The Butterfly Sign
- December 13, 2016
- Quantum Phoenix Studio
Get on Steam"The Butterfly Sign" is a narrative-driven psychological horror game. As a patient in a mysterious psychiatric hospital, you'll uncover the truth through solving puzzles and experiencing surreal visions. Your choices and observations will shape the outcome in this atmospheric and unsettling adventure.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features stunning graphics and a beautifully designed environment that enhances the overall atmosphere.
- The intriguing story and unique concept involving memory recovery and detective work provide a fresh take on the genre.
- The gameplay encourages careful observation and critical thinking, making it a challenging and engaging experience.
- The game suffers from technical issues such as long loading times, sound glitches, and occasional freezing, which detracts from the experience.
- Many players found the game to be short, with some completing it in under two hours, leaving them wanting more content.
- The execution of the story and puzzles can feel linear and simplistic, with some players expressing disappointment in the lack of depth and interactivity.
- graphics19 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 37 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning detail and immersive atmosphere, effectively enhancing the overall experience. However, many users report significant technical issues, including long loading times, poor optimization, and bugs that detract from the visual quality. While the game showcases impressive visuals, these drawbacks can lead to choppy movement and frustrating gameplay.
“Graphics performed so professionally and naturally, there is no doubt that we are really in a mental hospital, which was damaged by the attack.”
“Game's built on Unreal Engine 4 and the creators of it seem to have taken the maximum out of the graphics engine - I was just astonished by how amazingly beautiful it is.”
“The first thing I will say is that the graphics are fantastic.”
“Audio, visuals, and controls all had issues.”
“Movement is clumsy, and the graphics look like stock assets from a development program.”
“The optimization of the game is terrible - providing choppy movement and awful framerates, even on a very high-end machine with graphics settings reduced to the lowest.”
- story19 mentions
- 58 % positive mentions
- 26 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally praised for its intriguing and original premise, with elements of a detective narrative that explores the depths of the mind. However, many players noted issues with pacing, such as abrupt endings and slow-loading cut scenes that disrupt immersion. While the storytelling is engaging, some found it familiar and felt that technical problems detracted from the overall experience.
“The story is interesting and intriguing, but it stops right in the middle with an unclear ending.”
“A nice (but surprisingly quite depressive) detective story...”
“Another great thing is that the game promises a non-linear story, non-linear dialogues, and a non-linear timeline, where events take place both in the past and in the present - every component of a good game seems to be mixed thoroughly :)”
“The cut scenes are very slow to load and persistently tear the player from the game, interrupting the moment and convoluting the story.”
“And just as you feel like something of a story is taking shape... the chapter/game is over.”
“Another aspect that the game fails at, in my opinion, is storytelling.”
- gameplay12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by unique detective mechanics and a mix of exploration and puzzle-solving, including circuit board challenges and multiple-choice questions. However, many players find the gameplay to be simplistic, short, and marred by frame rate issues, leading to a lack of replayability and depth. While the atmosphere and visuals are praised, the overall experience may leave some gamers wanting more in terms of content and complexity.
“Nice detective mechanics, didn't see something like that before.”
“The puzzles are fun, not too difficult (I did have to look up the answer to one in a gameplay video, but the rest were doable on my own without feeling too easy) and it builds a great atmosphere through well-done sounds.”
“Difficult tasks, puzzles... it is the first game that I've seen with such a gameplay structure.”
“But the first episode wasn't worth a penny for gameplay.”
“I wouldn’t go far to say as to 'not recommend' the game because I don’t see many things broken, but I would understand why gamers would be put off by frame rate issues, simple gameplay, and length of gameplay.”
“In terms of gameplay, aside from walking around and exploring, you have to piece together events from the past to determine what has happened. Most of this consists of multiple choice questions, which was pretty boring and tedious for the most part.”
- atmosphere10 mentions
- 70 % positive mentions
- 10 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its precision in design, immersive elements, and effective use of sound, contributing to a captivating exploration experience. While many players find it beautifully atmospheric and intriguing, some note that the music's disconnection from the player's actions can detract from the overall immersion. Overall, the game successfully creates a compelling ambiance that enhances the adventure and puzzle-solving elements.
“Every object in the room was made with such precision that helps to fully convey the atmosphere of the place where we are.”
“The atmosphere, the exploration, the mystery, it all made for a really great adventure.”
“Very well, that fear in the atmosphere is transmitted by the graphics and music, with the help of special effects and plot, but not by suddenly jumping monsters.”
- music7 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its beauty and ability to enhance the atmosphere, complementing the stunning graphics. However, some players feel that the music's disconnection from the player's actions detracts from the immersive experience, preventing it from fully realizing the game's atmospheric potential. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the ambiance, its execution has room for improvement.
“The scenery is absolutely beautiful and breathtaking, and the music is lovely.”
“Very well, that fear in the atmosphere is transmitted by the graphics and music, with the help of special effects and plot, but not by suddenly jumping monsters.”
“The music doesn't seem to follow the player; instead, it emits from somewhere in the world, making it feel weird and hard to achieve the atmospheric feel that the game has huge potential for.”
“The effect of the graphics enhances the music, which is a very subtle approach to the theme of the game.”
“While the fear in the atmosphere is transmitted by the graphics and music, along with special effects and plot, it is not effectively conveyed by sudden monster jumps.”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, stability issues have been reported, including frequent game freezes, sound glitches, and non-functional menu buttons. While some players have experienced significant bugs, others noted that the game was improved following a recent delay aimed at addressing these technical problems.
“Game freezes constantly, can't even get into the game and my computer meets the requirements.”
“Also, I've experienced some sound glitches, not sure what that was, and the exit button in the menu doesn't work.”
“Not mentioning the fact that the game was delayed a few days to fix various bugs and glitches.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has been widely criticized, with players experiencing choppy movement and poor framerates even on high-end machines. Many users report needing to lower graphics settings significantly to achieve playable performance, often resulting in lower framerates compared to other games.
“I’m not all that tech savvy like many PC gamers, so I didn’t really understand even some of the basic requirements needed to play the game; however, when the price was at a big discount and my PC runs smoothly with big games like Fallout 4 and Hard Reset, I thought I could still run Butterfly Sign.”
“The optimization of the game is terrible - providing choppy movement and awful framerates, even on a very high-end machine with graphics settings reduced to the lowest possible.”
“Despite having a powerful setup, the game struggles to maintain a stable frame rate, making it nearly unplayable.”
“The performance issues are frustrating; even simple scenes cause significant lag and stuttering.”
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by the cleverly named build "human error," which seems to resonate with players, although it has not received positive feedback even from paid reviews. Overall, the comedic elements appear to fall flat for many users.
“Apparently there's a slightly tweaked build on sale named under the hilariously fitting moniker of 'Human Error', and I don't think even the paid reviews gave it a thumbs-up.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, as it primarily involves repetitive tasks like answering multiple choice questions to piece together the story, which detracts from the overall enjoyment of exploration.
“In terms of gameplay, aside from walking around and exploring, you have to piece together events from the past to determine what has happened. Most of this consists of multiple choice questions, which was pretty boring and tedious for the most part.”
