The Almost Gone

The Almost Gone is an occasionally enjoyable puzzle game, with a unique way of presenting levels. However, its high price and inability to adequately tackle heavy narrative themes leave it lost in the sea of mobile game ports.

70%Game Brain Score

story, graphics

stability, optimization

65% User Score Based on 432 reviews

Critic Score 75%Based on 9 reviews

Platforms

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About

The Almost Gone is a single player casual simulation game with fantasy and mystery themes. It was developed by Happy Volcano and was released on June 25, 2020. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

Examine the dioramas of your life, and uncover the truth about your death

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

65%

Audience ScoreBased on 432 reviews

story63 positive mentions

stability8 negative mentions

The game features beautiful graphics and a unique art style that enhances the overall experience.
The puzzles are engaging and well-designed, providing a satisfying challenge without being overly difficult.
The story, while ambiguous, is intriguing and thought-provoking, encouraging players to reflect on its themes.

The controls are frustrating and often lead to confusion, making navigation between rooms difficult.
Many players found the ending unsatisfying and abrupt, leaving numerous questions unanswered.
The game has significant technical issues, including crashes and loading problems on various devices.

story
139 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
49%
6%
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its intriguing and dark themes, as well as the unique storytelling mechanics. However, a common criticism is that the narrative feels incomplete or rushed, leaving players unsatisfied with the ending and lacking closure. While some found the story engaging and beautifully crafted, others felt it was vague, confusing, or poorly executed, detracting from the overall experience.
- “Hard to find a game with a nuanced, complex, and well-told story such as this one.”
- “The story kept me wanting more and more.”
- “Beautiful storytelling and engaging gameplay, along with a semi-realistic sad/heartbreaking story.”
- “I have to dock one star for the story; I expect the story to actually be adequately explained in-game and not through advertisement blurbs.”
- “The playthrough was really short and felt like half a story.”
- “The story just sort of ends - you never really get closure, understand what happened to the family, was it all a dream, etc. The ending is the only reason I can't give 5 stars.”
graphics
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71%
20%
9%
The game's graphics have received widespread praise for their unique and aesthetically pleasing style, contributing to an immersive experience. Many players highlight the stunning visuals and harmonious integration with sound, although some note issues with navigation and gameplay that detract from the overall enjoyment. Overall, the graphics are considered a standout feature, enhancing the game's appeal despite some criticisms regarding length and execution.
- “The game is really well designed, both the visuals and the sound are great with a unique style.”
- “The stunning graphics and eerie sounds go perfectly well together and give the story a very creepy yet beautiful feel to it that I was not expecting.”
- “Beautiful graphics and puzzles that can be tricky but not impossible, this game is well worth the purchase.”
- “The simple art style of the game is sharp and pleasing, and the concept of this kind of puzzle story definitely has merit, but the execution fell short in the end.”
- “Graphics are small and very hard to see.”
- “The controls are obtuse and the art style is okay.”
gameplay
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
44%
13%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players enjoying its unique mechanics and engaging storytelling, while others criticize the controls and navigation as frustrating. Many appreciate the artistic direction and overall fun factor, but some find the gameplay janky or too simplistic, leading to a lack of direction and occasional progression issues. Overall, the gameplay is seen as a blend of enjoyable elements and notable flaws, with a strong emphasis on narrative.
- “Fantastic story and gameplay!”
- “The gameplay is unique with having to look at dioramas to get through the story but ties into the story itself.”
- “Beautiful storytelling and engaging gameplay, along with a semi-realistic sad/heartbreaking story.”
- “As for the gameplay... it can be very 'click everything until something works', and changing scenes is absolutely awful.”
- “No further direction of what you're supposed to do after that and the mechanics of the game absolutely suck.”
- “Meh, a beautiful game with a great story completely shattered by absolutely horrid controls, short gameplay, and a subpar OST.”
atmosphere
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
11%
22%
The game's atmosphere is consistently described as dark, eerie, and immersive, enhancing the narrative and puzzle-solving experience. Players appreciate the unsettling quality and atmospheric tone, which effectively draws them into the game, despite some noting it can be overwhelming at times. Overall, the combination of a compelling story and atmospheric design contributes significantly to the game's appeal.
- “I really loved this game, the story and the atmosphere were great and eerie.”
- “The game has an unsettling quality and eerie atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere and narrative for this game is dark and interesting, and the puzzles are hard without being frustrating.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with some users reporting significant bugs that hinder gameplay, such as dialog boxes obscuring the screen and unresponsive controls. Others, however, experienced no issues and found the graphics clear, indicating that stability may vary among players. Overall, the presence of glitches and control difficulties suggests that improvements are needed to enhance the gaming experience.
- “Buggy in that dialog boxes sometimes failed to leave the screen at the appropriate times and would obscure the next screen of gameplay for up to a minute (a long time when you play fast).”
- “It's buggy and it won't let me play or finish the game.”
- “Extremely buggy; on landscape, the dioramas are too small to see, and on portrait, inventory items can't be used.”
music
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
14%
29%
The music in the game is generally praised for its beauty and ability to create an engaging atmosphere, striking a balance between soothing and eerie elements. However, some users noted issues with repetitiveness and noticeable looping, which detracted from the overall experience. Overall, the soundtrack complements the game's graphics and puzzles well, contributing to a compelling narrative.
- “It's beautiful, the music is the right balance between soothing and creepy, and the puzzles are engaging and challenging without being frustrating.”
- “Interesting story, beautiful music, and the puzzles that really made me think.”
- “The art is amazing, the story is compelling, even the soundtrack is great!”
- “The sound was good, but the loop was not; it was clearly noticeable when the music stopped and started again, so that's a downside.”
- “The music is too boring and repetitive.”
emotional
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is widely regarded as an emotional experience, with players describing it as beautifully sad and an emotional roller coaster. Its storytelling and gameplay evoke strong feelings, leaving many feeling emotionally wrecked despite some predictability in the gameplay. Overall, it combines engaging mechanics with a heartbreaking narrative that resonates deeply with players.
- “This game emotionally wrecked me.”
- “An absolutely beautiful, sad, and emotional game.”
- “Beautiful storytelling and engaging gameplay, along with a semi-realistic, sad, and heartbreaking story.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report ongoing issues with optimization, indicating that disabling power optimization and clearing app data has not resolved performance problems.
- “I've disabled power optimization and cleared the app data, but it was of no avail.”
- “The game runs poorly even on high-end devices, indicating a lack of proper optimization.”
- “Frequent frame drops and long loading times suggest that the optimization is severely lacking.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, with some feeling that the effort required does not lead to a satisfying conclusion. While the puzzles and controls are generally appreciated, the overall experience can feel overly laborious.
- “But pretty tedious, and the ending is too weak to justify all that effort.”
- “Great game with nice puzzles, but the grinding can be a bit tedious sometimes.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game has received criticism, with users expressing dissatisfaction over the reliance on advertisements for story explanations, which detracts from the overall experience. Additionally, some reviewers have noted that the default controls and writing quality further impact their enjoyment, leading to lower ratings.
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has been criticized for its lack of replayability, with users indicating that once completed, there is little incentive to play again.