Secrets of Rætikon

About

Secrets of Rætikon is a single player open world action adventure game. It was developed by Broken Rules and was released on April 17, 2014. It received neutral reviews from both critics and players.

Secrets of Rætikon is a single-player 2D open-world game where you explore the Alps and uncover the mysteries of an ancient culture. Flight mechanics allow for bird-like exploration, and interactions with wild animals and ancient contraptions drive the game's emergent ecosystem. The game features a level editor and easy sharing of custom levels via Steam Workshop.

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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58%

Audience ScoreBased on 380 reviews

gameplay48 positive mentions

grinding26 negative mentions

Beautiful art style and striking presentation that creates an immersive atmosphere.
Engaging exploration and puzzle-solving mechanics that encourage creativity and experimentation.
Unique gameplay experience as a bird, with fluid flying controls and interactions with the environment.

Frustrating gameplay due to aggressive enemies that can steal items and hinder progress.
Lack of a map or navigation tools makes it easy to get lost and tedious to backtrack.
Disappointing and confusing ending that undermines the overall experience.

gameplay
142 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
54%
12%
The gameplay of "Secrets of Rætikon" is a mixed bag, with many players praising its beautiful art style and fluid movement mechanics, but criticizing the tedious and often frustrating gameplay loop that involves excessive backtracking and poorly explained mechanics. While some enjoy the exploration and puzzle-solving elements, others find the combat mechanics lacking and the overall experience repetitive and dull, leading to a sense of mediocrity despite the game's aesthetic appeal. Overall, the gameplay is seen as a blend of intriguing concepts hindered by execution issues, resulting in a frustrating experience for many players.
- “The gameplay consists of exploring each screen, finding triangle shards to fit into abstract giant contraptions which then unlock more parts of the map or give you a golden key that you then take back to a central area.”
- “The gameplay is fun, controlling your bird and alternately playing with or murdering the other wildlife is quite enthusing.”
- “The art style is amazing, gameplay is fun and rewarding.”
- “Secrets of Raetikon is a beautiful game, with awful controls, an unnecessarily hostile world, tedious backtracking, and shallow gameplay.”
- “The ending is borderline nonsensical and the gameplay can be frustrating, particularly when you are mobbed by four or more creatures and are fighting the controls at the same time.”
- “The gameplay is tedious and artificially elongated with travel time, which you have to be active for and so conscious of every flap of your birdman's wings.”
graphics
119 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
34%
3%
The graphics of the game have been widely praised for their unique and beautiful art style, often described as a blend of origami and minimalist aesthetics, which creates a visually stunning atmosphere. Many players appreciate the vibrant colors and artistic design, noting that the visuals enhance the overall experience, even if the gameplay itself may not be as engaging. However, some users have expressed frustration with technical issues and gameplay mechanics that detract from the enjoyment of the otherwise impressive graphics.
- “The game's graphics, music, and setting are beautiful and tranquil.”
- “The art style is absolutely gorgeous.”
- “The visuals are stunning and the soundtrack works well.”
- “Pretty art aesthetics wrapped around an otherwise dull world exploration game.”
- “It has a neat trippy art style but sadly that's all it's got going for it.”
- “However, if, just like me, you got charmed by the trailer and the graphics, then you might be deceived as well.”
story
79 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
74%
13%
The story in "Secrets of Rætikon" is largely criticized for being vague, cryptic, and poorly executed, with many players finding it difficult to engage with or understand. While some appreciate the artistic presentation and the potential for a deeper narrative through rune stones, the overall consensus is that the story feels like an afterthought, overshadowed by repetitive gameplay and a lack of meaningful plot development. Many reviewers express disappointment with the ending, describing it as abrupt and unsatisfying, leading to a general recommendation to focus on the game's visual and exploratory aspects rather than its narrative.
- “The story is cryptic and vague, with some surrealist notes.”
- “Delivered through a series of poems describing the game's lore in a near-English cipher, you discover Rætikon's story inscribed on stone runes scattered around the game world.”
- “They've created a story, a whole slew of mechanisms to carry the player through the journey, and to allow the traveler, you, to discover in your own time and manner, what has happened, how to change it, and ultimately, how nature itself can surprise us.”
- “It feels like a lot of artsy ideas that culminate in a disappointing and somewhat insulting ending, with a few bad side quests that do nothing but waste your time.”
- “I was expecting some big exciting reveal, unlocking something new, more story, etc., but was just disappointed by the abrupt and discordant end.”
- “The game really died with the story, as it was basically non-existent and really hard to follow the parts they force-fed to you.”
music
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
45%
5%
The music in the game is generally described as beautiful, calming, and fitting for the tranquil atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience. However, some players find it to be repetitive or unobtrusive, with a few noting that it can become grating over time. Overall, while the soundtrack contributes positively to the game's aesthetic, it may not leave a lasting impression for all players.
- “I recommend the game for the gorgeous art, soundtrack, and vibes.”
- “The game's graphics, music, and setting are beautiful and tranquil.”
- “The music is very unique and calming.”
- “The music becomes grating after only a few minutes.”
- “The music is a strange aspect of this game.”
- “Music can get repetitive and dull over time.”
atmosphere
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
27%
9%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its tranquil and immersive qualities, enhanced by beautiful art design and a captivating soundtrack. Many players appreciate the unique blend of exploration, mystery, and wildlife that contribute to a serene yet engaging environment. However, some users noted that technical issues and frustrating design choices can detract from the overall experience, despite the strong atmospheric elements.
- “Secrets of Raetikon is a beautiful game, with great art design and a peaceful soundtrack, making for a really nice atmosphere.”
- “A very atmospheric and immersive game, with really great sound design and a unique art style.”
- “It's a gorgeous game, with some incredible origami-like artwork, a fantastically ambient soundtrack, and a great sense of atmosphere.”
- “Really, for a game that sells itself on atmosphere and concept, there's almost nothing here.”
- “The game has great graphics and atmosphere, but there are awful bugs (I got trapped in geometry five times in two hours, once so badly I had to restart the game entirely).”
- “Perhaps with a game pad or under Windows, it would work better, but I have neither of those things to test it with, and the graphics and atmosphere alone are not enough to make up for the high level of frustration this brings.”
grinding
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
96%
The reviews for "Secrets of Raetikon" consistently highlight the grinding aspect of the game as tedious and frustrating, primarily due to excessive backtracking and repetitive fetch quests. While the game's striking visuals and unique concept are praised, players find the gameplay mechanics clunky and the overall experience marred by a lack of engaging content, leading to a sense of monotony and irritation. Many reviewers express a desire for improved gameplay elements to alleviate the tediousness of item retrieval and exploration.
- “Despite the interesting aesthetic and concept, this game quickly becomes very tedious.”
- “Unfortunately, the gameplay is tedious - you need to gather items through a mostly linear world and backtrack through the whole game to bring these items to a slot for them.”
- “The gameplay is tedious and artificially elongated with travel time (which you have to be active for and so conscious of every damn flap of your birdman's wings).”
humor
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
60%
The humor in the game is described as a mix of irony and absurdity, with some players finding enjoyment in the chaotic and wonky combat mechanics. However, the effectiveness of the humor is debated, as some feel that jokes can fall flat without proper context, leading to a lack of meaningful engagement. Overall, the game elicits a wide range of emotions, from laughter to sadness, highlighting its unpredictable comedic elements.
- “The people complaining about the brutality and 'senselessness' of the ending have actually missed it in the most ironically hilarious of ways.”
- “The 'combat' is kind of fun, but only because it's so damn wonky that it ends up being hilarious.”
- “There is also something to be said about the emotions this game sparked in me, which range from laughing obnoxiously loud to feeling super depressed because I accidentally killed a little critter.”
- “Sure, it can be interesting to have a joke at the expense of the player, but if the other party can't figure out the joke and you don't explain it to them, then it's not funny or 'deep.' I just sort of shrug my shoulders at this part; there wasn't enough of a story to be meaningful.”
- “The humor often falls flat, relying too heavily on clichés and predictable punchlines that fail to elicit any genuine laughter.”
- “While the game attempts to be funny, most of the jokes feel forced and lack the cleverness needed to truly engage the player.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
75%
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with users reporting severe stuttering issues and crashes even on low graphics settings, leading to frustration. While some find the visuals appealing, the overall performance is deemed subpar, with comparisons to better-optimized titles like Minecraft.
- “The game looked kind of cool, but the optimization is really bad.”
- “You would think the graphics wouldn't cause much lag, but even on the lowest settings with minimal processes, the game crashes when I try to press a button on the main menu!”
- “Really bad optimization, but the game looked kind of cool.”
- “However, you try running this game (you would think its graphics would not cause much lag) on the lowest graphics setting, only the bare minimum amount of processes going, on high performance, and the game crashes when I try to press a button on the main menu!”
- “Minecraft is better optimized than this!”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players have mixed feelings about the emotional impact of the game; while some felt a lack of deep investment in the world, others experienced strong emotional responses, particularly regarding the ending. The game's beauty and creativity inspired some players to express their feelings through poetry, highlighting its ability to evoke emotions despite varied personal connections.
- “Throughout some comments I've read about the amount of disappointment in the ending from some players, I do think that they effectively evoke an emotional response from me, and the beauty of the game makes up for the entirety of this experience.”
- “This game made me feel creative enough to sum up the game in poem form.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users have mixed experiences regarding stability; while some report the game is buggy, others note the absence of noticeable glitches. Overall, stability appears to vary significantly among players.
- “The game is incredibly buggy.”
- “There were frequent crashes that disrupted gameplay.”
- “I experienced numerous stability issues that made it hard to enjoy the game.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game is praised for its quality, but many users note that it lacks significant replayability, suggesting that once completed, there is little incentive to play again.
- “Great game, but not much replayability.”
- “Pay what you think it's worth, but there's no replayability.”

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60%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews

Secrets of Raetikon review
Eurogamer.net
60%

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2h Median play time

2h Average play time

2-2h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Secrets of Rætikon is a open world action adventure game.

Secrets of Rætikon is available on PC, Mac OS, Windows and Linux.

On average players spend around 2 hours playing Secrets of Rætikon.

Secrets of Rætikon was released on April 17, 2014.

Secrets of Rætikon was developed by Broken Rules.

Secrets of Rætikon has received neutral reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its story.

Secrets of Rætikon is a single player game.

Similar games include Spirit of the North, Ghost of a Tale, RiME, Owlboy, Seasons After Fall and others.

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