and disconnected, making it hard to engage with the game's setting.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is frequently criticized, with players reporting significant bugs that hinder exploration and gameplay, leading to frustrating experiences such as getting stuck or encountering erratic AI behavior. These issues, combined with a short playtime and lackluster story, contribute to an overall negative perception of the game's stability.
- “What annoyed me the most was that it would seem like you could go somewhere (like a huge forest on the side of the road), but if you tried, it would get all buggy (which made me feel even more sick) and I would get kinda stuck and had to jump and run sightless until I either found my way back to the working map or was killed by the game for going too astray.”
- “The ice level is one to rage out... it's difficult and buggy but possible to beat.”
- “I chose to give it a thumbs-down in the end due to (1) its extremely short length (less than 30 minutes), (2) its weak and confusing story, (3) its poor handling of enemies (the beasts were better utilized in the Kickstarter demo than in the full game), and (4) the buggy AI pathing for the (very cute) mokos.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspects of the game, particularly the achievements involving drowning and throwing mokos, to be tedious and time-consuming, often taking longer than completing the main game itself. This has led to frustration among users who are eager to achieve 100% completion.
- “There are two grindy achievements: 'Drown 50 Mokos' (the hamsters) and 'Throw 1000 Mokos'... this is going to take some time. It's just sad to think it will take you more time to finish this than to finish the game.”
- “Grinding is very tedious, and if anyone knows how many exactly are in each level, hit me up because I'd love to 100% this gem.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express frustration with the emotional impact of feeling trapped and disoriented in the game due to buggy mechanics, which detracts from their overall experience and can lead to feelings of sickness and annoyance.
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers criticize the game's optimization, noting that its performance issues are not justified by its visual quality, suggesting a disconnect between graphical fidelity and technical execution.
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
While the game is visually impressive and well-crafted, many users feel that it lacks sufficient replay value and content to justify its price.
- “The game is very well made and absolutely stunning to look at, but there just isn't enough replay value or content for me to see that price being justifiable.”