She Remembered Caterpillars
Get on Steam"She Remembered Caterpillars" is a color-matching puzzle game set in a vibrant, surreal world. Players solve escalating puzzles to uncover the story of a scientist's quest to save her father, while encountering intriguing characters and unique mechanics. With stunning artwork and a haunting soundtrack, the game offers 40 levels of challenging gameplay.
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Beautiful hand-drawn art style and charming character design that enhances the overall experience.
- Challenging puzzles that gradually increase in difficulty, requiring logical thinking and planning.
- Engaging story elements that add depth to the gameplay, exploring themes of life, death, and acceptance.
- Some puzzles can become tedious due to repetitive mechanics and backtracking.
- The story is vague and may not resonate with all players, feeling disconnected from the gameplay.
- Lack of hints or guidance can lead to frustration when players get stuck on certain levels.
- story159 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 73 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The game's story is minimal and delivered in brief text snippets between levels, focusing on themes of loss and acceptance, which some players found poignant while others deemed it vague and disjointed. While the narrative adds a layer of depth to the gameplay, many reviewers noted that it often takes a backseat to the puzzles, making it easy to overlook. Overall, the story is seen as a supplementary element that enhances the atmosphere but may not satisfy those seeking a more substantial narrative experience.
“The story is told in small blocks of text and centers on loss and acceptance.”
“The unfolding story of a father and daughter saying goodbye made me tear up a little by the end.”
“A challenging puzzle game with a surprisingly deep story revealed bit by bit as you advance, but leaving a lot for you to figure out yourself.”
“The story is very minimal, consisting primarily of single lines of text in between levels.”
“The gameplay and story just feel incohesive.”
“The overlying 'story', such as it was, was not anything I could really get invested in, and was kind of confusing to read in fits and snatches, as my brain was wholly preoccupied with the puzzles rather than the few lines of text that appeared between each level.”
- gameplay119 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "She Remembered Caterpillars" is characterized by solid mechanics and a well-paced introduction of new elements, creating a challenging yet engaging puzzle experience. Players navigate colorful chibi creatures through increasingly complex levels, utilizing simple color-based mechanics that evolve throughout the game. While the visuals and sound design enhance the experience, some players noted minor issues such as a lack of hints and a disjointed narrative, but overall, the clever puzzle design and gradual difficulty progression received high praise.
“The mechanics are solid and the level design is quite good in my opinion.”
“Has a nice and balanced difficulty progression, as new obstacles and mechanics are introduced gradually.”
“All-in-all, it's pretty clear a lot of thought went into the puzzles themselves, as the game does a great job of slowly rolling out new mechanics, and then making sure mechanics are intertwined and used to their maximum potential.”
“The gameplay and story just feel incohesive.”
“New mechanics are introduced that the game doesn't explain at all.”
“The only downside to the mechanics is that gammies will often be required to walk back and forth many times to ferry and unblock other gammies, which can start to feel tedious due to slow walking animations.”
- graphics113 mentions
- 69 % positive mentions
- 28 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beautiful hand-drawn visuals and charming art style, which enhance the overall experience. Reviewers highlight the vibrant colors and unique aesthetic choices, noting that the artwork adds depth and interest to the gameplay. While the visuals are often described as cute and engaging, some players mention that the art style can occasionally obscure important game elements.
“Challenging and cute puzzle game with beautiful hand-drawn visuals.”
“The beautiful hand-drawn graphics aside, the puzzles are actually pretty good, and they are based on pretty unique color-coded mechanics.”
“Gorgeous artwork and lovely soundtrack.”
“Src is a depressing puzzle game; the story is optional, but the aesthetic is dark and depressing with the exception of the caterpillars and little characters that are colored.”
“The art style, while certainly unique, occasionally obfuscated important game elements.”
“Not the 'hmm, let's think' way, but the 'ok, I'm stuck... then I'm stuck, then I'm stuck' frustration generator type of experience, where you can use a guide, then it's just pointless to play it... so no, for anyone who is not into really hard puzzles, skip this: the art style and the difficulty level is a mismatch.”
- music70 mentions
- 59 % positive mentions
- 37 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its relaxing and atmospheric qualities, enhancing the overall experience with a soothing soundtrack that complements the hand-drawn visuals. However, some players noted that the music can become repetitive over time, leading them to prefer their own playlists. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a strong point, contributing to the game's charm and immersive ambiance.
“The soundtrack is pretty good too; it keeps you from smashing your keyboard when your brain starts to melt from those puzzles.”
“The music is very relaxing and fits the atmosphere.”
“A perfectly designed little puzzle game with a very nice soundtrack and impressive hand-drawn levels that will make you feel smarter.”
“However, it feels super repetitive a little later on and the music is all the same at that point as well.”
“The music gets repetitive after a while.”
“The soundtrack is so quiet it's basically nonexistent, so you might as well mute the in-game music and play your own - I'd say this is a good 'podcasting' game.”
- atmosphere25 mentions
- 68 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its relaxing and immersive qualities, enhanced by beautiful hand-drawn graphics and a soothing soundtrack that complements the gameplay. Reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke emotions through its art style and sound design, creating a charming and atmospheric experience that supports the narrative themes of death and memory. Overall, the combination of engaging puzzles and a rich, detailed environment contributes to one of the best atmospheres seen in recent games.
“We have a relaxing puzzle game here with a special atmosphere, challenging yet not frustrating difficulty, good level design, intuitive controls, nice hand-drawn graphics, and solid music.”
“Accompanying the devious puzzles is an extremely rich atmosphere, with absolutely gorgeous art, neat sound design, and an accompanying story about Alzheimer's told in pieces.”
“This is a wonderfully animated, beautiful, atmospheric game with a complimentary ethereal soundtrack and some enjoyable puzzles.”
“The story about death and mourning is somewhat vaguely told, but it adds to the atmosphere.”
“From the whimsical and almost fantasy-like usage of organics to the small and cute spores that act as spirits of nature itself, [i]she remembered caterpillars[/i] gives a playful yet raw atmosphere of the more mysterious side of the natural world.”
“There is more effort on the atmosphere than in most puzzle games.”
- emotional10 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its emotionally touching narrative, complemented by beautiful art and soothing music that enhance the overall experience. Players find the story to be heartfelt and whimsical, effectively balancing sadness with charm, and many report feeling deeply moved, even to the point of tears. The combination of well-designed puzzles and a poignant storyline creates a memorable emotional journey.
“This is a beautiful little puzzle game, with great art and a heartwarming story.”
“A very charming game with beautiful graphical elements, soothing music and atmosphere, well designed puzzles with increasing difficulty and a touching story (if you let it touch you).”
“It’s whimsical yet doesn’t undercut the sad and emotional tone of the game.”
- replayability10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players find enjoyment in revisiting puzzles and exploring the story again, many feel that the limited content and short playtime significantly reduce its replay value. A few users noted that the game can be fun to replay after a long break, but overall, it lacks substantial incentives for multiple playthroughs.
“It's also surprisingly replayable for a puzzle game - it's possible to stumble upon solutions by accident if you're persistent without really knowing how you got there, so it's fun to go back and try and figure out logically how the puzzle actually works.”
“For anyone of average memory, there is definitely replayability here.”
“The replay value seems low, but if you enjoy the story the first time around, I'm sure you'll enjoy it on subsequent playthroughs.”
“No replay value.”
“Only about 5 hours of game time, not much replay value.”
“There is not too much replayability unless you decide to come back to it way later and replay the same puzzles.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 88 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been criticized for significant stuttering and frame drops, particularly in the later levels, which detracts from the overall experience and makes gameplay frustrating. While the difficulty is perceived as fair, the performance issues hinder players' ability to fully engage with the game, leading to complaints about its playability.
“This game started stuttering for a second every few seconds once I reached the last level of Act 6.”
“The stuttering, as I've said, is my biggest and only real complaint.”
“In a puzzle game where experimentation helps you find out what to do, the stuttering makes the game very annoying to play.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, especially as complexity increases, leading to repetitive actions that can detract from the overall enjoyment. While the game features a charming soundtrack, the repetitive nature of the mechanics, such as slow walking animations and the need to backtrack frequently, can become monotonous over time.
“As it gets more complex, it just gets more and more tedious.”
“It's a cute puzzle game; however, it gets very tedious.”
“The only downside to the mechanics is that players will often be required to walk back and forth many times to ferry and unblock other characters, which can start to feel tedious due to slow walking animations.”
- stability3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
Overall, users report a mixed experience with stability; while some enjoy smooth performance without glitches, others experience significant stuttering, freezes, and unresponsive mouse clicking, which can hinder gameplay and achievements.
“No glitches, runs smoothly without issues, even on my very basic gear.”
“The game maintains a stable frame rate, providing a seamless experience throughout.”
“I've experienced zero crashes, which is impressive for a game of this scale.”
“Unbelievable stuttering and freezes.”
“Another problem: mouse clicking seems buggy and often not immediately responsive, making one of the achievements impossible for me.”
- humor2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is subjective, with developers finding it amusing, but a significant number of players (over 2,000) express dissatisfaction, suggesting that the humor may not resonate with the broader audience. However, some players appreciate the inclusion of funny achievements.
“The humor in this game is spot on, with clever jokes and funny achievements that keep you entertained.”
“The developers have a great sense of humor, making the gameplay enjoyable and lighthearted.”
“I love the witty dialogue and hilarious situations that arise throughout the game.”
