The Long Gate

68%
Game Brain Score Based on 30 reviews
  • graphics
  • gameplay
  • atmosphere
The Long Gate Game Cover
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The Long Gate is a single-player, first-person puzzle game with three classes of puzzles based on real-world technologies. Explore ancient caverns and learn to solve digital, analog, and quantum puzzles to repair ancient circuits and uncover the mystery of the creators. The game contains accurate quantum circuit depictions, verified by scientists at D-Wave Systems.

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Reviews

68%
Audience ScoreBased on 30 reviews
atmosphere4 positive mentions
gameplay3 negative mentions
  • The game features a beautifully designed atmosphere and graphics that evoke a sense of mystery and intrigue.
  • The puzzles are challenging and rewarding, providing a satisfying sense of accomplishment upon solving them.
  • The game offers a unique experience by incorporating concepts from computer science and electronics, making it an engaging learning tool for those interested in STEM.
  • The game suffers from significant technical issues, including lag, poor performance, and unresponsive controls that detract from the overall experience.
  • Many players find the puzzle design to be overly complex and lacking in proper tutorials, leading to confusion and frustration, especially for those unfamiliar with the concepts.
  • There is excessive walking and waiting involved, which can disrupt the flow of gameplay and make the experience feel tedious.
  • graphics7 mentions

    The graphics are generally praised for their appealing design and art style, reminiscent of Portal 2, and contribute to a strong cyber-industrial aesthetic. However, performance issues are noted, with instances of juddering at high frame rates and crashes when adjusting settings, indicating that the game's graphical performance may not fully match its visual quality.

    • “The graphics design is very nice, reminds me faintly of Portal 2.”
    • “It is also very pretty at times and has cool graphics.”
    • “The art style: I absolutely love it!”
    • “Sometimes the graphics were at 120fps, but half the things on screen were juddering as if it were sub-30fps.”
    • “Changing the graphics settings around, I was able to crash the game.”
    • “For a game with a rather simple aesthetic, its performance is quite lacking.”
  • gameplay7 mentions

    The gameplay is characterized by intricate puzzle mechanics that can be challenging to grasp initially, requiring significant time investment to master. While the cyber-industrial aesthetic is enhanced by mechanical sound effects, the communication of game mechanics could benefit from a more symbolic approach rather than relying heavily on English captions. Additionally, the hints provided are often deemed unhelpful, suggesting a need for better guidance in navigating essential gameplay elements.

    • “Back when I was first starting undergraduate, I took a 300-level course on digital logic and immediately thought, 'Wow, there's a lot of neat puzzle mechanics here.'”
    • “Gameplay and accessibility: generally fun.”
    • “The hints are somewhat useless, and a bit more thought could be given to guiding the player through necessary gameplay mechanics, such as setting the binary value on the device.”
    • “I also think it would've been possible to communicate the concepts and mechanics of the puzzles without so much use of straight-up English captions in what is supposed to be an alien facility, if a little bit more effort was put into making the game purely symbolic in how it communicated.”
    • “It took me many hours to figure out the mechanics, but it was all worth it!”
  • atmosphere5 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its captivating blend of mystery and the juxtaposition of technology and nature, enhanced by a low-key soundtrack. Players appreciate the well-crafted environment, which includes engaging puzzles and hidden easter eggs, contributing to an overall immersive experience. However, some note that the game feels somewhat short despite its strong atmospheric elements.

    • “With that said, it's still a good looking game with a clear atmosphere that is well supported by a low-key soundtrack.”
    • “The atmosphere created in the game is wonderful, a delightful mix of mystery and the contrast between technology and nature.”
    • “No bugs, hard puzzles, great atmosphere, nice easter eggs, enough gameplay, and cool soundtracks.”
  • grinding5 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious due to repetitive puzzle designs and a lack of variety in the challenges presented. The process of generating inputs feels monotonous, especially when puzzles rely on hardcoded elements, leading to frustration as players progress through similar mechanics without significant variation. While some users express a desire for more diverse and engaging sequences, the overall sentiment leans towards the grinding experience being a chore rather than an enjoyable challenge.

    • “All you need to do is generate the input through a long and tedious process which is entirely identical across multiple puzzles.”
    • “But it's squandered on tedious puzzle design where all the interesting stuff is already hardcoded.”
    • “So this morning I open up my laptop to finish off the game and... ok, 1 qubit, manipulation and biasing, ok... two coupled qubits, ok... 4 qubits... ok, this is getting tedious... and then it just... ends.”
  • story5 mentions

    The game lacks a traditional overt narrative, yet it offers intriguing hints and elements that stimulate players' imaginations, leading to extensive note-taking and personal storytelling interpretations. While the environments and puzzles are engaging, those seeking a strong story-driven experience may find it lacking.

    • “The puzzles show a good clear learning curve and novel applications of concepts, the environments are distinct and evocative and have a great sense of scale, and there's some interesting hints at a story.”
    • “Story: whilst there's no overt story, I've got a whole page of notes on things I picked up on that have my storytelling brain in overdrive right now!”
    • “I would probably not recommend this if you are looking for easy puzzles, or are looking for a story game.”
  • music3 mentions

    The music in the game is praised for its immersive quality, effectively enhancing the atmosphere and complementing the beautiful visuals. Reviewers appreciate the low-key soundtrack that supports the gameplay, contributing to the overall experience without being intrusive.

    • “With that said, it's still a good looking game with a clear atmosphere that is well supported by a low-key soundtrack.”
    • “No bugs, hard puzzles, great atmosphere, nice easter eggs, enough gameplay, and cool soundtracks.”
    • “Beautiful areas, immersive soundtrack, and super challenging puzzles!”
  • optimization2 mentions

    The game's optimization has been criticized for poor performance, with even high-end hardware like the 3090 Ti struggling to maintain 50 fps in certain areas, particularly with high shadow settings. Despite its relatively simple aesthetic, the performance issues are notable and detract from the overall experience.

    • “Also, performance is bad: in some areas, even a 3090 Ti will fall below 50 FPS when shadows are set to high.”
    • “For a game with a rather simple aesthetic, its performance is quite lacking.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
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Negative mentions (%)Negative

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