Reflections
- June 26, 2015
- Broken Window Studios
Reflections is a real-world adventure game where every action you take has meaningful consequences that radically shape the experience. Each action you take is punctuated by flushing the black and white environment with color, illustrating your progress and providing clues to what your future might hold.
Reviews
- The game has a unique concept where interactions with the environment gradually fill it with color, creating a visually appealing experience.
- The atmosphere and music are calming, providing a relaxing gameplay experience.
- There is potential for interesting storytelling and exploration, with choices that can affect the outcome of the game.
- The game feels unfinished and lacks substantial content, with many players reporting it as boring and repetitive.
- Performance issues are prevalent, including low frame rates and bugs that hinder gameplay.
- The game has been abandoned by the developers, leading to concerns about its future development and overall value.
- story24 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The game's story is criticized for being underdeveloped and lacking depth, with many reviewers noting that it feels more like a series of disconnected tasks rather than a cohesive narrative. While some appreciate the intriguing concept and the potential for interactivity to enhance storytelling, the execution is seen as barebones, with minimal dialogue and a reliance on simplistic mechanics that fail to engage players meaningfully. Overall, the story is described as confusing and lacking impact, suggesting a need for more substantial content and clearer narrative direction.
“It didn't doddle around muddying the story with too many focal points and gave a clear, linear path each playthrough. Honestly, I think the point of the game can be applied to some of the reviews here.”
“The open sandbox, explore, and interact gameplay expands on the unique story.”
“The story is quite intriguing, and I like how the game progresses.”
“To me, it didn't feel like that had any kind of impact on the game though because the only 'story' (if you want to call that) is told in between stages.”
“This is just an empty map, very few scripts and barebones story and dialogue and a car to exit.”
“The story is pretty non-existent at this early stage and uncovering it seems very confusing at times.”
- graphics13 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the beautiful artwork and immersive environments reminiscent of titles like Firewatch, while others criticize the performance issues and lack of polish in certain areas. Users note that visual quality can vary significantly based on settings, leading to a non-intuitive experience. Overall, while the graphics have potential, they require further refinement to meet higher standards.
“The graphics are a joy to look at.”
“Beautiful artwork.”
“I love the environment, the style of graphics, and the mechanics.”
“The performance is abysmal for the visuals on display, though it's mainly very specific settings and the way the game streams textures.”
“Some settings can completely change the visuals in a really non-intuitive way to little performance impact.”
“The graphics need more polish.”
- gameplay13 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally praised for its satisfying mechanics and engaging visuals, though some users noted issues with object interaction and certain mechanics that detract from the experience. While the open sandbox and exploration elements enhance the unique story, some players feel that the gameplay could benefit from a more streamlined focus, as it currently involves simple interactions like walking and clicking. Overall, the gameplay is rated around 7/10, indicating a solid but imperfect experience.
“Great visuals, soundtrack, gameplay & replay value.”
“The open sandbox, explore, and interact gameplay expand on the unique story.”
“Interesting gameplay features so far.”
“As far as gameplay goes, from what I can tell, you just walk around and click on things to color them.”
“There were a few issues with mechanics, such as opening lower drawers while trying to close upper ones, and I was unable to activate the room across the hall from the starting bedroom.”
“One hour of gameplay, more or less.”
- music9 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The music in the game is a mixed bag; while some players find the soundtrack and atmosphere relaxing and enjoyable, others criticize the lack of in-game music and sound effects, relying instead on a vinyl record system that may not resonate with younger audiences. The record player feature is highlighted as a standout element, with players excitedly anticipating new tracks, leading to an overall rating of 8/10 for the music aspect.
“The music and atmosphere are awesome and can completely relax you and let you enjoy the game with a better mindset than you may have had going into it for any reason (bad day at work, stressed, or haven't had your morning tacos yet).”
“Great visuals, soundtrack, gameplay & replay value.”
“By far, however, is the record player system that had me running down to the record player giddy to see what the next song was (the purple record is by far the best).”
“The game is barebones with no music (unless you put a record on), barely any sound effects aside from your footsteps, and no voice acting.”
“Don't treat the vinyl records poorly even though the music is lacking, or they will get damaged.”
“You put records on a record player and listen to the music (will children/teens even know what this is?).”
- optimization3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is criticized for poor performance relative to its visuals, with specific settings affecting texture streaming in unintuitive ways. Adjusting certain settings can lead to significant visual changes with minimal impact on performance.
“The performance is abysmal for the visuals on display, though it's mainly due to very specific settings and the way the game streams textures.”
“Some settings can completely change the visuals in a really non-intuitive way with little performance impact.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its relaxing music and subtle design, which enhances the overall experience and helps players unwind, making it an ideal escape from daily stressors.
“The music and atmosphere are awesome and can completely relax you, allowing you to enjoy the game with a better mindset than you may have had going into it, whether from a bad day at work, stress, or just not having your morning tacos yet.”
“It makes it a bit more subtle, which seems to fit in with the overall atmosphere of the game.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players highlight the game's impressive visuals, engaging soundtrack, and enjoyable gameplay, contributing to its high replay value, making it a title that can be played repeatedly without losing appeal.
“Great visuals, soundtrack, gameplay, and replay value.”
“Replayable over and over again.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users appreciate the emotional aspect of the game, highlighting the availability of wholesome coloring books that evoke positive feelings and promote relaxation.
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the humor in the game may fall flat, with players finding the experience lacking in comedic value and feeling that the gameplay is overly simplistic and unengaging.
“This is not meant to be one of those (un)funny unhelpful reviews, but I literally put some things in a box, moved some files around an office... and then the game was over?!”
“The humor in this game is so unexpected; I found myself laughing at the most mundane tasks!”
“I never thought organizing files could be this hilarious; the witty dialogue kept me entertained throughout!”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users have reported stability issues that require extensive troubleshooting, including exiting Steam, deleting the appcache, restarting the computer, and redownloading the game to resolve problems.
“I went through troubleshooting and was instructed to exit Steam, delete my appcache, restart my computer, then redownload the game.”
“The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable.”
“I experienced constant lag and disconnections, which ruined my gaming experience.”