Secrets of Rætikon

About

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.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

58%

Audience ScoreBased on 379 reviews

gameplay48 positive mentions

grinding25 negative mentions

The game features stunning visuals and a unique art style that creates an immersive atmosphere.
The gameplay mechanics, including flying and puzzle-solving, are engaging and provide a sense of exploration.
The sound design and minimalist soundtrack enhance the overall experience, making it relaxing and enjoyable.

The game suffers from frustrating controls and a lack of clear direction, making navigation difficult.
There are significant technical issues, including bugs that can lead to game-breaking scenarios.
The ending is abrupt and unsatisfying, leaving players feeling confused and disappointed.

gameplay
141 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
55%
11%
The gameplay of "Secrets of Rætikon" is a mixed bag, with many players praising its beautiful art style and fluid movement mechanics, but criticizing its frustrating controls, tedious backtracking, and lack of clear instructions. While some enjoy the exploration and puzzle-solving elements, others find the gameplay repetitive and lacking depth, leading to a sense of boredom and annoyance over time. Overall, the game offers intriguing concepts but suffers from execution issues that detract from the overall experience.
- “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 art is great and the mechanics are fun.”
- “The gameplay is fun, controlling your bird and alternately playing with or interacting with the other wildlife is quite engaging.”
- “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.”
- “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.”
graphics
121 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
35%
2%
The graphics of the game are 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, although some feel that the visuals alone cannot compensate for the game's lackluster gameplay and tedious mechanics. Overall, while the graphics are a highlight, opinions vary on their ability to enhance the overall gaming experience.
- “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.”
- “I can't really recommend this game for anything else apart from the aesthetic.”
- “However, if, just like me, you got charmed by the trailer and the graphics, then you might be deceived as well.”
story
78 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
75%
12%
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 even understand. While some appreciate the aesthetic and the potential for a deeper narrative through rune stones, the overall consensus is that the game lacks a meaningful plot, making it feel more like a collection of fetch quests than a cohesive story-driven experience. Many reviewers express disappointment with the ending and the effort required to piece together the lore, which ultimately detracts from the gameplay.
- “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.”
- “There's no story at all.”
- “The game really died with as the story was basically non-existent and was really hard to follow the parts they force fed to you.”
- “I am not sure what the creators of this game were aiming for regarding the story, but the outcome is incredibly bleak and not well executed.”
music
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
45%
5%
The music in the game is generally praised for its calming and ambient qualities, contributing to a beautiful atmosphere that enhances the visual 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 is appreciated for its soothing nature, 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.”
- “Oh, and 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 reviews note that technical issues and frustrating design choices can detract from the overall experience, despite the strong atmospheric elements.
- “The atmosphere and art style really sold me.”
- “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.”
- “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
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
96%
The grinding aspect of "Secrets of Raetikon" is widely criticized for being tedious and repetitive, with players expressing frustration over excessive backtracking and the need to gather items in a hostile environment. While the game's aesthetic is praised, the gameplay is often described as a chore, with many feeling that the mechanics detract from the overall experience. Overall, the combination of clunky controls and monotonous fetch quests leads to a frustrating and unengaging grind.
- “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 wonky combat mechanics and unexpected emotional responses. However, there are critiques regarding the clarity of the jokes, as some players feel that without proper context, the humor can fall flat or be misunderstood. Overall, the humor elicits a range of reactions, from laughter to sadness, depending on the player's experiences.
- “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 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 much 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 and crashes even on low graphics settings, leading to frustration. While some find the visuals appealing, the overall performance issues overshadow the experience, with comparisons made to better-optimized titles like Minecraft.
- “The game has some really bad optimization, but it looked kind of cool.”
- “You would think the graphics wouldn't cause much lag, but even on the lowest settings with minimal processes running, 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%
While some players felt a lack of emotional investment in the game's world, others experienced a strong emotional response, particularly regarding the ending. The game's beauty and creativity inspired players to express their feelings through poetry, highlighting its emotional impact despite mixed reviews.
- “Throughout some comments I've read about the amount of disappointment in the ending from some players, I do think that they do get an emotional response out from me effectively, 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
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
Overall, users report mixed experiences with stability; while some encountered bugs, others noted a lack of noticeable glitches.
- “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 well-received but is noted for having limited replayability, with several users expressing that once completed, there isn't much incentive to play again.
- “Great game, not much replayability.”
- “Pay what you think it's worth with no replayability.”

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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