Shapik: The Moon Quest
- April 22, 2020
- paulp
- 3h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Shapik: The Moon Quest" is a hand-drawn, text-free quest game featuring animated "bubble thoughts" to tell the story. The game is filled with intricate details and atmospheric music to enhance the player's experience. Exploration of locations is a key aspect of gameplay.
Mac OS
PC
Phone
Windows
Android
Mobile Platform
Tablet
Reviews
- The game features beautiful hand-drawn graphics and a charming atmosphere, making it visually appealing.
- Puzzles are generally simple and enjoyable, providing a relaxing experience without being overly challenging.
- The game tells its story through visuals and music, creating a unique narrative experience that is accessible to players of all ages.
- The game is quite short, typically taking around 3 hours to complete, which may leave some players wanting more content.
- The plot can be confusing and lacks clarity, making it difficult for players to fully understand the story.
- Some puzzles may feel trivial or random, leading to a lack of engagement and challenge for more experienced players.
- story84 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The story of "Shapik: The Moon Quest" is a whimsical, wordless narrative conveyed through visuals and sound, set in a charming, dystopian sci-fi world. While some players appreciate its artistic approach and the depth of its themes, others find the plot weak and disjointed, with a lack of emotional connection to the characters. Overall, the game offers a brief yet engaging experience, appealing primarily to point-and-click enthusiasts.
“Shapik is a whimsical point-and-click adventure that tells a story without words.”
“The story and graphics were beautiful and you definitely get hooked on the game.”
“The story made sense, and it was nice that there was no dialogue and instead amusing little grunts and pictograms.”
“The story is laid out in 22, mostly single-screen chapters without any comprehensible dialog, just the usual gibberish and text-free handling of information.”
“I could somewhat piece the story together, but because gameplay is so detached I couldn't really care about anything, not even the protagonist whom I played.”
“Storytelling without (but also with) words is not easy and rarely impactful in games, just like here.”
- graphics78 mentions
- 59 % positive mentions
- 37 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received largely positive feedback, with many users praising the beautiful artwork, charming animations, and cohesive art style that enhances the overall atmosphere. While some noted that the graphics are not groundbreaking due to the game's low budget, the visuals are often described as unique and fitting for the story, contributing to a pleasant and immersive experience. Overall, the combination of graphics and sound design is frequently highlighted as a strong point of the game.
“The artwork, animation, and sound design are breathtaking and charming.”
“Gorgeous graphics and a very thoughtful plot!”
“The story and graphics were beautiful and you definitely get hooked on the game.”
“I don't like the art style.”
“Graphics: it's a low budget point and click adventure, so don't expect too much in the way of eye candy.”
“No long dialogues, everything is explained via visuals only.”
- music64 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its pleasant and relaxing qualities, enhancing the overall experience with its high production values. Many players found themselves captivated by the soundtrack, often stopping to listen, and some even recommended purchasing the soundtrack separately. While a few noted that the music could be forgettable at times, the consensus is that it beautifully complements the game's visuals and atmosphere, making it a standout feature.
“Short, cute, and entertaining point and click adventure with wonderful music.”
“I really enjoyed this sweet game with its delightful animations and lovely soundtrack.”
“I literally had to stop playing a few times, and listen, because the music seemed to be almost too good for what I was experiencing.”
“Most games have music that just becomes background noise.”
“The music is quite forgettable.”
“While effects and music are balanced enough, cutscenes ignore volume settings completely, which is always annoying.”
- gameplay20 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally described as simple, polished, and accessible, making it suitable for casual players, though it lacks depth and engagement. While the visuals and music are praised, the game suffers from long animations, a lack of story, and mechanics that feel unfinished, leading to a somewhat detached experience. Overall, it offers around 3 to 3.5 hours of straightforward gameplay, reminiscent of Amanita Design titles but lacking their cohesiveness.
“It is beautifully illustrated, the music is pleasant, the gameplay is simple but not boring.”
“The gameplay is very polished and easy to pick up even for my non-gamer sister.”
“Higher production values, more content, intuitive gameplay and controls, very cool graphics and music.”
“Graphics are good, sound is nice but there is no story, long animations without a skip option, and the mechanics are quite bad in some scenes, which makes this game look unfinished.”
“It very obviously 'borrows' its gameplay and tone from Amanita Design games, such as Samorost and Machinarium, but is nowhere near as cohesive, and as a game, it's just not very engaging.”
“I could somewhat piece the story together, but because the gameplay is so detached, I couldn't really care about anything, not even the protagonist whom I played.”
- atmosphere14 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 21 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its captivating atmosphere, characterized by nice graphics, attention to detail, and a relaxed, immersive experience reminiscent of Amanita's style. Players appreciate the light puzzles and the game's ability to transport them through beautifully crafted environments, making it a visually appealing and atmospheric journey. Overall, the atmosphere is a standout feature, enhancing the overall enjoyment of the game.
“It's a point-and-click walking simulator with okay art, great atmosphere, amazing attention to detail, and nothing else to do.”
“Similar to an Amanita game but more of a relaxed atmosphere.”
“Around 4 hours long, puzzles more on the light side, lots of atmosphere!”
“Beautiful old-fashioned quest with a special emphasis on the universe and atmosphere.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
Overall, the game has mixed opinions on replayability; while some players find it cute and worth the money, they note a lack of plot surprises that diminishes its replay value.
“Cute, worth the money, and there are no plot surprises, so it has plenty of replay value.”
“It's not really replayable.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's humor is highlighted through amusing cut scenes and a diverse array of quirky locales, which evoke chuckles and a sense of delight as players explore new and bizarre environments.
“I found myself chuckling at some of the cutscenes as they are quite humorous.”
“Where it shines is in its diversity of locales and the delight in reaching somewhere new, weird, and funny.”
