Reaching for Petals
- September 4, 2017
- Blue Entropy Studios
- 6h median play time
A beautiful mystery, with gorgeous visuals and a sublimely moving soundtrack.
Get on Steam"Reaching for Petals" is a poetic adventure game that explores themes of love, loss, and ambition in a desolate world. Players uncover the meaning of their travels by revisiting past memories, with dynamic music and breathtaking visuals bringing the story to life. The game features large, interactive environments and philosophical narration. A free VR edition and official soundtrack are available as additional content.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features stunning graphics and beautiful scenery that enhance the overall experience.
- The narration is well-delivered and emotionally impactful, contributing to a moving story about love and loss.
- It's a relaxing walking simulator that provides a calming experience, making it ideal for unwinding.
- The gameplay is extremely slow-paced, which may frustrate players looking for more action or interactivity.
- The story can feel vague and overly poetic, making it difficult for some players to connect with the narrative.
- The game is very short, lasting about an hour, which may not justify its price for some players.
- story84 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The game's story is a poignant exploration of love, loss, and life, delivered through beautiful narration and stunning visuals, creating an immersive experience. While many players appreciate the emotional depth and artistic presentation, some criticize the writing as clichéd or overly abstract, leading to mixed feelings about its engagement and pacing. Overall, it offers a short yet impactful narrative that resonates with those who enjoy reflective and atmospheric storytelling.
“This game has everything you are looking for in a walking simulator story: deep meaning, voice acting, art style, and music. This is astonishing!”
“The narration is gorgeous, and the story is moving.”
“A tear-jerking story about love, loss, and life itself.”
“The bad: whilst technically good, the writing is incredibly boring and tedious, and the story is as cliché as it gets.”
“The narration portions seem completely irrelevant to the story, and are fairly poorly written.”
“The writing may have been poetic and philosophical and I enjoyed the narration, but it didn't tie the story together or make me care about the world or the characters in it.”
- graphics58 mentions
- 62 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are generally praised for their beauty and atmospheric quality, with many players noting stunning visuals that enhance the storytelling experience. However, there are mixed opinions regarding optimization, with some users experiencing performance issues and texture pop-in, which detracts from the overall visual experience. While the graphics are not universally considered top-tier, they are often described as captivating and well-suited for a walking simulator, making the game visually appealing for those seeking an aesthetic experience.
“The graphics are beautiful (I took some screenshots and uploaded them to Steam).”
“This game blew all my expectations out the door, the visuals are beautiful, the narration was amazing, and the music was exquisite.”
“For those that enjoy a peaceful experience with fantastic visuals, a beautiful, emotional story told through amazing philosophical narration and accompanied by a wonderfully haunting soundtrack, this is a highly recommended playthrough.”
“The graphics are nothing special, objects phasing in on proximity, and it does reuse assets a lot, but it tries to make the most of what it does use.”
“The game is yet another walking sim made by a developer that doesn't know how to optimize their game so that it's a slog on lower-end systems, even if those systems can run relatively new AAA games with much better graphics.”
“The graphics were very hit and miss; the ending and cave area looked good, but the rest of the game was average. I feel 'walking simulators' are usually known for high-quality graphics.”
- music50 mentions
- 52 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its emotional depth and ability to enhance the overall experience, with many reviewers noting its beautiful composition and fitting integration with the narrative and visuals. However, some players experienced issues with the music's volume overshadowing the narration and occasional lapses into silence, which detracted from the immersion. Overall, while the soundtrack is considered a highlight, its execution could benefit from improvements in balance and consistency.
“This game has everything you are looking for in a walking simulator: deep meaning, voice acting, art style, and music. This is astonishing!”
“The music slowly sways and edges until gradually building up with the final chapter to give the player a real enjoyable listen.”
“For those that enjoy a peaceful experience with fantastic visuals, a beautiful, emotional story told through amazing philosophical narration and accompanied by a wonderfully haunting soundtrack, this is a highly recommended playthrough.”
“Non-existent soundtrack and graphics that have nothing exceptional, indeed .. maybe with VR it's another thing but I don't feel like recommending this game.”
“However, even those were implemented poorly and there were multiple moments where the music drowned out the narrator and I could not make out what he was saying.”
“I don't think the music went on for long enough or didn't loop as you would get halfway through a level and the music would finish and it would just be silence for the rest.”
- gameplay20 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The gameplay has been widely criticized for its lack of interactivity and depth, with many reviewers describing it as a walking simulator that offers minimal player engagement and repetitive environments. Issues such as high sensitivity controls, awkward movement mechanics, and a lack of meaningful choices detract from the experience, leading to a general consensus that the gameplay is bland and unsatisfying. Overall, players feel that the game fails to deliver a compelling interactive experience, often feeling more like an art piece than a traditional game.
“With a little better tweaked controls, fast-paced gameplay, and without parts where we can pick between choices, this could have been a slightly better walking sim.”
“At the heart of this debate are 'walking simulators,' a somewhat recent genre of game that has players walk around different areas and interact with objects without any real win/loss conditions or traditional gameplay elements.”
“So far, the gameplay is bland and okay.”
“I loved the narration and the scenery, but in terms of actual gameplay, it is lackluster.”
“The gameplay is virtually non-existent - I would not mistake this for an 'adventure' game.”
“The gameplay is a bit of a chore; you walk extremely slowly through the levels where 90% of the level looks the same.”
- emotional14 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is widely regarded as an emotionally immersive experience, with many players expressing that it evoked strong feelings, including tears, particularly due to its poignant ending. While the narrative is simple and poetic, it may not resonate with everyone, as it requires a certain level of emotional investment and patience. Overall, it is praised for its beautiful visuals, haunting soundtrack, and heartfelt storytelling, making it a highly recommended choice for those seeking a touching and reflective gaming experience.
“This game made me cry with its ending, I am not going to lie.”
“This short but heartfelt story truly captures what enduring love and loss represent.”
“For those that enjoy a peaceful experience with fantastic visuals, a beautiful, emotional story told through amazing philosophical narration and accompanied by a wonderfully haunting soundtrack, this is a highly recommended playthrough.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its beautiful graphics and immersive storytelling, creating a relaxing and introspective experience. Players appreciate the detailed and lively environments, complemented by poetic narration and a romantic plot, which together evoke a chilling yet serene ambiance reminiscent of a Bob Ross painting. Overall, it is described as a short but impactful walking simulator that invites deep reflection.
“The graphics are great, and the story with the narration will give you a 2-hour relaxing and atmospheric experience.”
“A short, beautiful experience/interactive story/walking sim with atmospheric, detailed, and alive surroundings, great narration, a romantic plot with an unexpected ending, and poetic language.”
“An atmospheric game with beautiful graphics and a chilling but somber narrative that helps you walk around a scenery that Bob Ross would be proud of.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
While the game offers an enjoyable overall experience, users have criticized its optimization, noting that performance issues are particularly pronounced given the mediocre graphics. Many feel that the game's technical performance does not align with its visual quality, leading to disappointment.
“Amazing game! I don't normally write reviews for games, but this was one of the better games I've played in terms of overall performance for how it's supposed to be played.”
“The optimization is impressive; the game runs smoothly even on lower-end hardware, which is a huge plus.”
“Graphics are mediocre and optimization is really bad.”
“If the graphics were insane, I could see it drop, but it doesn't look nearly as good to have such bad performance.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and uninspired, with repetitive tasks that detract from the overall experience. The writing and story elements contribute to a sense of monotony, making the grind feel even more laborious.
“The grinding feels endless and repetitive, making it hard to stay engaged with the game.”
“I found myself doing the same tasks over and over again, which quickly became a chore rather than fun.”
“The amount of grinding required to progress is overwhelming and detracts from the overall experience.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game "Reaching for Petals" is criticized for its lack of stability, with users reporting numerous bugs that detract from the experience, making it feel bland and short.
“Reaching for petals is an extremely bland, short, and buggy walking simulator.”
“The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable.”
“I experienced constant frame drops and glitches that ruined the immersion.”
