Remnants Of Isolation

About

"Remnants of Isolation" is the Grand Prize-winning game of the 2014 Indie Game Maker contest. In a world where magic is a curse, those born with it are imprisoned in a castle in an isolated dimension. When the magical barrier dissipates, a young girl escapes and teams up with a renegade mage boy to search for the truth behind the castle, her unique magic, and a way to escape. The game features a simple yet engaging storyline and retro-style graphics.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

82%

Audience ScoreBased on 79 reviews

story22 positive mentions

grinding9 negative mentions

The game features a unique and engaging battle system that allows for strategic spell combinations, enhancing the overall combat experience.
The character-driven narrative, despite its brevity, is emotionally resonant and effectively conveys themes of companionship and isolation.
The visuals and music contribute to a captivating atmosphere, with colorful graphics and a haunting soundtrack that enhance the storytelling.

The game is quite short, typically taking only 2-4 hours to complete, which may leave players wanting more depth and content.
The story lacks depth and can feel disjointed, with limited dialogue and reliance on notes for lore, making it less immersive.
Some gameplay mechanics, such as the MP system and enemy design, can feel unbalanced or generic, detracting from the overall experience.

story
69 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
64%
4%
The story centers on two characters, Celesta and Melchior, as they navigate a magical castle, facing challenges and developing a bond amidst their quest for freedom. While the narrative is engaging and the character dynamics are sweet, many reviewers note that the plot lacks depth and clarity, often relying on minimal dialogue and scattered notes for exposition. Overall, the story is seen as simple yet intriguing, with potential for greater exploration and development.
- “The story follows two characters, Celesta and Melchior, as they attempt to escape a magical castle by defeating guardians and lighting crystals.”
- “Despite the game's short length, it manages to tell a gripping story about a mysterious, mute girl who is accidentally freed from her magical prison by a mage, and both have to find their way out from there.”
- “The relationship between the two leads is very sweet and is clearly the 'heart' of the story.”
- “While the storytelling and character development are commendable, the limited dialogue and potentially confusing plot elements leave room for improvement.”
- “The story is messy and thin, and the combat feels hollow.”
- “The story is not particularly well told, with character motivations being kind of hard to discern and some storytelling that would have been more powerful if shown instead of told.”
gameplay
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
65%
9%
The gameplay of "Remnants of Isolation" is highlighted for its unique battle mechanics, particularly the engaging spell fusion system that encourages strategic combinations and enhances emotional storytelling. While the game features standard RPG elements and a short playtime of about three hours, it successfully integrates themes of love and teamwork into its mechanics, making the experience enjoyable despite some limitations in visual quality and character options. Overall, the combat is described as fun and addictive, with a balance of simplicity and depth that keeps players engaged.
- “Remnants of Isolation is a solid RPG Maker game with an engaging narrative and unique combat mechanics.”
- “The combat mechanics using spell fusions and the character's innate abilities were very fun to play with.”
- “Excellently balanced turn-based mechanics combined with a completely fascinating setting make this a must play.”
- “Like most RPG Maker shovelware and asset flips, the game features extremely low quality copy-pasted 2D retro pixel art (or worse), looks awful, and has even worse gameplay.”
- “Gameplay is okay, but to grind monsters (which you'll never need to do since every enemy can be killed in at most 2 hits, final boss included), you have to leave the dungeon and return.”
- “- some spell combinations are clearly inferior, or take too long to set up because of the mana mechanic.”
music
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
37%
11%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its beauty and ability to enhance the atmosphere, particularly the haunting piano tracks. Some players found the soundtrack to be a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's emotional depth and overall experience. However, a few noted that the repetitive nature of the music could lead to boredom over time, detracting from the gameplay.
- “Lovely music, interesting lore, freaky monster designs, strategic combat with a really cool magic system... all in all a really neat little game.”
- “The soundtrack, piano music, is beautiful and even haunting.”
- “And the music is hauntingly beautiful, absolutely my favorite part of the game [and that's a rare thing for me].”
- “A fairly generic RPG Maker dungeon crawler using mostly base assets. I think the main characters, enemy graphics, and music are original, but for the latter, it's basically the same piano loop playing throughout the game.”
- “Another RPG Maker game, so I shouldn't expect much, but there are pretty good games on that engine. This one has low resolution, blurred graphics, almost no sounds other than the main music, and clunky movement. Most RPG Maker games tend to look and feel the same and overall fail to spark interest to keep playing.”
- “The atmosphere is fantastic and very mysterious - the music is largely responsible for that.”
graphics
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
40%
20%
The graphics in this RPG Maker game are a mix of original and generic assets, with colorful visuals and unique character designs that stand out despite the limitations of the engine. While some players appreciate the custom artwork and emotional atmosphere, others criticize the overall quality and lack of HD support typical of RPG Maker titles. Overall, the visuals are described as vibrant and engaging, contributing positively to the game's character-driven narrative.
- “The game's strengths lie in its character-driven narrative, colorful visuals, and a combo-based battle system that requires strategic planning.”
- “It helps as well that there is some beautiful custom artwork.”
- “Remnants of Isolation is a beautiful game, not only in its stunning visuals, but in its emotional atmosphere and moving narrative.”
- “A fairly generic RPG Maker dungeon crawler using mostly base assets. I think the main characters, enemy graphics, and music are original, but for the latter, it's basically the same piano loop playing throughout the game.”
- “As with all RPG Maker games, the poor quality engine displays badly in fullscreen and doesn't have full HD support or any graphics tweaking options, making this unacceptable for any dedicated modern PC gamer.”
- “Personal taste, but I find the art style... odd.”
grinding
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews on grinding in the game are mixed; while some players appreciate the lack of extensive grinding due to the game's short length and engaging mechanics, others find certain achievements and battles to feel grindy and tedious. The combat system allows for strategic play, but repetitive enemy encounters can lead to a grindy experience, especially when exploring dungeons. Overall, the game offers a balance between enjoyable gameplay and moments of grinding.
- “Which in a game of this immersivity is just a tedious chore.”
- “Battles still feel grindy, but there's at least a little more substance than mashing your strongest abilities to win.”
- “This allows for some easy grinding because you'll develop a sure-fire combo strategy to kill a particular group of enemies over and over for some quick level ups.”
character development
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
29%
43%
Character development in the game is generally praised for its storytelling and character design, particularly highlighting the memorable female lead. However, some reviews note that the limited dialogue and confusing plot elements hinder deeper character exploration, suggesting that there is still room for improvement in this area. Overall, while the character development is present and appreciated, it may not fully meet players' expectations.
- “There's definitely character development in the game.”
- “Lovely character designs and art, beautiful story.”
- “While the storytelling and character development are commendable, the limited dialogue and potentially confusing plot elements leave room for improvement.”
- “But no more character development.”
- “Combat is only a minor focus compared to the story and character development.”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
83%
50%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its emotional depth, stunning visuals, and effective world-building, creating a mysterious and immersive experience. The music significantly enhances the overall ambiance, contributing to the game's unique and captivating environment. Players who connect with the characters and atmosphere are likely to find a richer narrative experience.
- “The story and atmosphere are also very nice, making me want to know more about this dreary world.”
- “Remnants of Isolation is a beautiful game, not only in its stunning visuals, but in its emotional atmosphere and moving narrative.”
- “This game has a really beautiful and unique atmosphere, and does a great job world-building for such a short game.”
- “The atmosphere is fantastic and very mysterious - the music is largely responsible for that.”
- “The game fails to create a compelling atmosphere, leaving me feeling disconnected from the world.”
- “Despite the visuals, the atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking any real sense of immersion.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its touching music and the deep, meaningful relationship between the protagonists, which feels surprisingly impactful despite the short playtime. The stunning visuals and moving narrative further enhance the game's emotional atmosphere, making it a memorable experience.
- “The music is very touching, and the relationship between the protagonists is deep and meaningful.”
- “Remnants of Isolation is a beautiful game, not only in its stunning visuals but also in its emotional atmosphere and moving narrative.”
- “The relationship between the two main characters is heartwarming, which is surprising considering the short amount of time you spend with them.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The game offers limited replayability due to its linear structure, though the presence of three different endings and some hidden treasures encourages players to revisit it. While some users express concern about potential boredom in replaying, the desire to explore alternate outcomes remains strong.
- “The game's three various endings add some replayability, and while it is rather linear, I thought it worked well. There are a few treasure chests hidden on separate paths or guarded by monsters, which adds a bit of exploration.”
- “I'm excited to play through again, even though I initially worried that it might be boring. The potential for replayability keeps me eager to give it another shot.”
- “I'm worried playing through again may be boring as this kind of game doesn't have the most replayability potential, but I'm still eager to give it another shot.”
- “The game's three various endings add some replayability to the game, but the game is also rather linear. While I thought it worked well for this game, there were a few treasure chests that were hidden on separate paths or guarded by monsters. For the most part, there wasn't much exploration in this game.”