SEMU

About

SEMU is a space-exploration game where survival is key, featuring advanced space suit technology that maintains water, oxygen, position, temperature, and humidity. The suit offers easy mobility with lightspeed* movement, grapplehook for swift travel, and a jetpack for extra maneuverability, transforming barren planets into skateparks.

Genres & Tags

Indie

Play Modes

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

100%

Audience ScoreBased on 14 reviews

music3 positive mentions

gameplay3 negative mentions

SEMU delivers a thought-provoking narrative with minimal dialogue, effectively engaging players in its story.
The game features a beautiful soundtrack and visually appealing art style, enhancing the overall experience.
It successfully builds an unsettling atmosphere, using simple gameplay mechanics to explore deep themes of survival and existentialism.

The music during certain sequences can be excessively loud, detracting from the experience.
Some players may find the short runtime leaves them wanting more content.
The game's heavy themes of despair and loss may not resonate with everyone, potentially making it a challenging experience.

music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The music in the game is generally praised for its beauty and effectiveness, enhancing the thought-provoking narrative and visual appeal. However, some users noted that certain sequences, like the eyeball scene, featured overly loud music, detracting from the overall experience. Despite this, the soundtrack is considered a standout element, even if it isn't essential to gameplay.
- “A thought-provoking narrative accompanied by a beautiful soundtrack and visually appealing art style.”
- “A short but sweet experience with lovely music, interesting premise and narrative with a solid ending to boot.”
- “The soundtrack was a banger, so I'm super bummed it wasn't essential.”
- “My only gripe is that the music during the eyeball sequence was very loud.”
story
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's story is a poignant exploration of despair, effectively conveyed through a minimalist narrative inspired by the webcomic 'the suit.' Its concise execution and show-don't-tell approach create a powerful emotional impact, engaging players more deeply than many traditionally acclaimed cinematic experiences. Overall, it sets a promising foundation for future storytelling in games by Inkforge.
- “Semu is a concise and highly effective adaptation of Bad Space's 'The Suit' webcomic, telling a powerful story with minimal prompting and a show-don't-tell narrative philosophy.”
- “Even within its short runtime of a few minutes, it managed to engage me more in its story than countless games decorated with awards for their 'cinematic experience.'”
- “The story this game tells is one of utter despair, only fully realized by trying again and again, realizing there is nothing you can do to change the outcome.”
- “Even within its short runtime of a few minutes, it managed to engage me more in its story than countless games decorated with awards for their 'cinematic experience'.”
gameplay
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The gameplay of semu is characterized by its engaging mechanics, such as a jetpack and grapple hook, which enhance the arcade-style experience while creating an unsettling atmosphere. The game effectively maintains player immersion by integrating its narrative into the gameplay without relying on dialogue or cut scenes, allowing for a seamless flow that deepens the sense of dread. Overall, semu successfully combines familiar gameplay elements with innovative storytelling techniques.
- “Very few games manage to have a narrative without leaning heavily on dialogue and cut scenes that take control away from the player and break up the flow of gameplay.”
- “A looming sense of dread is an impressive thing to instill within a player, especially within the arcade-style scope of semu's gameplay and visual design.”
- “The simple and fun additions of a jetpack and grapple hook to a 16-bit astronaut put the player in a familiar gameplay setting, but by toying with the format of the game itself, semu succeeds in building an increasingly unsettling atmosphere.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game effectively combines familiar gameplay elements, such as a jetpack and grapple hook, with innovative design choices that create an increasingly unsettling atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience for players.
- “The simple and fun additions of a jetpack and grapple hook to a 16-bit astronaut put the player in a familiar gameplay setting, but by toying with the format of the game itself, Semu succeeds in building an increasingly unsettling atmosphere.”
graphics
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The graphics are praised for their visually appealing art style, which complements the thought-provoking narrative and enhances the overall experience with a beautiful soundtrack.
- “A thought-provoking narrative accompanied by a beautiful soundtrack and visually appealing art style.”