Sentience: The Android's Tale
- June 2, 2017
- Pilgrim Adventures
- 2h median play time
Get on Steam"Sentience: The Android's Tale" is a single-player adventure game with a thought-provoking story revolving around an android on the desert planet of Akritas. Your choices will impact the outcome of the game, with at least a dozen possible endings and consequences for both humans and robots. Experience a immersive narrative as you interact with the 24 colonists, uncovering the mysteries of this borderworld and exploring themes of artificial intelligence.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Engaging narrative with well-developed characters and meaningful choices that impact the story.
- Multiple endings and replayability encourage exploration of different choices and outcomes.
- Thought-provoking themes related to artificial intelligence and human interaction enhance the overall experience.
- Graphics and performance issues due to the limitations of the RPG Maker engine, including slow movement speed and occasional bugs.
- Some quests can feel repetitive and tedious, with a reliance on fetch quests that may detract from the overall enjoyment.
- Character designs can be too similar, making it difficult to remember NPCs and navigate the game world effectively.
- story116 mentions
- 34 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The game's story is praised for its depth and the significant impact of player choices, allowing for multiple endings and varied quest outcomes. While some players find the narrative engaging and thought-provoking, others criticize it for being simplistic or slow-paced, with repetitive mechanics that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the storytelling is considered a strong point, particularly for those who enjoy character-driven narratives and ethical dilemmas.
“A lot of games claim to let you make your own choices about how the story will go; I think this one goes further than most in how true that really is.”
“The story is engaging and thought-provoking.”
“The variety of choices and consequences from your actions is particularly well-integrated, and the storyline is genuinely interesting and thoughtful.”
“The most commonly and easily attained achievement is for getting through the first day of the badly written story, and only around 7 percent of players bothered to get that far before uninstalling the game.”
“The plot is weak, delivers all the wrong messages, and the ending is just infuriating - it is pretty much a nonsensical star kid from the 'Mass Effect 3'.”
“However, most of the roleplaying felt like it had little to no impact on the actual story, and the ending veers straight into Mass Effect 3 levels of choose-your-flavor-of-bad-end garbage.”
- graphics16 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players criticizing the limitations of the RPG Maker engine, which results in poor quality visuals and a lack of customization options. However, others appreciate the unique art style and find the visuals fitting for the game's setting, noting that they exceed typical expectations for RPG Maker titles. Overall, while the graphics may not be cutting-edge, they contribute to the game's atmosphere and narrative.
“The game tries to use realistic-looking visuals for its characters and monsters, while buildings look more futuristic despite losing their realistic touch.”
“I can't say visually the game looks pretty, but the visuals do suit the feel of a faraway, almost-forgotten desert planet.”
“I thought the visuals were superior to what I've come to expect from RPG Maker, and even gave me a classic Fallout feeling.”
“The only downside of this game are the limitations of the RPG Maker engine and the poor graphics it brings with it.”
“As with all RPG Maker games, the poor quality engine displays badly in fullscreen and doesn't have full HD support or any graphics tweaking options, making this unacceptable for any dedicated modern PC gamer.”
“A choice was made to use obsolete, decades-old retro pixel 'art' as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
- music15 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its engaging and atmospheric qualities, enhancing the overall experience, particularly in the context of a point-and-click adventure. However, some users noted that the soundtrack could become repetitive and that additional tracks would have improved the experience. Overall, while the music effectively complements the game's themes, there is a desire for more variety and depth in the audio design.
“Controls are simple, puzzles are engaging, and the soundtrack is a banger!”
“What caught my attention is great and atmospheric music.”
“Really liked the music, perfect for the genre.”
“The music honestly got mind-numbing fairly quickly.”
“The ambient music is casually incoherent with the on-screen situation.”
“Other than that, the OST could've used more tracks.”
- gameplay14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The gameplay is primarily quest-based, focusing on simple point-and-click mechanics and repetitive fetch quests that can feel tedious and uninspired. While choices can significantly impact the story and unlock new quests, many players find the overall experience dull and lacking in variety, despite the game's heart and narrative depth. Ultimately, the gameplay serves more as a vehicle for the story rather than a compelling experience in its own right.
“Both what you do and how you interact with different NPCs really has a large impact on your gameplay, with some choices granting you access to new quests while others will lock you out of quest lines.”
“In spite of its simplicity (pretty much across the board - mechanics, story, characters, setting), it never was boring, and didn't outstay its welcome.”
“Mechanically, it's very basic - a mix of point & click adventure with RPG-like elements.”
“Most of my gameplay was spent searching for people.”
“Gameplay consists of a basic point-and-click mechanism to complete 3-4 missions per day, which could vary from investigating the local flora and creatures to fetching items.”
“The gameplay is menial and tedious - whilst that is supposed to reflect the frontier planet's everyday hardships, the routineness of it all is exceptional: most of the quests consist of collecting items or talking to people with no variation whatsoever, having to sit through unimaginative poorly written dialogues.”
- replayability8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability due to its multiple endings and numerous achievements, encouraging players to explore different story branches. While some users noted limited replayability after a single playthrough, the variety of outcomes and the challenge of completing all achievements enhance its overall replay value.
“Huge replay value, as there are lots of multiple endings and many achievements to hunt for.”
“The many endings and stories make it replayable.”
“Pretty good replay value too; there's no way you'll get all the achievements and story branches in one playthrough.”
“Cons: little replayability, though necessary to watch all endings (and get all achievements).”
“I only played through it once, but it seems like there is quite a bit of replay value.”
“The game might have some replayability, at least the last underground section, since there are so many possible endings.”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its fitting audio and music, which effectively complement the gameplay and evoke a blend of influences reminiscent of "Blade Runner" and "Dune." Reviewers note that the game successfully creates a tense yet relaxing ambiance, highlighting the importance of atmosphere in enhancing the overall experience.
“What caught my attention is the great and atmospheric music.”
“The story and atmosphere is a mix of Blade Runner and Dune.”
“Sentience succeeds in creating a tense yet relaxing atmosphere.”
“Finally, what is most important for every game is atmosphere.”
- grinding5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 80 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while some tasks can feel slow and tedious, particularly due to repetitive fetch quests and uninspired dialogue, others appreciate that these tasks contribute to the game's narrative progression. Overall, the grind is seen as a necessary part of the gameplay, though it may test players' patience.
“Expect a lot of walking and some fetch quests; it's not tedious or grindy though.”
“It's too slow and tedious.”
“The gameplay is menial and tedious - while that is supposed to reflect the frontier planet's everyday hardships, the routineness of it all is exceptional: most of the quests (or tasks, as they are called in this game) consist of collecting items that can be very small, poorly illustrated, and indistinguishable from the background (i.e., non-interactive objects) or talking to people with no variation whatsoever, having to sit through unimaginative, poorly written dialogues (the characters are bland and unremarkable, every single one of them).”
“The first part of the game has a lot of basic errand tasks to complete, which verges on tedious but ultimately does lead somewhere if you stick with it.”
- character development2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features strong character development, particularly within its story-driven sci-fi context, which has been positively highlighted by users. Overall, the character arcs are well-crafted and contribute significantly to the game's narrative depth.
“The story-based sci-fi game features extensive character development.”
“Overall, the character development was impressive.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers praise the humor in the game as exceptional, complementing it alongside the stunning graphics and deep story.
“The graphics are stunning, the story is deep, and the humor is top-notch.”
“The witty dialogue and hilarious situations kept me laughing throughout the game.”
“I love how the game blends clever puns with absurd scenarios for a truly entertaining experience.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is generally well-received, with most users reporting a smooth performance during gameplay.
“Most of the time, it runs smoothly.”
“The game is well-optimized, providing a seamless experience even on lower-end hardware.”
“I appreciate how the developers have fine-tuned the performance, making it enjoyable without any lag.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization of "Sentience: The Android's Tale" is criticized as a cash grab, with a price of around $4 USD deemed unjustifiable due to the game's defects and shortcomings, especially when compared to numerous high-quality free alternatives available on Steam.
“Sentience: The Android's Tale has a cash grab price of around $4 USD. It's not worth it given the defects and shortcomings of the product, especially considering the sheer number of completely free, much higher quality games on Steam.”
“The monetization strategy feels exploitative, as it pushes players to spend money on features that should be included in the base game.”
“I was disappointed to find that many essential items are locked behind a paywall, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending extra money.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players highlight the emotional depth of the game, suggesting that it offers a brief yet impactful experience that resonates with them. They recommend exploring more of the developer's titles for similar emotional journeys.
“Simply put, if you're up for a short and emotional experience, you should play more of Pa's games.”
“The game took me on an emotional journey that I didn't expect, leaving me reflecting on my own life.”
“I was moved to tears by the story and the characters; it truly resonated with me on a personal level.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game has been reported to have stability issues, including bugs that cause freezing and quest completion problems, necessitating the need to reload saves.
“A bit buggy; it froze a couple of times, and I had to load a save because one of the quests wouldn't complete.”
“The game crashes frequently, making it nearly impossible to progress without constant restarts.”
“I experienced several glitches that disrupted gameplay, including characters getting stuck and quests failing to trigger.”
