RiME

88%
Game Brain Score Based on 2,225 reviews
  • story
  • music
  • graphics
RiME Game Cover
RiME is the rare game that balances its spectacle and whimsy with a dose of quiet humanity.
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RiME is a single-player puzzle adventure game set on a beautiful, rugged island. As a young boy, you'll explore ancient ruins, solve puzzles using light, sound, and perspective, and interact with wildlife. Uncover the island's secrets and the boy's backstory by discovering hidden items and collectibles, all set against a Mediterranean-inspired backdrop.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

88%
Audience ScoreBased on 2,225 reviews
story532 positive mentions
optimization88 negative mentions
  • Incredible visuals and art style that create a captivating atmosphere.
  • Emotional storytelling that resonates deeply, especially towards the end.
  • Beautiful soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
  • Gameplay can feel slow and tedious, with some frustrating controls.
  • Puzzles are often too easy and lack challenge, leading to a sense of boredom.
  • Poor optimization on PC, resulting in frame drops and performance issues.
  • story1,511 mentions

    The story of *Rime* is a poignant exploration of grief and loss, conveyed through stunning visuals and environmental storytelling rather than dialogue. Players uncover the narrative gradually, piecing together its emotional depth through collectibles and subtle hints, culminating in a powerful and often heartbreaking conclusion. While some find the story's abstract nature and pacing challenging, many appreciate its artistic approach and the emotional resonance it evokes by the end.

    • “Rime is a beautifully crafted world, incredible soundtrack, and a story (told with visuals only) that will put your heart into a chokehold.”
    • “The story is touching, well told even if there's no dialogue at all.”
    • “The story will take you on an emotional roller coaster without using any dialogue and will be one to remember.”
    • “If you have any doubt, go and play, you'll have a lot of keys to find and a lot of plot holes to fill.”
    • “For the most part, Rime's story is hardly present, with brief glimpses of something more happening behind the curtain.”
    • “The story, when it's revealed later on, is a bit muddled and the game never really turns into something special, but it is well worth a playthrough.”
  • music774 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty and emotional depth, enhancing the overall atmosphere and storytelling. Many reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature, describing it as soothing, melancholic, and reminiscent of works by renowned composers like Joe Hisaishi. While some note that the music can feel repetitive over longer play sessions, the majority agree that it significantly contributes to the game's immersive experience and emotional impact.

    • “From the art design to the immersive sound and breathtaking music, this little game is absolutely beautiful!”
    • “The music is soothing yet melancholy, adding to its isolated atmosphere.”
    • “Rime is a beautifully crafted world, incredible soundtrack, and a story that will put your heart into a chokehold.”
    • “The soundtrack for Rime is incessantly performing in the background in a way that felt like the game feared allowing the player to soak in the atmosphere without constant musical mood setting.”
    • “Some parts of the game have background music that is extremely quiet and is drowned out by the ambience and sound effects, leading to parts of the game feeling very empty and unfinished.”
    • “The music is nothing to brag about.”
  • graphics756 mentions

    The graphics of the game have been widely praised for their stunning, artistic quality, often compared to titles like "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker" and "Journey." Players appreciate the vibrant colors, charming art style, and immersive environments, which contribute significantly to the overall atmosphere and emotional impact of the game. However, some users have reported performance issues, including frame rate drops and optimization problems, which can detract from the visual experience.

    • “This game is a masterpiece, so emotional and amazing visuals.”
    • “The graphics are incredible, the music is even better (somehow).”
    • “The visuals are breathtaking, the mood is captivating.”
    • “Not sure what the issue is but I am running this on a brand new (2021) top spec PC and the graphics are just making it unplayable.”
    • “Even with the graphics turned down as low as possible, I had repeated framerate drops that completely broke any immersion I had in the game.”
    • “The only remarkable thing about this game is its visuals; everything else is very mediocre.”
  • gameplay511 mentions

    The gameplay in *Rime* is characterized by its simplicity, primarily involving exploration, platforming, and straightforward puzzles that often lack depth and challenge. While some players appreciate the meditative and atmospheric experience, many criticize the repetitive mechanics and the disconnect between gameplay and narrative, leading to a sense of boredom as the game progresses. Overall, the game is more focused on its artistic presentation and emotional storytelling than on delivering engaging gameplay.

    • “Highly recommend this touching story and meditative gameplay.”
    • “I loved that the puzzle mechanics felt like they were outside the box and unique.”
    • “The gameplay is nice, rewardingly challenging at times without being frustrating.”
    • “Gameplay is very repetitive and not in a fun or challenging way, to the point I stopped looking for secrets and just went for the story in hope it would improve after some levels (didn't happen).”
    • “The gameplay is lacking.”
    • “The puzzles are shallow and reminiscent of every other puzzle game in existence (moving boxes, basic platforming, borrowing Journey's voice mechanic, etc.).”
  • emotional362 mentions

    The emotional aspect of "Rime" is widely praised for its profound storytelling and ability to evoke strong feelings without the use of dialogue. Players describe it as a heart-wrenching journey filled with beautiful visuals and a captivating soundtrack, often leading to tears, especially during the impactful ending. Many reviewers highlight the game's exploration of themes like loss and discovery, making it a memorable emotional experience that resonates long after playing.

    • “This game is a masterpiece, so emotional and amazing visuals.”
    • “I cried a lot too, but everything makes sense.”
    • “Rime is a heart-breaking story about a boy who is stranded on an island.”
  • optimization238 mentions

    The optimization of the game has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many players experiencing significant frame drops and stuttering even on high-end systems. Despite its beautiful graphics and engaging story, the poor performance and lack of proper optimization have made the game frustratingly unplayable for many, leading to a consensus that it requires substantial updates to improve the experience. While some users reported minor improvements after patches, the overall sentiment remains that the game is not well-optimized for PC.

    • “I feel like the developer hit the perfect balance of keeping things visually appealing without compromising on performance.”
    • “With max settings, the game looks absolutely stunning although it suffers from hardware optimization if you really want to experience the game in its fullest.”
    • “Despite all the performance issues, I'd say go for it if you like these types of games.”
    • “The game is very poorly optimized, with even my 3800x, 32GB, and 3080ti system having pretty significant frame drops in spots.”
    • “Between the unrelenting camera issues and the totally random performance oddities, the game is basically unplayable, and that's a damned shame because it's otherwise a sweet little experience.”
    • “I wish I could recommend this game, but it is so badly optimized that it has constant stuttering and crash issues despite my system having a Threadripper 1950x and an RTX 2080ti.”
  • atmosphere223 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its breathtaking visuals, soothing yet melancholic soundtrack, and immersive storytelling, creating a unique and emotional experience. Players appreciate the game's ability to evoke a range of feelings, from tranquility to sorrow, as they explore its beautifully crafted environments. While the gameplay may be simplistic, the focus on atmosphere and art design resonates strongly with fans of atmospheric and narrative-driven titles.

    • “Its music is soothing yet melancholy, adding to its isolated atmosphere.”
    • “Rime is a truly beautiful game, atmospheric and rich; there's so much detail, I adore the music and the mystery, the wild feeling of freedom and tranquility that guides you so gently into one of the deepest and most moving stories I've ever experienced.”
    • “The atmosphere is astounding, the story brought me to tears, the music is amazing!”
    • “The atmosphere takes you places, and after finishing the game you will look at your memories of these places differently.”
    • “By the time you get to the rain section, the atmosphere of crushing sorrow is so thick you practically choke on it.”
    • “There is practically no story, besides the atmosphere that is, there are no characters to speak of, and the puzzles feel arbitrary and shoved in as required to make it a game, rather than because the puzzles are inherently interesting themselves, which they’re not.”
  • replayability32 mentions

    The game's replayability is generally considered low, with many players noting that while there are collectibles and achievements to pursue, the core experience does not offer significant incentive to replay. Some players appreciate the option to revisit chapters for missed items, but overall, the short playtime and lack of meaningful content beyond the initial playthrough diminish its replay value. For achievement hunters and collectors, there is some appeal, but many feel the game does not justify its price given its limited replayability.

    • “There are also numerous optional items and secrets to collect, which could provide a bit of replay value depending on player investment.”
    • “If you're into games like the ICO trilogy or Uncharted series, Rime is a very nice, entertaining adventure puzzle game with an atmospheric soundtrack and replayability.”
    • “Very replayable to explore more, as there are many secrets on the island.”
    • “There is some decent replay value in hunting for collectibles and achievements, which seem to all be very doable if that's your thing.”
    • “The game hasn't any replayability value: replaying the story chapters will only grant you the chance to grab those collectibles you'll be needing for the real ending.”
    • “In addition to that, the game lacks meaningful replayability and with a 10-15 hour play time I feel it is poor value for the asking price.”
  • grinding28 mentions

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and often frustrating, with many citing slow movement, repetitive tasks, and uninspired platforming sections as major drawbacks. While some appreciate the imaginative levels and solid story, the overwhelming sentiment is that the gameplay becomes monotonous and lacks rewarding challenges, making it a struggle to stay engaged. A few reviewers suggest that the game may be worth playing for its artistic qualities, but recommend waiting for a sale due to its tedious nature.

    • “Puzzles are relatively intuitive, if at times a little simple, but not tedious - there's no pointless repetition.”
    • “But it's just sooooooo slow, tedious, and boring 90% of the time.”
    • “The game starts to degenerate into tedious platforming sections, lots of running between areas just to trigger buttons or events and becomes progressively more linear as you feel funneled through one area to another when earlier in the game you had some freedom to explore.”
    • “Gameplay itself is a bit tedious and not very rewarding, but you want to play this for the highly emotional story.”
  • stability23 mentions

    The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant bugs, crashes, and graphical glitches, particularly on PC setups. While many appreciate the overall gameplay and visuals, issues such as camera clipping, freezing, and frame rate drops have been reported, leading to frustration for some users. Overall, while the game runs well for some, others find it to be a "buggy mess," indicating a need for further optimization.

    • “You're not going to be wowed by super complex textures or water physics, but the game stays beautiful from beginning to end and runs great.”
    • “A 10/10 game, no glitches, beautiful story, challenging and inventive puzzles, and nice collectibles.”
    • “No glitches or bugs found during my playtime.”
    • “I've installed Rime on no less than three builds, from a Windows 10 system with an RTX 2080 and an i9 9900K, to an MSI GE66 laptop with an RTX 3080 16GB, 125 watt, and an i7 10870H... all of them have been buggy messes that defy every attempt at troubleshooting.”
    • “The only downsides I can think of are that parts of the story (background) are locked behind collectibles, the cut-scenes are unskippable, and the game occasionally stops responding (freezes).”
    • “This is a shame since I've been looking forward to playing this game for weeks, just to find it's a buggy mess.”
  • humor5 mentions

    Despite having no dialogue, the game manages to convey humor through its beautiful and engaging design, with players finding charm in its minor bugs and gameplay quirks. Reviewers appreciate the blend of humor and emotion, highlighting the game's ability to evoke laughter alongside its more serious themes. Overall, the humor is seen as an integral part of the game's unique experience.

    • “Funny thing to say though, because there's literally no dialogue at all in the entire game but still a masterpiece.”
    • “It's mesmerizingly beautiful, it's funny, it's sad.”
    • “The game itself gets a solid 9/10 from me, with a couple minor bugs that were actually pretty funny and harmless in terms of gameplay.”
  • character development5 mentions

    Character development in the game is noted for its elegance and meaningful progression, enhancing the overall narrative. However, some players feel that certain plot twists lack sufficient buildup, leading to a disconnect between emotional impact and storytelling quality. Overall, the combination of strong character design and orchestral music contributes to a captivating experience reminiscent of Ghibli films.

    • “The character development progresses elegantly and meaningfully and contributes to the bigger picture.”
    • “The orchestral accompaniment carried the mood of the scene throughout the game, and, together with the character design of the wondrous protagonist, created a ghibliesque experience.”
    • “They want you to feel [spoiler] sad when characters die [/spoiler], but with no character development and a sudden jolt of perspective, it felt more like a 'see how tricky we are' instead of a 'see how good at storytelling we are.'”
    • “On the harder-to-implement end of things, such as character development and storytelling, is where it truly shines.”
  • monetization4 mentions

    The monetization aspect of the game has drawn criticism for misleading advertising, as users feel that the promotional materials do not accurately represent the game's darker tone and overall experience. This disconnect between expectations set by advertisements and the actual content has led to disappointment among players.

    • “I bought the game after having only seen a few bright, colorful, and cheerful advertisements about this kid solving puzzles and chasing after a spirit fox.”
    • “It's a very pretty game and the music is beautiful, and all the ads and trailers had me excited for what seemed like another ICO/Journey-esque game.”
    • “Nonetheless, I wanted to give the game the chance to stand on its own merits irrespective of what other people are advertising it as... and there are still quite a few problems with it.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

78% average critic score

Buy RiME

Play time

6hMedian play time
6hAverage play time
6hMain story
10hCompletionist
5-8hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 32 analyzed playthroughs

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