Stranded

34%
Game Brain Score Based on 388 reviews
  • music
  • story
  • graphics
Stranded Game Cover
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"Stranded" is a single-player Science Fiction Role Playing game with a good story, stellar graphics, and an exceptional soundtrack. As a stranded astronaut on a sun-blasted planet, you must explore and uncover mysteries for survival in this minimal point-and-click adventure that focuses on atmosphere and exploration. Despite its fabulous atmosphere, the gameplay is disappointing.

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Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

34%
Audience ScoreBased on 388 reviews
music87 positive mentions
gameplay16 negative mentions
  • Great visuals and unique art style that captures the atmosphere of an alien planet.
  • The soundtrack is immersive and complements the game's ambiance well.
  • Offers a contemplative experience that encourages exploration and interpretation.
  • Extremely short gameplay, typically completed in under 30 minutes.
  • Clunky controls with slow character movement, making navigation tedious.
  • Lacks meaningful interaction and puzzles, resulting in a feeling of emptiness.
  • music150 mentions

    The music in the game has received widespread praise for its quality and ability to enhance the atmosphere, with many reviewers noting its relaxing, ambient, and dynamic qualities that evolve with gameplay. While the soundtrack is often described as outstanding and fitting, some players found it repetitive or limited, and a few expressed frustration over the lack of variety in sound effects. Overall, the music stands out as a highlight, contributing significantly to the game's aesthetic appeal despite criticisms of its gameplay and narrative depth.

    • “The music is outstanding, and the pixel art provides quite screenshot-able tableaus.”
    • “The music and sound design are also really good, and make for a really immersive and atmospheric experience, that encourages you to explore this alien world.”
    • “The soundtrack is a masterpiece and serves as much more than your standard background music as it evolves with every action you take, building up and changing as you visit different temples or advance between night and day.”
    • “The music gets repetitive fast.”
    • “The soundtrack is serviceable, though I can't say any of it stuck around after the incredibly brief runtime.”
    • “The music was nice, but the lack of actual sounds besides breathing is annoying.”
  • story149 mentions

    The game's story is largely criticized for being minimalistic to the point of non-existence, with many players finding it confusing and lacking depth. While some appreciate the artistic and atmospheric elements that accompany the narrative, the overall consensus is that the storytelling is insufficient and fails to engage players meaningfully. Those seeking a compelling plot or substantial gameplay may be disappointed, as the experience leans heavily on environmental storytelling and visual aesthetics rather than a coherent narrative.

    • “A short pixel point and click whose story is told through its breathtaking pixel environment.”
    • “In my eyes the game is beautiful; its aesthetics, music, and story make up a truly immersive experience.”
    • “The artwork is beyond gorgeous, the soundtrack is phenomenal (the music responds dynamically to your location and does a fantastic job of amplifying the mood at all the critical points in the story) and, while there is no text or speech in the game, the (very minimalistic) story was surprisingly emotive and involving.”
    • “The story just isn't there.”
    • “There's basically no story here; it's another game where the entire story is told entirely through visuals, and honestly, I was confused by what I was witnessing.”
    • “The storyline is so scant it's virtually nonexistent, and I wager while many would try to argue their interpretation of the events, the truth seems to be that either there's nothing going on here that isn't readily apparent, or -if there's more to it- you'll have to read what the author says is the deeper story somewhere outside the game because the game doesn't do it.”
  • graphics101 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique art style and beautiful pixel graphics, creating an atmospheric experience that evokes nostalgia for retro aesthetics. While many reviewers appreciate the visuals and accompanying music, some criticize the lack of gameplay depth and interactivity, suggesting that the graphics alone cannot compensate for the overall experience. Overall, the game is noted for its charming artwork and immersive atmosphere, though opinions vary on its execution and gameplay mechanics.

    • “It is more of an artistic game with absolute minimal gameplay and focuses more on its silent environmental storytelling accompanied by its breathtaking pixel graphics and atmosphere.”
    • “The artwork offers a compelling snapshot of an alien planet, set to a beautiful, ambient soundtrack that makes the silent and lonely setting all the more striking.”
    • “The art style, music, and atmosphere are all pretty great.”
    • “It's an adventure game with the adventure component removed, which doesn't leave much else; you just walk between rooms with badly done pixel 'art' (because, amazingly, just like the 'developer' couldn't do game development, they couldn't do modern computer graphics either).”
    • “A choice was made to use obsolete, decades-old retro pixel 'art' as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
    • “There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks.”
  • gameplay81 mentions

    The gameplay of the game has been widely criticized for its lack of depth and engaging mechanics, with many users describing it as painfully slow and tedious. While the visuals and music are praised, the gameplay is often reduced to minimal point-and-click exploration with little to no interactive elements, leading to a frustrating experience that feels more like a short art piece than a traditional game. Overall, the consensus is that despite its artistic merits, the gameplay is severely lacking, making it difficult for players to find value in the experience.

    • “If you can call it a game, there is no gameplay to speak of.”
    • “The soundtrack and art style are both fantastically done and cannot be faulted, but the actual gameplay is bland and becomes aggravatingly repetitive.”
    • “Again this game will not be for everybody but the only way to find out if it is, is by playing what I felt was a visually pleasing and engaging experience using classic point and click mechanics.”
    • “The game is very short, but still too long, because the gameplay is painful to get through.”
    • “The gameplay itself is literally point and click exploration with no objects and no other gameplay aspects other than wandering through the various game frames unlocking things as you progress.”
    • “The gameplay is annoying and repetitive and the story was confusing, and to be honest I never really got far in the game to even know what was happening since the game barely tells you anything and therefore I had no idea where to go.”
  • atmosphere75 mentions

    The atmosphere of "Stranded" is widely praised for its stunning pixel art, immersive sound design, and minimalist storytelling, creating a captivating experience that emphasizes exploration and mystery. However, many reviewers note that the slow pacing and lack of gameplay can lead to repetitive and dull moments, making it more of an artistic showcase than a traditional game. Overall, while the atmosphere is a highlight, it may not satisfy those seeking more interactive gameplay.

    • “The pixel art and atmosphere of the game are incredible, and as someone who loves space, mystery, and life on other planets, this was a great game.”
    • “The music and sound design are also really good, and make for a really immersive and atmospheric experience that encourages you to explore this alien world.”
    • “Art style, 2D graphics, sci-fi setting, and eerie robots on a dusty planet make for a wonderful atmosphere, and this alone would make it easy to immerse yourself within 'Stranded'.”
    • “In theory this is done to create 'atmosphere' (again: airquotes!) but it actually only serves to demonstrate the lack of respect for the medium they chose to use.”
    • “The atmosphere was a bit of a let down as there wasn't much to interact with or explore.”
    • “Clever atmosphere or whatever do not come close to justifying this price point.”
  • grinding13 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being excessively tedious and slow-paced, with many players noting that the core gameplay can be completed in under an hour but is artificially extended by repetitive tasks and a frustrating walking mechanic. While the art is appreciated, it fails to compensate for the lack of content and engaging gameplay, leading to a generally unsatisfactory experience. Overall, players feel that the game could have been more enjoyable if it had streamlined its mechanics and reduced the need for grinding.

    • “The game itself is very short if you break it down to the core gameplay elements, but becomes quite tedious because everything is so slow-paced.”
    • “Very short game, only elongated by the slow and tedious walk cycle and the unnecessary need to explore every part to proceed to the next time of the day.”
    • “What people haven't mentioned - except here on Steam - is that the game, while beautiful, can be completed in an hour or less, and the 'walking' mechanism is tediously slow.”
  • replayability11 mentions

    Overall, the game is criticized for its lack of replayability, with multiple users noting that it can be completed in about half an hour and offers no incentives to play again. The absence of meaningful goals and features further contributes to the consensus that there is zero replay value.

    • “The graveyard had you moving very slowly, but every step added to the story.”
    • “I think it took me about a half hour to complete the game and from what I can tell, there is no replay value.”
    • “Normally 8 bucks for legitimately 40 minutes of gameplay, with no replayability.”
    • “It's unclear what the goal is, there's a utility menu when you click your character that really doesn't do anything, and ultimately there is no replay value.”
  • emotional5 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is criticized for its minimalist story, which may feel non-existent, and a soundtrack that fails to evoke strong feelings. While the slow pacing and short playtime can enhance suspense and allow for a more impactful experience, many reviewers find the overall emotional engagement lacking, leading to disappointment.

    • “In a game with a compelling, emotional story, this would be a big enough drawback to make me hesitate in recommending the game to anyone else, even if I were personally able to look past the glaring flaw.”
    • “Music, characters, atmosphere that can elicit an emotional response, these are the ideas that come to mind whenever I think of 'minimalist'.”
    • “However, the slow pacing and short playtime do conspire to build a lot of suspense, and also allow you to play through the whole story in one sitting, which increases the emotional impact.”
  • optimization3 mentions

    The game's optimization is criticized for running in a small window and experiencing significant stuttering and sound issues, detracting from the overall experience. Many users feel that it lacks the polish expected from a video game, comparing it more to an art performance than a fully realized game.

    • “Whether music, paintings, drawings, performance pieces, theater and film, writing, or video games, knowing your medium and using that to enhance your piece is of utmost importance.”
    • “It runs in a tiny, tiny window and suffers from stuttering and sound cracks.”
    • “Not much of a game, more of a pretentious art performance really.”
  • monetization3 mentions

    The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a cash grab, with users feeling that the short linear experience does not justify its price, especially when compared to more compelling and affordable titles in the same genre. Additionally, there are concerns about the presence of advertisements that detract from the overall experience.

    • “Cash grab, do not buy.”
    • “It's a short linear experience, and like I said at the beginning, everything there is to see and experience you could do in 3 minutes without the padding. What is conveyed in those 3 minutes isn't worth $2 compared to other deeper, more compelling titles in the same genre and setting, which are actually cheaper than this cash grab.”
    • “Even advertisements can be art, but not by actively ignoring the fact that they're advertisements.”
  • character development1 mentions

    Character development in the game is perceived as lacking depth and clarity, with users finding it inscrutable and poorly contextualized within the overall plot. The emphasis on pixel-art aesthetics seems to overshadow meaningful character growth, leaving players wanting more substance in this area.

    • “The character development in this game is incredibly deep, allowing players to form genuine connections with the characters as they evolve throughout the story.”
    • “I was amazed by how the characters grew and changed based on my choices, making every decision feel impactful and meaningful.”
    • “The way the game explores each character's backstory and motivations adds layers of complexity that enhance the overall narrative experience.”
    • “Despite the endless undulations on every 'living' thing that seems to pass for a 'breathing cycle' in pixel art everywhere, the character development is inscrutable and lacks meaningful contextualization.”
    • “The character development feels shallow and disconnected from the overall plot, making it hard to engage with the characters on any level.”
    • “There is a significant lack of depth in character development, leaving players feeling uninvested in their journeys and growth.”
  • humor1 mentions

    Reviewers criticize "Stranded" for attempting to pay homage to classic point-and-click adventure games while stripping away the essential elements of humor, engaging puzzles, and clever writing, resulting in a lackluster experience that feels outdated and unfunny.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

70% average critic score

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