Quern - Undying Thoughts | Game Brain

About

"Quern: Undying Thoughts" is a first-person puzzle adventure game with a captivating story and beautiful graphics. It offers flexible gameplay and reuseable puzzle mechanics, allowing players to wander and experiment freely among tasks. The unique mood of the game is created by a combination of traditional and modern visuals and music. The final solution to puzzles may be found by reconsidering seemingly irrational results gained during the game.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

91%

Audience ScoreBased on 4,784 reviews

story872 positive mentions

optimization40 negative mentions

Quern features a beautifully crafted world with stunning graphics and an immersive atmosphere, reminiscent of classic games like Myst.
The puzzles are well-designed, challenging, and logical, providing a satisfying experience for players who enjoy problem-solving.
The game includes helpful features like an in-game notebook for taking notes and highlighting interactable objects, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.

Some puzzles can be overly complex or tedious, requiring excessive backtracking and trial-and-error, which may frustrate players.
The story is relatively weak and lacks depth, with much of the narrative delivered through letters rather than immersive storytelling.
Performance issues, such as frame rate drops and occasional bugs, can detract from the overall experience, especially on certain hardware.

story
1,982 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
52%
4%
The story in "Quern" is generally described as intriguing but often criticized for being thin and predictable, with many players noting that it serves primarily as a backdrop to the puzzles rather than a driving force. While some appreciate the gradual unfolding of the narrative through letters and environmental storytelling, others find it lacking depth and coherence, particularly in the ending. Overall, the game is recommended for its engaging puzzles and beautiful visuals, but expectations for a compelling story should be tempered.
- “A beautiful and intriguing game for lovers of puzzle-story rich games such as Myst, The House of Da Vinci, and The Room.”
- “The story came together seamlessly as I discovered more & more.”
- “The story is interesting enough and easy to follow.”
- “The story is not fleshed out properly; it begins with almost nothing at all, and the few letters here and there give you only glimpses into the past of the professor, with a slight hint to a reward that awaits at the end of these trials.”
- “The story feels bare bone and rather shallow.”
- “The storyline is shallow and predictable, conveyed through plain uninteresting letters with some voiceover, the puzzles themselves don't even pretend to fit organically into the world.”
graphics
1,096 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
39%
2%
The graphics in "Quern" have received widespread praise for their beauty and detail, with many reviewers highlighting the stunning visuals and immersive atmosphere that enhance the gameplay experience. However, some players noted performance issues, particularly on lower-end systems, and criticized the color palette for being overly muted. Overall, the game is recognized for its high-quality graphics, though optimization remains a concern for some users.
- “From the moment you step foot on the mysterious island, you are captivated by the stunning visuals and immersive soundscapes that transport you to a realm unlike any other.”
- “The graphics are stunning and the accompanying soundtrack adds to the overall experience.”
- “The graphics, the puzzles, the mythology - all top notch.”
- “Repetitive yet pretty plastic entry-level graphics - simply rubbish.”
- “My only complaint is that the graphics were a little jittery in some scenes on my middle-to-high-end 2020 laptop; this was surprising to me, given that Quern was developed in 2016.”
- “The native Linux port has terrible framerate issues even on the lowest graphics settings.”
music
810 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
61%
35%
4%
The music in "Quern" has received a mixed reception, with many players praising its atmospheric and immersive qualities that enhance the game's exploration and puzzle-solving experience. While some find the soundtrack beautiful and soothing, others note that it can become repetitive and distracting, particularly during extended gameplay in specific areas. Overall, the music is generally regarded as a strong aspect of the game, contributing positively to its ambiance, though some players wished for more variety and depth.
- “The music is beautifully done, so much so that I frequently use it as background music for relaxing or during work.”
- “The music was a notable high point, blending medieval soundscapes with lush, natural instrumentation evoking wonder, joy, and mystery.”
- “The music enhances the immersion, and the gentle fades in and out when moving from one environment to another is perfectly done.”
- “There isn't enough variation to keep things interesting, and it's better to have your own music or something on instead.”
- “I found most of the soundtrack both short and repetitive.”
- “The music is so annoying and repetitive I had to turn it off.”
gameplay
604 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
68%
3%
The gameplay in "Quern" is characterized by its intuitive movement mechanics and a variety of engaging puzzles that often require logical thinking and note-taking. While many players appreciate the game's homage to classic puzzle titles like "Myst," some find certain mechanics underutilized or repetitive, leading to moments of confusion or frustration. Overall, the game offers a smooth experience with a good balance of challenge and exploration, making it a solid choice for puzzle enthusiasts.
- “The gameplay is linear yet layered: you'll think you're done with an area then bam there's more to it.”
- “Great puzzles, challenging without being overly obscure and varied while still having some overlap in mechanics.”
- “Quern is an extremely well balanced puzzle game that has just the right blend of story, gameplay, and of course, puzzles.”
- “Most of the puzzle mechanics seem underutilized.”
- “Some of the puzzles were a bit tedious to solve after understanding their mechanics.”
- “There were a few puzzles with clunky or repetitive (tedious) mechanics, or obscure solutions that weren't telegraphed at all, or weren't particularly easy to intuit.”
atmosphere
452 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
74%
25%
1%
The atmosphere in "Quern - Undying Thoughts" is widely praised for its immersive and captivating qualities, drawing strong comparisons to classic games like Myst. Reviewers highlight the game's stunning visuals, engaging sound design, and a soundtrack that complements the mysterious and tranquil environment, creating a sense of awe and exploration. While some note minor issues with repetitiveness or overexposure in certain areas, the overall consensus is that the atmosphere significantly enhances the puzzle-solving experience, making it a standout feature of the game.
- “The atmosphere is immersive, the visuals/architecture are gorgeous, music is beautiful (and available on Spotify), and there is even a great background story!”
- “The entire game is steeped in atmosphere and immersive visuals that, along with the great soundtrack, makes it feel like a homage to everything Cyan has done with Myst over the years.”
- “Quern is a gem of a game - an atmospheric first-person puzzler with visuals, music, story and difficult puzzles on par with games like Myst, Portal and The Talos Principle.”
- “The only thing that bothered me was the beginning; the color of the atmosphere was so overexposed that I felt I could have done with a pair of sunglasses on to play the game.”
- “This significantly weakened the atmosphere of the game by making it mostly silent and bland.”
- “Dull monochromatic atmosphere, little storyline to captivate interest.”
optimization
174 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
60%
23%
The game's optimization has received widespread criticism, with many players reporting significant performance issues such as stuttering, frame drops, and long loading times, even on high-end hardware. While the visuals are praised for their quality, the heavy demands on system resources, particularly from shadows and reflections, detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game's optimization is considered poor, making it difficult for many players to enjoy it fully.
- “Good puzzles and good graphics, although quite unoptimized.”
- “Visuals are nice but performance is lacking for what you get; reflections and shadows cost far too much in FPS for what you get.”
- “The graphics look nice, but I feel the performance could be improved a bit.”
- “The game is so poorly optimized it's almost unplayable.”
- “Oh yeah, I gotta tell you one very important thing -- this game is unoptimized to heck!”
- “Quern's unreasonably taxing on any hardware is due to how the devs built the game like 2-ton weights dropped on your GPU and RAM, and if your PC can handle the strain, the devs consider it 'optimized', which is far from it.”
grinding
166 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
98%
The reviews indicate that while the game features a variety of puzzles, many players find a significant portion of them to be tedious, particularly those requiring backtracking or repetitive actions. Some puzzles are described as frustratingly convoluted or overly simplistic, leading to a sense of grinding rather than enjoyment. Overall, the experience can be rewarding for fans of puzzle games, especially those who appreciate the Myst-like style, but players should be prepared for moments of tedium and potential reliance on walkthroughs.
- “I had to get out the pen and paper often; for small additions, it was challenging but not tedious.”
- “This might sound like needless backtracking, but it's woven neatly into the story, so it feels immersive, not tedious.”
- “The problem is that the puzzles get tedious.”
- “There is quite a lot of tedious backtracking and a lot of missing context for where the player is expected to go next.”
- “Many puzzles have obvious solutions that are extremely tedious to input.”
stability
52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
3%
85%
The game's stability has received mixed feedback, with many players reporting minor glitches and bugs, particularly related to graphics and UI, but most issues are not game-breaking and can often be resolved with a quick reload or restart. While some users experienced significant problems, such as freezing during loading, others found the game to run smoothly, especially on certain platforms like Linux. Overall, the game is generally playable, though it still exhibits a range of bugs that may affect the experience.
- “A must have for the fans of Myst and Rhem... big up to the developers, no glitches or bugs throughout the whole game, despite not even matching the minimum requirements on my graphic card.”
- “Note: I've played this on Linux, runs great, no issues whatsoever.”
- “The game looks and runs great.”
- “The game is still buggy long after release.”
- “While I appreciate the game having launch-day Mac support, it was buggy to the point that it would not load (the discussion board has at least two other reports of the same issue with no given solution).”
- “It's buggy, the UI is bad, the writing is bland, and the puzzles are mediocre.”
emotional
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its touching story and immersive world, which resonate deeply with players, evoking feelings of nostalgia and investment. While some players felt emotionally detached at critical moments, many found the narrative compelling enough to elicit strong reactions, including tears at the conclusion. Overall, the game is praised for its ability to create an emotional experience without relying on traditional storytelling methods, making it a heartfelt homage to the Myst series.
- “Absolutely fantastic, beautiful and touching game which can totally hold up with the Myst series!”
- “The world is beautiful, the gameplay elegant, the hint system seamless and the story - oh the story <3 I cried my eyes out when I finished this game.”
- “Usually puzzle games don't have great stories but Quern really has an emotional story without using annoying cutscenes and without telling much about it: it's just the game as it is, it has an immersive soundtrack and when you beat the game it leaves you with a great moral question.”
replayability
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
72%
19%
The game's replayability is generally considered low, with many reviewers noting that once players have completed the puzzles and experienced the story, there is little incentive to replay. Despite having multiple endings, the overall consensus is that the game lacks significant replay value, making it more suitable for a discounted purchase rather than full price.
- “I guess that it has good replay value after a period of time.”
- “There's not a lot of replayability, but that's to be expected from a puzzle game.”
- “As with the nature of puzzle games though, they lack replay value because once you know how to do the puzzles, there’s not much reason to play it again.”
- “Replay value: virtually none.”
- “Despite multiple endings, there's not much replayability for the game.”
- “As with the nature of puzzle games, they lack replay value because once you know how to do the puzzles, there’s not much reason to play it again.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The humor in the game is described as hit-or-miss, with some players finding amusement in the absurdity of specific puzzles, like the "Forge ladder puzzle," which requires using a particular item despite other viable options. However, others feel that the humor falls flat, particularly when it stems from frustrating design choices rather than genuine comedic moments. Overall, the humor seems to evoke mixed reactions, blending moments of laughter with instances of confusion or annoyance.
- “The Forge ladder puzzle made me laugh, as I 'technically' could have used any of the iron bars tying around to do the same thing, but had to use the 'specific brand' of ladder.”
- “The funny thing is, I started and then stopped for a few days, thinking I wasn't going to enjoy it.”
- “Funny thing is, I've been in game development for years, and I've never worked on a game that had a wrong indicator like that.”
- “Not funny at all!”
- “Not funny at all!”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game features a monetization model that does not include any micro-transactions or in-game purchases, providing a straightforward experience without additional costs.
- “Worth noting - no micro-transactions or other in-game purchases.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features minimal character development and backstory, leading to lower ratings in this aspect. However, players appreciate the immersive environment and the opportunity for introspection, which enhances the overall experience despite the lack of character depth.
- “There are very few characters with very little character development or backstory, so I can't give a very high rating here.”
- “The lack of character development and backstory significantly impacts my overall enjoyment of the game.”

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14h Median play time

14h Average play time

10-20h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 54 analyzed playthroughs

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