Spindle

About

Spindle is a single player role playing game with fantasy, mystery and comedy themes. It was developed by Wobble Ghost and was released on October 13, 2025. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

Spindle is an old-school zeldaesque action-adventure where you slip into the role of Death. But you won't be alone: A pig is your companion! Obviously. Because of reasons.

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97%

Audience ScoreBased on 178 reviews

story37 positive mentions

stability3 negative mentions

Beautifully crafted pixel art and animations with a charming, nostalgic style reminiscent of classic Zelda games.
Engaging and satisfying puzzles that increase in difficulty and offer a rewarding exploration experience.
Heartfelt and thoughtful narrative that delicately explores themes of death, grief, and acceptance with humor and warmth.

Combat is generally simple, sometimes feeling floaty or lacking depth, with a few frustrating difficulty spikes in boss fights.
Some issues with hitboxes, controls, and occasional bugs or crashes that affect gameplay experience.
The progression and world navigation can be unclear or confusing, with limited map features and lack of quality-of-life improvements such as cutscene skipping.

story
89 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
55%
3%
The story is widely praised for its emotional depth, thoughtful exploration of themes like loss and acceptance, and engaging character interactions, often blending heartfelt moments with humor. While some find the narrative fragmented or less central compared to gameplay, many appreciate its meaningful and memorable impact within a relatively short playtime. Overall, it offers a touching, well-executed tale that complements the game's exploration and puzzle-solving well.
- “The writing subtly explores themes of loss and grief without ever feeling heavy-handed; it’s a story about acceptance, wrapped in adorable pixel art.”
- “Playing as Death with your trusty pig companion creates a perfect blend of quirky humor and heartfelt storytelling that kept me smiling throughout my entire playthrough.”
- “The main story is beautiful, emotional, and also a little bit heartbreaking, while the world is incredibly saturated with little details and additional side quests.”
- “Often you can't even tell if the quest you are pursuing at the moment is part of the main story or some (optional?) side quest.”
- “Another small point concerns the story itself: the purpose of the spindle feels somewhat underused.”
- “The story is about collecting souls for the afterlife and it feels disappointing.”
gameplay
53 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
51%
6%
The gameplay is widely praised for its solid, engaging mechanics that blend exploration, puzzles, and combat reminiscent of classic Zelda and Metroidvania styles. It offers a smooth progression with a steady introduction of unique abilities and mechanics that keep the experience fresh, balanced, and challenging without feeling forced. While not overly long, the gameplay is satisfying, well-paced, and consistently enjoyable throughout the adventure.
- “The puzzles never felt forced, every new power and mechanic is introduced effortlessly in an immersive way, so navigating new paths feels fulfilling in itself.”
- “Each major area introduces new mechanics and gameplay ideas, nothing manages to get stale over the course of the game.”
- “Gameplay-wise, the puzzles strike a nice balance — not too easy, not too hard — and the game doesn’t hold your hand too much, which I really appreciate.”
- “It's good that the game's easy enough so health won't be an issue unless you're in a dungeon, but game difficulty really should depend on enemy and mechanics design rather than confusion and inconsistencies.”
- “Another issue I have is the game is unclear as to the importance of different mechanics.”
- “The story itself didn’t fully click with me, and the mountain climbing mechanic felt overused and tedious at times, although it only made up a small part of the game.”
music
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
33%
7%
The music in the game is widely praised as a standout feature, frequently described as charming, fitting, and evocative, perfectly complementing the atmosphere and gameplay. While a few found it uninspired or not exceptional enough to warrant a separate purchase, most reviews highlight the soundtrack as a key element that enhances the overall experience.
- “It's a beautiful action-adventure with a unique and gorgeous art style, but what truly blows me away is the music; the soundtrack is an absolute highlight for me and fits every moment perfectly.”
- “The atmosphere, exploration, and music just pull you in completely, and in some ways it even feels a bit better than Zelda.”
- “The soundtrack deserves special praise.”
- “Uninspired music.”
- “Music: again, nothing to go out of your way to buy the soundtrack for, but it really sets the mood and complements what you're doing.”
- “Also the music: it is pretty good, not annoying and suits every environment.”
graphics
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
40%
3%
The graphics in Spindle are widely praised for their beautiful, nostalgic pixel art style that perfectly complements the game's charming atmosphere and storytelling. Reviewers highlight the visually delightful, lovingly crafted visuals and smooth animations that evoke classic indie and retro games while supporting the gameplay seamlessly. Overall, the art style is considered a standout feature, enhanced further by an excellent, fitting soundtrack.
- “Pixel art perfection: the visuals are absolutely delightful.”
- “The graphics are surprisingly good for a 2D pixel look game, and the effects are very cool.”
- “For me it is quite astonishing how deep the atmosphere gets with these simple graphics, which look, for their style itself, really awesome.”
emotional
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game delivers a deeply emotional experience centered on themes of death, loss, and connection, blending heartfelt storytelling with moments of humor and warmth. Players praise its touching narrative, quiet impactful scenes, and cozy atmosphere that linger long after finishing, creating a bittersweet yet uplifting journey. The well-crafted story, combined with engaging exploration and light puzzles, evokes genuine feelings and thoughtful reflection without becoming overly heavy or cheesy.
- “The final conversation between Dengel and his dad genuinely hit me — one of those quiet, emotional moments that stick with you after the credits roll.”
- “Many instances that have no apparent weight in progressing your mission have been the most touching to me, reaching out to one's own memories and connection to people.”
- “Playing as Death with your trusty pig companion creates this perfect blend of quirky humor and heartfelt storytelling that kept me smiling throughout my entire playthrough.”
humor
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a charming blend of quirky, lighthearted moments balanced with themes of death and melancholy, creating a genuinely funny yet heartfelt experience. Players appreciated the witty characters, subtle humor, and the way it naturally weaves humor into an emotional narrative without overwhelming it. This mix of humor and emotion contributes to a cozy, engaging world that keeps players smiling and invested throughout the game.
- “The way it dealt with death was really nice; it has that sense of realism while also being humorous and light-hearted at the same time.”
- “Playing as Death with your trusty pig companion creates a perfect blend of quirky humor and heartfelt storytelling that kept me smiling throughout my entire playthrough.”
- “Despite its theme, the world is surprisingly full of humor and charm, constantly balancing melancholy and lightheartedness in a way that feels natural and sincere.”
atmosphere
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
55%
The atmosphere in Spindle is praised for its cozy, heartfelt, and immersive quality, enhanced by a lovely art style and haunting soundtrack. Its combination of exploration, clever dungeon design, and emotional moments creates a deeply engaging and memorable experience reminiscent of, and sometimes surpassing, classic Zelda games.
- “But what really makes Spindle shine is the care that went into it - you can feel the love in every detail, from the cozy atmosphere to the touching moments with NPCs.”
- “The atmosphere, exploration, and music just pull you in completely, and in some ways it even feels a bit better than Zelda.”
- “Spindle is a cozy Zelda-like with interesting and varying locations and dungeons, various enemies with unique behaviors, as well as a beautiful audible and visual atmosphere, next to challenging but not unfair puzzles and plenty of secrets to find.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game exhibits generally solid stability, though players have encountered occasional glitches and softlocks, such as missing puzzle elements and crashes. These issues, while present, are not game-breaking and have received limited developer response.
- “Several puzzles were solid, but there were some glitches such as pebbles not appearing during a boss fight, hitting a chicken while walking indoors caused a softlock, and the game crashed occasionally. None of it was game-breaking, but these issues affected stability.”
- “One of the later bosses had some glitches which I posted about in the community hub, but never received any response.”
- “”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game runs smoothly with detailed visuals and good optimization on most platforms, but the Nintendo Switch 2 version currently lacks proper optimization despite its potential for improvement.
- “The game looks amazing, has a lot of detail and just runs smoothly.”
- “But it has potential for something like Silksong on Switch 2 with great haptics and smooth optimization.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is considered somewhat tedious and repetitive, with certain mechanics like mountain climbing feeling overused. However, these segments are limited and do not dominate the overall experience.