Sometimes: Success Requires Sacrifice

About

"Sometimes: Success Requires Sacrifice" is a narrative-driven game where choices matter. Players take on the role of Volens, a young mage who must navigate moral dilemmas and make tough decisions that will impact the world around them. With branching storylines and multiple endings, success may require making sacrifices that haunt you long after the game is over.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Sometimes: Success Requires Sacrifice screenshot

65%

Audience ScoreBased on 234 reviews

gameplay11 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game features a unique mechanic where dying illuminates the path, adding an interesting twist to gameplay.
It offers multiple game modes, providing variety and keeping the experience somewhat fresh.
The background music is relaxing and complements the gameplay well.

The game suffers from technical issues, including bugs, lack of save options, and frustrating audio, particularly the loud death noises.
Gameplay can become repetitive and lacks depth, leading to boredom after a short period.
The graphics and overall presentation feel cheap and unfinished, resembling a low-quality flash game.

gameplay
41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
56%
17%
The gameplay is characterized by a simple and repetitive mechanic of navigating through darkness, often requiring players to sacrifice their character to illuminate the path ahead. While some find the concept intriguing and the controls straightforward, many reviewers criticize the execution as uninspired and lacking depth, leading to a generally unfulfilling experience. Overall, the game offers a mix of classic modes and mini-games, but its core mechanics and floaty controls detract from the enjoyment, making it more suitable as a short diversion rather than a compelling gameplay experience.
- “With both a classic mode and engaging mini-games, it offers diverse gameplay.”
- “This is a beautiful game with relaxing music and good gameplay.”
- “Cute little game with some interesting mechanics (die to light your pathway in front of you).”
- “Gameplay is walking blindly and dropping a torch in darkness, spawning back at the beginning, then expanding the visible radius by dropping another torch, rinse and repeat until you reach the maze's exit.”
- “The worst offense though, is that the game's core mechanic - moving around in darkness - is hampered by controls that feel floaty.”
- “The gameplay here is pretty atrocious from what I can tell, as well as quite unintuitive, so I can't really recommend this.”
music
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
26%
11%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the relaxing piano arrangements and atmospheric quality, while others find the sound effects, particularly the loud death noise, disruptive to the overall experience. Some users suggest the need for volume control options to enhance enjoyment of the soundtrack. Overall, the music is often described as a highlight, contributing positively to the game's ambiance despite some inconsistencies.
- “A pretty game with a nice and relaxing soundtrack.”
- “The game gives a really nice piano arrangement in its soundtrack.”
- “This is a beautiful game with relaxing music and good gameplay.”
- “The music is too loud, and so is everything.”
- “The music is a loop of what sounds like a stock piano track.”
- “The music is atmospheric, but it's also all over the place from one track to the next, which is totally at odds with the annoying death noise that you'll be hearing a lot, even in a simple one to two minutes of playtime.”
graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The graphics of the game are generally described as simple and 2D, with a cute cartoon style reminiscent of popular indie titles. While some players appreciate the straightforward visuals and details like blood-stained blades, many express disappointment, feeling that the graphics lack depth and could benefit from further development. Overall, the consensus is that while the graphics serve their purpose, they leave much to be desired, especially for an 8-bit aesthetic.
- “Graphics are simple and good, and the music is very nice.”
- “+ Cute but simple graphics; your blood-staining blades is a nice detail.”
- “Graphics is 2D cute cartoon style, much like some of the most played indie games on Steam.”
- “To be honest, I don't like the graphics of this game.”
- “I would have been happy if the graphics and UI were worked on a bit.”
- “I think the graphics leave a lot to be desired; even for 8-bit graphics, it's kind of weak.”
story
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
20%
60%
The game lacks a coherent story, with players describing it as simply being a ghost that becomes light, leaving much to be desired in narrative depth. While there are various gameplay modes to explore, they do not contribute to a meaningful story experience, leading to a sense of disappointment among users. Overall, the absence of a substantial storyline detracts from the game's potential as a narrative-driven experience.
- “The game features a couple of modes to keep you entertained: classic (the kind of story mode?), endless (as the name suggests, endless), and trust fall (where you try to avoid obstacles while falling). Even though some modes aren't part of the main game, at least you have a handful of options to explore.”
- “There is no story; you're a ghost who dies and becomes light. That's all there is to it.”
- “If there was some sort of story attached, I'd call this a game.”
- “There are a couple of modes to keep you entertained, but none of them really contribute to a cohesive story.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly due to the need to repeatedly die and retrace their steps in large levels. The repetitive nature of this mechanic can detract from the overall experience, with some even resorting to playing on mute to avoid the frustrating death sounds.
- “It only makes the game tedious to die and re-run some places to get some light to get to the end.”
- “This is a pretty cool concept, but the game gets tedious in some levels that are large and you need to die and go back to the beginning to proceed.”
- “Sound boring and tedious?”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is rooted in its absurd premise and the comical death sounds, which can lead to moments of genuine laughter. However, the repetitive nature of the gameplay may diminish the initial comedic impact, making it more suitable for a brief, light-hearted experience rather than sustained enjoyment. Overall, while it can provide a good laugh, players might want to wait for a sale to fully appreciate its humor.
- “I'm not sure if it was because we were tired or because we weren't expecting it, or maybe just because this was an asset flip, but we lost our shit laughing and then rapidly killed the main character again and again because of the stupid death sound.”
- “If you want like 10 minutes of laughing until your lungs hurt and 99 cents to spare... still wait until this is on sale.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game has low replayability, with some users suggesting it is best purchased at a discounted price. However, the inclusion of achievements offers a potential incentive for players seeking to revisit the game.
- “That would add a lot of replayability.”
- “But it has low replay value, so get it for less than a dollar.”
- “The replay value here is the achievements.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has been reported to have stability issues, with users experiencing bugs and glitches that can affect gameplay, such as being unable to see anything while moving.
- “On my first play, I thought this was buggy, as I could move but not see anything.”
- “It has some bugs and glitches.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
50%
The atmosphere is characterized by atmospheric music that varies significantly between tracks, creating a disjointed experience. However, the overly loud death sound effect disrupts the immersion, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the game's ambiance.
- “The music is atmospheric and creates an immersive experience, enhancing the overall mood of the game.”
- “The sound design contributes significantly to the atmosphere, making each moment feel impactful and engaging.”
- “The combination of ambient sounds and music draws you into the game world, making it feel alive and dynamic.”
- “The splash sound that it makes when you 'die' is way too loud, so if I'm playing and want to enjoy the music and atmosphere, the 'death' sound is ruining the experience.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express a desire for deeper emotional connections in gameplay, highlighting the potential for intimate interactions that evoke strong feelings, such as pleasure and intimacy, through simple gestures.

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Sometimes: Success Requires Sacrifice
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3h Median play time

3h Average play time

3-3h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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