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SIDE EFFECTS

SIDE EFFECTS Game Cover
84%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:gameplay, graphics
Most mentioned negative aspects:story, stability
84% User Score Based on 476 reviews

Platforms

PCWindows
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SIDE EFFECTS Game Cover

About SIDE EFFECTS

SIDE EFFECTS is a single player and multiplayer tactical strategy game with horror and thriller themes. It was developed by Jaybooty and was released on November 21, 2025. It received positive reviews from players.

Up to four test subjects. One twisted medical trial. Only one leaves. Welcome to Side Effects: a tense, turn-based medical roulette game. Each round you'll be presented with a selection of pills. Some are helpful, some are harmful, and some mean instant death. You never know what you're about to consume or what it might do to your mind or body. Winning means outlasting – AKA, outliving – your opp…

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SIDE EFFECTS screenshot
SIDE EFFECTS screenshot
SIDE EFFECTS screenshot
SIDE EFFECTS screenshot
SIDE EFFECTS screenshot
SIDE EFFECTS screenshot
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Reviews

84%Audience ScoreBased on 476 reviews
gameplay11 positive mentions
story3 negative mentions
  • Engaging multiplayer party game with strategic depth and psychological bluffing, enhancing replayability especially with friends.
  • Unique and creepy aesthetic with interesting body horror transformations that add to immersion and atmosphere.
  • Well-designed item system adds tactical choices beyond pure luck, increasing player agency in the gameplay.
  • Multiplayer suffers from frequent bugs, crashes, and matchmaking issues, often making it difficult to find or complete matches.
  • Singleplayer mode is limited, repetitive, and lacks meaningful progression or content beyond initial unlocks.
  • The game feels incomplete with missing features such as chat, customizations, and achievements, and the developers have ceased updating it.

  • gameplay

    31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    35% positive mentions, 55% neutral mentions, 10% negative mentions

    The gameplay is characterized by simple yet well-executed mechanics centered around a unique pill-based system that blends luck, strategy, and bluffing. While it offers an addictive and fresh twist reminiscent of Buckshot Roulette, some players find it repetitive after several hours and note occasional bugs affecting the experience. Overall, it's praised for its originality, strategic depth, and dark humor, making it appealing especially to fans of deduction and party games.

    • “Well thought out mechanics, cool body horror visuals, very good price.”
    • “Their games feel fresh and original, with well-thought-out mechanics that encourage strategic thinking and experimentation.”
    • “The developers saw humor in mortality and built a competitive game around it, and that creative boldness gives the experience personality far beyond its mechanical simplicity.”
    • “Unfortunately, despite the multiplayer fun, I can't recommend it because the gameplay becomes repetitive after just a couple of matches. Considering this version is no longer early access, there are still several bugs that force me to give it a negative rating.”
    • “The gameplay does seem like it'll get repetitive after a while though.”
    • “Not sure what to say here - the game mechanics are a clone of Buckshot Roulette, just with pills instead.”

  • graphics

    24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    50% positive mentions, 37% neutral mentions, 13% negative mentions

    The game's graphics feature a distinct, lo-fi, PS1-era art style that perfectly complements its dark, psychological horror theme with creepy and grotesque yet playful visuals. While some minor graphic glitches and bugs exist, regular updates help address these issues, and the overall aesthetic, including detailed and gut-wrenching effects, is widely praised for enhancing the atmosphere and multiplayer fun.

    • “✔️ Creepy aesthetic with good little details - the longer you play, the more you notice small touches that fit the tone.”
    • “The visuals avoid realism in favor of exaggerated, cartoon-adjacent character models that make the violence feel absurd rather than grotesque, keeping the game tonally playful instead of bleak.”
    • “Some minor graphic glitches, but nothing game breaking so far, and updates are rolled out regularly to address issues.”
    • “The art style leans into a lo-fi, PS1-era aesthetic, which perfectly complements the dark theme.”
    • “I dig the theme and art style, but there's just too many bugs and last I tried playing multiplayer, lobbies would fill up and just never load into a match.”

  • humor

    23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game’s humor shines most in multiplayer settings, offering unpredictable, hilarious moments fueled by player interactions, silly decisions, and quirky visuals. Its dark, unsettling comedy and emphasis on mortality create a unique, memorable experience that resonates especially well as a party game. Overall, the humor is praised for being bold, amusing, and a key part of the game’s charm.

    • “This game is beyond hilarious to play with friends.”
    • “The developers saw humor in mortality and built a competitive game around it, and that creative boldness gives the experience personality far beyond its mechanical simplicity.”
    • “Get ready for some incredibly hilarious moments!”

  • story

    15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    13% positive mentions, 67% neutral mentions, 20% negative mentions

    The game lacks a traditional story, with only minimal backstory or environmental storytelling present. Players primarily engage in pill-collecting missions focused on survival rather than narrative. Some reviewers suggest adding story elements or modes to enhance single-player engagement.

    • “Reveal some of the backstory of the facility.”
    • “Add some environmental storytelling; such as graffiti, reports written by other patients or even a patient backstory, since they do seem somewhat distinct from each other in terms of player models.”
    • “No story.”
    • “There isn't much of a story.”
    • “Maybe singleplayer could add some story mode elements.”

  • stability

    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The game suffers from frequent bugs and glitches, including crashes, freezes, and animation issues, which significantly impact stability and multiplayer functionality. While updates are regularly released to address problems, the current state remains frustrating for many players. Despite its fun mechanics and potential, the overall stability needs improvement before it can be fully enjoyed.

    • “There’s an annoying glitch that occurs almost half the time, where the game suddenly freezes and you can’t do anything.”
    • “Secondly: even when it does start it either crashes immediately or freezes for like 2 minutes and then crashes.”
    • “Lastly: me and my friend were only ever able to get it working when I host a match, make it public, give him the code, wait a minute before starting the game, and then hit play, but even then we never finished a match because it freezes halfway through!”

  • atmosphere

    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    38% positive mentions, 24% neutral mentions, 38% negative mentions

    The game's atmosphere is generally praised for its immersive, heavy, and unique style, combining dark, unsettling, and sometimes cold, clinical elements that enhance the overall experience. However, some users feel the spooky mood can diminish quickly and desire more content and polish to fully sustain its compelling ambiance.

    • “Controls are simple, atmosphere is heavy, and every sound feels personal.”
    • “The atmosphere, design, and overall gameplay are immersive and enjoyable, making their projects appealing to both casual and dedicated players.”
    • “If you enjoy high-stakes gambling, clever item synergy, and psychological duels in a dark, unsettling atmosphere, this prescription is definitely worth filling.”
    • “The unlock cycle is kinda annoying and the spooky atmosphere wears off really quick to the point where it's annoying as well.”
    • “Similar to buckshot roulette in nature of the ruthless testament of luck, with less dark, rusty, oppressive atmosphere and more cold, indifferent, 'medicinal' experimentation.”
    • “Style and atmosphere.”

  • replayability

    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    43% positive mentions, 14% neutral mentions, 43% negative mentions

    Replayability opinions for the game are mixed, with some players appreciating the RNG and variety of modifiers that add fun and chaos, especially in a party setting, rating it around 7.4/10. However, others find the game becomes boring quickly after unlocking content, citing low engagement and limited long-term replay value compared to similar games. Overall, replayability is seen as moderate but not a strong point for all players.

    • “Like buckshot roulette, much of the replayability comes from achieving things and being rewarded for it.”
    • “The modifiers and RNG of the game give it a lot of replayability, making it a fun party game that doesn't take up much space on the computer.”
    • “Pretty straightforwardly just better buckshot roulette; much more replayable. Rounds last longer and feel more chaotic due to the massive variety of pills instead of just 'blank' and 'live' rounds.”
    • “Game has low replay value, and it's hard to stay engaged with.”
    • “Even with the advantages of low price and multiplayer, this game sadly doesn't provide much replay value.”
    • “The only thing that makes this game not buckshot roulette are the variety of pills which, in my opinion, don't change anything. It's honestly not fun; I got bored really fast on this game. The replayability is around zero, especially after you unlock most of the items. This game is dead and not well optimized.”

  • music

    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    50% positive mentions, -25% neutral mentions, 75% negative mentions

    The music received mixed feedback, with some finding it appropriately calm and fitting the game's eerie atmosphere, while others criticized it for being repetitive or nearly silent at times, leading to a less engaging audio experience.

    • “Music is appropriate for the genre.”
    • “The game sets the stage with sterile white environments, unnervingly calm music, and a premise that feels more like a social experiment than entertainment: participants take pills, wait for consequences, and hope they don’t die.”
    • “The OST gets old quick.”
    • “Music: 1/10 (completely silent most of the time)”
    • “The game sets the stage with sterile white environments, unnervingly calm music, and a premise that feels more like a social experiment than entertainment.”

  • emotional

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game delivers a powerful emotional impact through rapid and intense moments, creating heartbreaking yet entertaining experiences. Its quick pacing and unpredictability enhance emotional swings, making short sessions feel fresh and engaging.

    • “What makes Side Effects so entertaining is how quickly it escalates emotionally.”
    • “It excels in short sessions, where unpredictability and emotional swings feel fresh and funny.”
    • “Somehow managed to take the death pill first pick every time, heartbreaking ”

  • optimization

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game's optimization is mixed, with some users noting smooth performance despite bugs, while others feel it is poorly optimized and lacks replayability. However, recent improvements have made Side Effects well optimized.

    • “The game runs smoothly minus the bugs.”
    • “Side Effects is well optimized now.”

  • grinding

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 100% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    Grinding is described as very time-consuming and demanding, often requiring extensive effort or multiple attempts to progress.

  • monetization

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    Users criticize the game's monetization for being overly aggressive with advertising.

  • character development

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game features impressive character design paired with a fun and engaging concept, contributing to a strong character development experience.

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Play Times

15h Median play time
15h Average play time
15-15h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

SIDE EFFECTS is a tactical strategy game with horror and thriller themes. Common tags for SIDE EFFECTS include turn-based, first-person, 3D, indie, surreal and others.

SIDE EFFECTS is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 15 hours playing SIDE EFFECTS.

SIDE EFFECTS was released on November 21, 2025.

SIDE EFFECTS was developed by Jaybooty.

SIDE EFFECTS has received positive reviews from players. Most players liked SIDE EFFECTS for its gameplay but disliked it for its story.

SIDE EFFECTS is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Liar's Bar, Buckshot Roulette, Demonologist, Move or Die, HALF DEAD 2 and others.