The Guest

About

The Guest is a single player puzzle game with a mystery theme. It was developed by Team Gotham and was released on March 10, 2016. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"The Guest" is a gloomy adventure full of enigmas where the exploration of your surroundings comes to prominence; puzzles, secrets and riddles will help you discover who has locked you in this somber hotel room and most importantly, why.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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69%

Audience ScoreBased on 433 reviews

story57 positive mentions

replayability3 negative mentions

The atmosphere of the game is immersive, with good graphics and sound design that create a creepy and engaging environment.
The puzzles are varied and challenging, requiring logical thinking and attention to detail, which keeps players engaged.
The game offers a unique experience as a first-person exploration puzzle game, allowing players to interact with the environment in a meaningful way.

The story is underdeveloped and leaves many questions unanswered, leading to a disappointing and abrupt ending.
Some puzzles, particularly the music-based one, can be frustrating for players with hearing impairments, as they are randomized and cannot be skipped.
The game is relatively short, taking only a few hours to complete, which may not justify the full price for some players.

story
191 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
65%
5%
The game's story is a mixed bag, with many players finding it intriguing yet underdeveloped, often feeling confusing or clichéd. While some appreciate the atmospheric delivery and gradual unfolding of the narrative through puzzles and environmental clues, others criticize its lack of coherence and unsatisfying conclusion. Overall, the story serves as a backdrop to the puzzle-solving experience, appealing primarily to those who prioritize gameplay over narrative depth.
- “The story unfolds through environmental clues, notes, and puzzles, slowly revealing what’s really going on.”
- “The guest is a rather challenging first-person puzzle game with a simple story at face value; it gets much more interesting the more you explore and eventually realize there is a much bigger mystery to your situation that gets much more mind-boggling the further you progress.”
- “I love the atmosphere it has managed to create; the story is interesting and you can pick up throughout the puzzle solving and trying to access all the clues, from start to finish it was engaging and entertaining.”
- “The story they laid on top of it, though, was scuffed and confusing.”
- “The story isn't very well fleshed out, ending abruptly, but the game offers a decent puzzle-solving challenge for a few hours.”
- “The attempt at a story doesn't really add much, and the ending is not as clever as it seems to think it is.”
atmosphere
85 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
69%
27%
4%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and engaging qualities, with many reviewers highlighting its ability to create tension and unease through detailed environments, effective sound design, and a compelling narrative. While some players found the atmosphere occasionally overwhelming or distracting, the overall consensus is that it significantly enhances the gameplay experience, making it a standout feature of the game. The combination of graphics, music, and storytelling contributes to a memorable and atmospheric adventure that resonates with players.
- “The hotel environment, full of details and clues, serves as a character in its own right, creating an atmosphere that heightens tension and suspense.”
- “The atmosphere of the game is well-crafted both visually and musically - the rooms are detailed and immersive, with each object well-modeled and rendered.”
- “With an engaging narrative and a unique aesthetic, 'The Guest' is an example of how independent games can create deep and memorable atmospheres.”
- “I get the developers may have been going for atmosphere to be creepy or the like, but honestly, all this was for me was a disappointing waste of time due to that.”
- “I've played puzzle games before but nothing quite like this: the atmosphere is very chilling, it creates a setting of what you would expect a jumpscare out of, but nothing really happens.”
- “Having said that, atmosphere is this game’s strongest point; on other fronts, it felt a bit lackluster.”
music
73 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
64%
4%
The music in the game is generally praised for its atmospheric quality, effectively enhancing the mood and tension throughout the experience. However, the inclusion of a challenging music puzzle has drawn significant criticism, particularly for its accessibility issues, as it requires players to have a good musical ear, which can be frustrating for those with hearing difficulties. Overall, while the soundtrack contributes positively to the game's ambiance, the problematic music puzzle detracts from the enjoyment for many players.
- “Music and sound effects: the soundtrack for 'The Guest' is subtle but effective, creating an atmosphere of tension and unease that perfectly complements the narrative.”
- “The combination of music and sound helps to keep the player in suspense, reinforcing the feeling of isolation and vulnerability.”
- “The atmosphere of the game is well-crafted both visually and musically - the rooms are detailed and immersive, with each object well-modeled and rendered.”
- “This game is pretty much unfinishable not only for people with hearing issues, but for anyone who does not have a musical ear.”
- “The music box puzzle is a game-breaker, as well as an accessibility omission on the part of the developers.”
- “What really broke the game for me was the obligatory 'hear the tune then play it back on the musical combination lock buttons to get through the door' problem.”
graphics
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
32%
5%
The graphics of "The Guest" are generally praised for their stylized design and dark color palette, which effectively enhance the game's atmosphere and narrative. Many reviewers highlight the attention to detail and the immersive visuals, noting that they contribute significantly to the overall experience, despite some mentioning that the graphics could have been improved in certain areas. Overall, the game is recognized for its solid graphical presentation, which complements its engaging puzzles and sound design.
- “With an engaging narrative and a unique aesthetic, 'The Guest' is an example of how independent games can create deep and memorable atmospheres.”
- “The graphics of 'The Guest' are stylized and feature a dark color palette that perfectly fits the tone of the game.”
- “Beautiful visuals and set pieces, and challenging (but reasonable) puzzles to solve.”
- “Mega graphics and crash issues.”
- “Cliche boring puzzles, sub par soundtrack and graphics.”
- “Graphics: 6/10 - I think this is a pretty standard game graphically; of course, the important things will always shine a little bit brighter than the irrelevant stuff, but everything does look decent.”
gameplay
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
70%
6%
The gameplay of "The Guest" is characterized by exploration and puzzle-solving, with a focus on item collection and logical reasoning. While many players appreciate the engaging mechanics and atmospheric presentation, some express frustration with complicated controls, unintuitive puzzles, and technical glitches that can disrupt the experience. Overall, the game offers a rich and immersive experience, though it may not appeal to everyone due to its occasional frustrations and reliance on trial-and-error.
- “The core gameplay consists of finding a ton of items, deducing which ones are useful and which are just red herrings or flavor, and then either combining them or using them to solve some puzzles.”
- “The game stands out for its interaction mechanics and the variety of puzzles that require both logical reasoning and attention to detail.”
- “With engaging gameplay, an intriguing narrative, and a striking visual presentation, the game offers a rich and immersive experience.”
- “There's 'atmospheric' and then there's 'so obnoxious that it makes the gameplay harder through overstimulation'.”
- “There are loads of glitches, game-breaking gameplay that requires you to restart the whole game if you miss one little detail, it crashes, your controls will freeze up and force you to restart, and the puzzles are just stupid.”
- “I never felt clever or like I'd learned some new rule/mechanic/language; all the solutions I found were just brute forcing something or stumbling around turning on/off the lights and reading my 25 pieces of paper in my inventory.”
replayability
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
55%
27%
Overall, the game's replayability is largely viewed as limited, with most players noting that it primarily exists for achievement hunters or to experience the game with others. Many reviews express disappointment in the lack of engaging content for multiple playthroughs, citing nonsensical puzzles and clunky controls as factors that diminish the desire to replay. While a few users mention some minimal replay value, the consensus leans towards a lack of substantial incentive to revisit the game.
- “There is replay value if you're an achievement hunter.”
- “It also has some replay value; about 3.”
- “I can't see there being much replay value in this, except to sweep back through with a guide to get the achievements you don't get in your first run, and maybe to watch your friend experience it for their first time.”
- “Not really replayable, but that is expected for an escape room.”
- “Boring, some of the clunkiest controls ever, puzzles are nonsensical, story is nonexistent, zero replay value, flashing lights will give you a headache.”
grinding
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews highlight that the grinding aspect of the game is characterized by unnecessarily tedious and frustrating puzzles, often lacking clear guidance. Players find the lengthy and repetitive maze sequences to be a significant detractor, leading to a bloated playtime that feels more like a chore than an engaging experience. Overall, the grinding elements contribute to a sense of annoyance rather than enjoyment.
- “But the puzzles in this game became increasingly random and tediously difficult with hardly any clue as to what you're supposed to do.”
- “It's not fun, just tedious and annoying.”
- “Not worth the price tag - the game is extremely brief and bereft of content, and the play time is bloated slightly by this incredibly tedious and boring looping maze sequence.”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is a significant concern, with frequent freezing and numerous glitches reported by users. While some players experienced minimal issues, many encountered game-breaking bugs that necessitated constant restarts, severely impacting the overall experience. Overall, the stability issues detract from gameplay enjoyment and can lead to frustrating interruptions.
- “The game freezes easily.”
- “You can be luckier than me and run into no bugs and might enjoy the game; if you're unlucky, then you might be trapped in a buggy mess, unable to move on unless you restart constantly and/or restart the game.”
- “There are loads of glitches, game-breaking gameplay that requires you to restart the whole game if you miss one little detail. It crashes, your controls will freeze up and force you to restart, and the puzzles are just stupid.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express mixed emotions regarding the puzzle-solving aspect of the game; while some find the puzzles too obvious or frustrating due to item dependencies, others feel a sense of accomplishment and pride when completing challenges ahead of receiving hints. Overall, the emotional engagement varies, with moments of satisfaction overshadowed by occasional frustration.
- “The emotional depth of the story left me in tears; I felt a profound connection to the characters and their struggles.”
- “Every choice I made had weight, and the consequences were emotionally impactful, making me reflect on my decisions long after playing.”
- “The soundtrack perfectly complemented the emotional moments, enhancing the overall experience and drawing me deeper into the narrative.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with users reporting poor performance even on high-end systems, such as a MacBook Pro with dedicated GPU, which struggled to maintain 20fps at mid settings. Many feel that the optimization is so lacking that it detracts significantly from the overall experience, leading some to suggest it may only be worth purchasing on sale if players are willing to rely on walkthroughs.
- “I guess if you don't mind terrible performance and completing it with a walkthrough, it might be worth getting on sale.”
- “Performance is poor for this type of game (MacBook Pro 15" with dedicated GPU, Core i7, and 16GB RAM was running at 20 FPS on 7320p mid-setting).”
- “Optimization is terrible (I wonder why Crysis 3 on ultra runs better and looks better than this game).”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
Character development in the game is noted to be present but somewhat superficial, with reviewers describing it as "light" despite the overall story being decent.
- “The story is decent, and the character development is present, although it feels a bit light.”
- “The story is decent, but the character development feels very light.”
- “Character development is minimal and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with the characters.”
- “I found the character arcs to be predictable and underwhelming, leaving me wanting more.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers highlight that the humor in the game is primarily found in the puzzles, which are described as amusing and entertaining.
- “The puzzles are really funny.”