Schein

About

Schein is a single player platformer game. It was developed by Zeppelin Studio and was released on October 9, 2014. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Use the magic of light to explore hidden worlds, solve challenging puzzles and defeat deadly beasts in award-winning Schein, possibly the trickiest platformer you’ll play all year.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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68%

Audience ScoreBased on 148 reviews

graphics21 positive mentions

grinding4 negative mentions

Schein features a unique mechanic where colored lights reveal different layers of the environment, creating engaging and challenging puzzles.
The game has a striking hand-drawn art style and an evocative soundtrack that enhances its melancholic atmosphere.
It offers a rewarding experience for players who enjoy precision platforming and cerebral challenges, with generous checkpoints to ease frustration.

The game suffers from technical issues, including lag and performance drops after extended play, which can disrupt the experience.
Some puzzles can feel overly punishing due to blind jumps and unclear visibility, leading to frustration rather than enjoyment.
The voice acting and narrative delivery are often criticized for being flat and lacking emotional depth, detracting from the overall storytelling.

graphics
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
45%
7%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a striking hand-drawn art style that evokes a gloomy yet beautiful atmosphere, complemented by a fitting soundtrack. While many reviewers appreciate the creativity and unique aesthetic, some note that the environments can feel repetitive and the overall execution lacks polish, leading to mixed feelings about the visual experience. Despite some technical issues and a desire for deeper gameplay integration, the visuals are generally regarded as charming and atmospheric, enhancing the game's overall appeal.
- “The hand-drawn art style carries a gloomy, painterly beauty, perfectly matched by an evocative soundtrack that hums with melancholy and mystery.”
- “I want to recommend this game; the graphics are amazing and the triplicate-art shows a level of devotion and attention to detail that most games don't have.”
- “The graphics are beautiful and the idea is amazing.”
- “The graphics are pretty simple, and there are framerate issues if there is a lot to render at one time (you definitely notice if the screen is covered in fire).”
- “I had to half the resolution and lower the graphics quality in order to get a somewhat acceptable framerate.”
- “With simple graphics, a so-so character model, and some less than great voice work.”
gameplay
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
57%
8%
The gameplay of *Schein* features a unique light-based mechanic that alters the game world, offering a blend of puzzle-solving and platforming that can be both challenging and frustrating. While some players appreciate the clever use of light and the emotional storytelling, many criticize the execution, citing issues with visibility, clunky controls, and a lack of engaging puzzles. Overall, the game presents solid concepts but suffers from repetitive and unpolished mechanics, making it a mixed experience for players.
- “Schein is one of those hidden gems that slipped quietly past most players when it released; a pity, because it’s an intelligent, melancholy puzzle-platformer that dares to fuse emotional storytelling with genuinely clever mechanics.”
- “The gameplay is smooth and its simple art style makes it enjoyable for everyone, even those who don't want to spend a lot of money on a PC that can run heavy games.”
- “The lighting mechanic is fun to utilize and challenges my mind to solve the puzzles.”
- “I was hoping for some cool brain twisters, but all the puzzles were barely puzzles at all and most of the gameplay seemed more about being as annoying as possible.”
- “Half the mechanics make no sense.”
- “Additionally, the visible area of the different lights - the main mechanic of the game - is infuriatingly narrow, meaning that even with the already slow movement of the player model, you'll be required to take things even more slowly.”
story
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
60%
8%
The story of *Schein* revolves around a father's quest to find his lost son in a mystical swamp, presenting a blend of emotional themes and intriguing concepts. While some players appreciate the game's atmospheric storytelling and art style, many criticize the narrative for being shallow, poorly executed, and lacking depth, with subpar voice acting detracting from the overall experience. Overall, the story is seen as a mixed bag, offering potential but ultimately failing to deliver a compelling or coherent plot.
- “Schein is one of those hidden gems that slipped quietly past most players when it released; a pity, because it’s an intelligent, melancholy puzzle-platformer that dares to fuse emotional storytelling with genuinely clever mechanics.”
- “The story has me curious, but hasn't really fleshed itself out yet.”
- “[i]Schein[/i] tells the story of a desperate man, who ventures forth into the mystical swamp in search of his missing son.”
- “The story itself really didn't make a ton of sense; I think I got the gist of it, but other than that, it didn't make sense.”
- “The story is about a father looking for his lost son in a swamp – but the story does not add much depth to the game.”
- “I do not recommend this game for its story; it's rather bland to me and the voice acting isn't amazing.”
music
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
33%
13%
The music in the game is generally praised for its atmospheric quality, with many reviewers highlighting its ability to evoke emotions such as melancholy and tension during gameplay. While the soundtrack is often described as beautiful and fitting, some players feel that it is overshadowed by other aspects of the game, such as graphics and voice acting, which may not appeal to everyone. Overall, the music is a standout feature that enhances the game's aesthetic, though opinions on its integration with gameplay vary.
- “The hand-drawn art style carries a gloomy, painterly beauty, perfectly matched by an evocative soundtrack that hums with melancholy and mystery.”
- “I really liked the music and the art direction.”
- “The music, graphics, and voice acting are charming and at times suspenseful.”
- “- the music isn't remarkable in any way”
- “The graphics and music is nothing like Bastion, Braid but it is decent enough and fits very well with the atmosphere.”
- “Only thing I really liked is the background music and visual style of the game.”
atmosphere
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71%
22%
7%
The game's atmosphere is characterized by a unique blend of gloomy and intriguing elements, enhanced by a strong atmospheric soundtrack, though opinions on voice acting vary. While some players appreciate the compelling and dark ambiance, which may not appeal to everyone, others note that the graphics and animations are simple yet fitting. Overall, the atmosphere is a significant highlight, contributing to the game's engaging puzzles and mechanics.
- “The story, interesting game concept using alternate dimensions, good systems of checkpoints, responsive control, and atmosphere are the pros of the game.”
- “You'll find a nice gloomy atmosphere, good puzzles, and hard platforming.”
- “The graphics and music are nothing like Bastion or Braid, but they are decent enough and fit very well with the atmosphere.”
optimization
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with users reporting significant performance issues such as lag, low frame rates, and stuttering, particularly in certain levels like the "red path." Many players have experienced these problems after extended playtime, suggesting a potential hardware optimization issue, especially on Windows 8. Overall, the game's performance detracts from the experience, making controls difficult and gameplay frustrating.
- “As pointed out in one of the other reviews as well as in one of the Steam discussion threads, the general performance of the game can get laggy with low FPS after some period of time, generally after the game has been running for 30-60 minutes.”
- “Seems to be a hardware optimization issue.”
- “Update: I found a fix for the performance issues that 2D games tend to have on Windows 8; it fixed the performance of all games... except this one.”
- “In addition, some of the levels are very poorly optimized, the 'red path' level in particular, but there were several others (mostly after that level).”
- “As pointed out in one of the other reviews as well as in one of the Steam discussion threads, the general performance of the game can get laggy, with low FPS and low framerate after some period of time, generally after the game has been running for 30-60 minutes.”
- “Second, the game suffers from some serious frame rate stuttering.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of "Schein" to be tedious and frustrating, with long and finicky platforming sequences that detract from the overall experience. Despite its promising concept, the game suffers from slow pacing and challenging timing, making completion feel bothersome rather than enjoyable.
- “This one is a pretty tedious mess.”
- “This was an absolutely tedious and bothersome completion for me.”
- “What could have been a lovely clever platformer was, unfortunately, turned into a series of long, inexplicably tedious jumping sequences that are all about split-second timing.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
67%
Character development in the game is notably strong, with engaging narration that enhances the characters' growth. However, some players feel that the overall experience is hindered by a lack of environmental variety and additional content, leading to repetitiveness and a high difficulty level.
- “The narration has created wonderful character development.”
- “The depth of each character's backstory adds layers to their development throughout the game.”
- “I love how the choices I make influence the characters' growth and relationships.”
- “The game suffers from a low variability of environment and a lack of additional content like character development and puzzles, resulting in a repetitive experience over time.”
- “There is no character development or puzzles to solve.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is noted for its light-heartedness, with players finding it amusing that it employs a familiar puzzle platform mechanic of making elements appear and disappear, which adds a playful twist to the gameplay.
- “It's kind of funny that Schein isn't the first puzzle platform game with a light gimmick that makes elements of the world appear and disappear that I've played.”
- “The humor in this game is cleverly woven into the dialogue, making even the most challenging puzzles feel lighthearted.”
- “I love how the quirky character interactions add a layer of comedy that keeps the gameplay enjoyable and entertaining.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Schein is praised for its intelligent and melancholy storytelling, effectively blending emotional depth with clever puzzle-platforming mechanics. While the main character's voice acting may come off as somewhat unmotivated, it aligns well with the game's overall emotional tone.
- “Schein is one of those hidden gems that slipped quietly past most players when it released; a pity, because it’s an intelligent, melancholy puzzle-platformer that dares to fuse emotional storytelling with genuinely clever mechanics.”
- “The voice acting of the main character is a little bit unmotivated - but fits the emotional situation.”