The Challenge

About

The Challenge is a single player action game. It was developed by Atum Software and was released on October 6, 2016. It received negative reviews from players.

The early 22nd century began the era of "time travel". At this time, the UN Security Council also created the "Time Bureau", a special surveillance service where employees are required to eliminate anachronisms caused by people visiting past events.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

+11

Skip User Reviews

17%

Audience ScoreBased on 23 reviews

atmosphere1 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game features a captivating premise that merges time travel with sci-fi action adventure, offering a unique narrative potential.
Visually ambitious, The Challenge showcases high-quality graphics and atmospheric environments across various historical eras, enhancing the player's experience.
Despite its flaws, the game provides glimpses of creativity and charm, appealing to enthusiasts of experimental indie games.

The game feels incomplete and more like a prototype, with many advertised features missing or only partially functional, leading to a lack of cohesion in gameplay.
Development has stagnated, with updates ceasing years ago, leaving players with an abandoned product that lacks polish and direction.
Technical issues, poor writing, and repetitive mechanics detract from the overall experience, making it difficult for players to engage with the game.

story
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
The story of the game presents a captivating premise with rich narrative potential, blending science fiction and moral philosophy. However, the execution is hampered by missing features and a lack of cohesion, leading to repetitive gameplay and unfinished missions that detract from the overall experience. Despite its earnest attempt at speculative storytelling, the game's early development stage leaves players unable to fully engage with the narrative.
- “The premise is captivating and filled with narrative potential, echoing the kind of speculative storytelling that could bridge science fiction and moral philosophy.”
- “There’s an earnestness in its attempt to combine speculative storytelling with exploration that gives it a certain charm despite its flaws.”
- “Many of the features advertised—including multiplayer options, VR support, and additional story chapters—are absent or only partially functional.”
- “You can't even finish the first mission because it's just not in the game.”
- “This game is in such an early stage that you cannot complete the first mission.”
graphics
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The game utilizes Unreal Engine 4 to create high-quality graphics and atmospheric environments across various historical eras, but the quests feel linear and lack the dynamic elements expected from a time-travel concept. While the art style is appreciated, many players note that the game feels unfinished, leading to a mixed reception regarding its visual execution.
- “Built using Unreal Engine 4, it seeks to deliver high-quality graphics and atmospheric environments across multiple historical eras.”
- “I like the art style, but the game feels unfinished.”
- “Quests that should have been dynamic and reflective of the time-travel concept instead feel linear, with little to distinguish them beyond aesthetic differences between eras.”
- “For players drawn to the aesthetics of unfinished visions or to the curiosity of forgotten indie experiments, it offers a brief, imperfect journey through the fragments of an ambitious dream.”
- “Don't let the unreal graphics fool you.”
gameplay
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
25%
50%
The gameplay in "The Challenge" is an ambitious blend of time travel and sci-fi action, but it often falters in execution, leading to a lack of cohesion and repetitive mechanics. While some missions are conceptually intriguing, they frequently devolve into simplicity, making it difficult for players to fully engage, especially when hindered by subpar writing.
- “The challenge is an ambitious project from Atum Software that attempts to merge the allure of time travel with the mechanics of a sci-fi action adventure.”
- “The gameplay often struggles to balance its ambition with cohesion, resulting in missions that, while conceptually interesting, devolve into simple mechanics and repetitive exploration.”
- “The gameplay might be okay, but it's incredibly hard to get into a game when the writing is so poor.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game utilizes Unreal Engine 4 to create high-quality graphics and immersive atmospheric environments that span various historical eras, enhancing the overall experience for players.
- “Built using Unreal Engine 4, it seeks to deliver high-quality graphics and atmospheric environments across multiple historical eras.”
music
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is noted for its creative composition, blending elements of science fiction with engaging melodies that enhance the overall atmosphere. Reviewers appreciate the unique soundscapes that complement the gameplay, making it a standout feature.
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy focuses on securing substantial funding from investors to support both development and advertising efforts.